West Arnhem

Latest release
2021 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type Local Government Areas
Area code LGA74660
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 5,097
Male 50.5%
Female 49.5%
Median age 26
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families 1,252
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 823
Average number of people per household 5.3
Median weekly household income $1,259
Median monthly mortgage repayments $303
Median weekly rent (a) $80

(a) For 2021, median weekly rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free.

Search QuickStats for another area

Map is loading.
Other 2021 Census products available for this area:
To view more QuickStats or Community Profiles for a different area, see Search Census data.

All tables refer to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons in West Arnhem, unless otherwise stated.
Small random changes have been made to all cell values for privacy reasons. These changes may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from the table totals.

People and population

Indigenous status
All people 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander total 5,097 81.1 61,115 26.3 812,728 3.2
Aboriginal 5,054 80.5 58,566 25.2 742,882 2.9
Torres Strait Islander 20 0.3 692 0.3 33,765 0.1
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 20 0.3 1,852 0.8 36,083 0.1
Non-Indigenous 931 14.8 152,705 65.6 23,375,949 91.9
Not stated 248 3.9 18,775 8.1 1,234,112 4.9

More information on Place of Usual Residence (PURP), Indigenous status (INGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Age
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Median age 26 N/A 26 N/A 24 N/A
0-4 years 370 7.3 5,365 8.8 85,941 10.6
5-14 years 972 19.1 11,809 19.3 179,604 22.1
15-24 years 1,047 20.5 11,436 18.7 150,057 18.5
25-34 years 970 19.0 10,180 16.7 117,969 14.5
35-44 years 723 14.2 8,173 13.4 87,910 10.8
45-54 years 572 11.2 6,858 11.2 81,802 10.1
55-64 years 297 5.8 4,458 7.3 61,759 7.6
65 years and over 145 2.8 2,846 4.7 47,677 5.9

More information on Age (AGEP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Registered marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Married 2,121 56.5 15,538 35.4 127,525 23.3
Separated 102 2.7 1,527 3.5 23,982 4.4
Divorced 87 2.3 1,451 3.3 37,473 6.8
Widowed 184 4.9 2,043 4.6 16,329 3.0
Never married 1,263 33.6 23,389 53.2 341,871 62.5

Note: In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.

More information on Registered marital status (MSTP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Social marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, usually resident and present in the household on Census night 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Registered marriage (a) 1,603 45.1 11,406 30.0 112,643 23.0
De facto marriage (b) 146 4.1 4,659 12.2 81,295 16.6
Not married 1,808 50.9 22,023 57.8 296,032 60.4

(a) In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.
(b) De facto marriage is when two people live together as partners who are not in a registered marriage. It includes people who report de facto, partner, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, girlfriend or boyfriend.

More information on Social marital status (MDCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Education

Type of educational institution attending
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people attending an educational institution 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Preschool 109 7.8 1,325 6.5 25,485 8.0
Primary 617 43.9 7,964 38.8 120,864 37.9
Secondary 393 28.0 4,658 22.7 83,631 26.2
Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers) 19 1.4 536 2.6 21,273 6.7
Tertiary - University or higher education 7 0.5 626 3.1 21,149 6.6
Other 15 1.1 350 1.7 7,310 2.3
Not stated 236 16.8 5,064 24.7 38,814 12.2

More information Type of educational institution attending (TYPP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Level of highest educational attainment
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Bachelor Degree level and above 21 0.6 1,305 3.0 40,554 7.4
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level 47 1.3 1,139 2.6 34,681 6.3
Certificate level IV 38 1.0 1,019 2.3 23,374 4.3
Certificate level III 222 5.9 3,334 7.6 84,821 15.5
Year 12 581 15.5 5,976 13.6 82,998 15.2
Year 11 577 15.4 5,100 11.6 43,335 7.9
Year 10 943 25.1 9,124 20.8 102,707 18.8
Certificate level II 3 0.1 130 0.3 1,262 0.2
Certificate level I 4 0.1 90 0.2 241 0.0
Year 9 or below 732 19.5 9,421 21.4 75,326 13.8
Inadequately described 45 1.2 733 1.7 11,038 2.0
No educational attainment 50 1.3 1,387 3.2 5,242 1.0
Not stated 490 13.1 5,179 11.8 41,467 7.6

More information on Level of highest educational attainment (HEAP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Cultural diversity

Australian Indigenous language, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Kunwinjku 1,443 28.3 1,482 2.4 1,484 0.2
Burarra 1,130 22.2 1,211 2.0 1,225 0.2
Kuninjku 414 8.1 422 0.7 422 0.1
Ndjebbana (Gunavidji) 361 7.1 365 0.6 367 0.0
Maung 320 6.3 352 0.6 360 0.0
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Australian Indigenous languages used at home 4,688 92.0 35,782 58.5 76,978 9.5
English only used at home 279 5.5 20,390 33.4 683,122 84.1

More information on Language used at home (LANP), Whether reported using an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander language at home (LNGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Ancestry, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Australian Aboriginal 5,024 98.6 56,364 92.2 695,359 85.6
Australian 98 1.9 6,423 10.5 277,467 34.1
English 54 1.1 2,685 4.4 131,618 16.2
Torres Strait Islander 48 0.9 2,203 3.6 57,353 7.1
Irish 13 0.3 850 1.4 31,853 3.9

Note 1: Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry multi response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the sum of all ancestry responses for an area will not equal the total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area.
Note 2: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not state an ancestry). In 2016 QuickStats percentages were based on total number of responses and will not be comparable to this table.

More information on Ancestry multi response (ANCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Income and work

Participation in the labour force
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
In the labour force 1,214 32.3 15,568 35.4 296,172 54.1
Not in the labour force 2,410 64.2 26,214 59.7 234,314 42.8
Not stated 126 3.4 2,164 4.9 16,695 3.1

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Employment status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Employed  null  null  null  null  null  null
Worked full-time 366 30.1 7,324 47.0 144,659 48.8
Worked part-time 250 20.6 3,712 23.8 87,019 29.4
Away from work (a) 149 12.3 1,302 8.4 28,075 9.5
Total employed 762 62.8 12,329 79.2 259,754 87.7
Unemployed 449 37.0 3,239 20.8 36,419 12.3

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over, who reported being in the labour force in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

(a) Counts employed people who reported 0 hours of work the week before the Census or did not state their hours of work.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Occupation, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Professionals 242 31.8 2,289 18.6 36,013 13.9
Community and Personal Service Workers 176 23.1 2,747 22.3 45,221 17.4
Labourers 90 11.8 1,388 11.3 37,003 14.2
Clerical and Administrative Workers 67 8.8 1,765 14.3 30,731 11.8
Technicians and Trades Workers 54 7.1 1,300 10.5 35,333 13.6
Managers 43 5.6 947 7.7 21,218 8.2
Machinery Operators and Drivers 25 3.3 690 5.6 23,291 9.0
Sales Workers 24 3.1 638 5.2 22,365 8.6

More information on Occupation (OCCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Industry of employment, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Local Government Administration 131 17.2 1,025 8.3 6,639 2.6
Nature Reserves and Conservation Parks Operation 97 12.7 252 2.0 933 0.4
Combined Primary and Secondary Education 87 11.4 653 5.3 3,592 1.4
Other Social Assistance Services 52 6.8 456 3.7 10,154 3.9
Other Allied Health Services 38 5.0 223 1.8 1,556 0.6

More information on Industry of employment (INDP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Median weekly incomes (a)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Personal (b) 253 N/A 323 N/A 540 N/A
Family (c) 704 N/A 947 N/A 1,527 N/A
Household (d) 1,259 N/A 1,318 N/A 1,507 N/A

(a) Incomes are collected in ranges. The medians are then calculated using information from the Survey of Income and Housing.
(b) Excludes people aged 15 years and over who did not state their income.
(c) Excludes families where at least one family member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.
(d) Excludes households where at least one household member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.

More information on Total personal income (weekly) (INCP), Total family income (weekly) (FINF), Total household income (weekly) (HIND), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander family indicator (INGF)
Personal income data is based on place of usual residence
Family and household income data is based on place of enumeration

Unpaid work and care

Unpaid work and care
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Did unpaid domestic work (week before Census Night) 3,273 87.1 28,806 65.6 328,022 59.9
Provided unpaid care for child/children (during two weeks before Census Night) 2,433 64.8 19,556 44.5 166,628 30.5
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition or due to old age (during two weeks before Census Night) 568 15.1 5,874 13.4 76,568 14.0
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months) 175 4.7 2,551 5.8 58,029 10.6

More information on Unpaid domestic work: number of hours (DOMP), Unpaid child care (CHCAREP), Unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition, or due to old age (UNCAREP), Voluntary work for an organisation or group (VOLWP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Health

Type of long-term health condition
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Arthritis 48 0.9 1,151 1.9 50,807 6.3
Asthma 292 5.7 3,178 5.2 107,162 13.2
Cancer (including remission) 20 0.4 376 0.6 12,927 1.6
Dementia (including Alzheimer's) 8 0.2 306 0.5 3,610 0.4
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) 279 5.5 4,258 7.0 47,688 5.9
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) 429 8.4 3,161 5.2 30,160 3.7
Kidney disease 125 2.5 1,216 2.0 10,053 1.2
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) 75 1.5 673 1.1 17,552 2.2
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) 119 2.3 2,237 3.7 107,776 13.3
Stroke 25 0.5 322 0.5 7,059 0.9
Any other long-term health condition(s) 361 7.1 3,562 5.8 70,592 8.7
No long-term health condition(s) 3,481 68.3 41,155 67.3 462,348 56.9
Not stated 310 6.1 5,339 8.7 65,539 8.1

Note 1: Measures the number of people who reported that they have been told by a doctor or nurse that they have any of these long-term health conditions.
Note 2: Respondents had the option of reporting multiple long-term health conditions. Therefore, the sum of all long-term health condition responses for an area will not equal the total number of people in the area.
Note 3: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not answer the long-term health conditions question).

More information on Type of long-term health condition (LTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Count of selected long-term health conditions
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
None of the selected conditions 3,710 72.8 43,456 71.1 493,110 60.7
One condition 826 16.2 9,255 15.1 167,204 20.6
Two conditions 179 3.5 2,063 3.4 54,174 6.7
Three or more conditions 75 1.5 1,000 1.6 32,701 4.0
Not stated 310 6.1 5,339 8.7 65,539 8.1

Note: Selected long-term health conditions include arthritis, asthma, cancer (including remission), dementia (including Alzheimer's), diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes), heart disease (including heart attack or angina), kidney disease, lung condition (including COPD or emphysema), mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) and stroke. Other long-term health conditions are not included in this count.

More information on Count of selected long-term health conditions (CLTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Housing

Dwelling characteristics
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Number of dwellings requiring one or more extra bedroom(s) (a) 511 62.1 4,385 28.7 31,268 8.9
Average number of people per household 5.3 N/A 3.8 N/A 3.1 N/A
Average number of persons per bedroom 2 N/A 1.4 N/A 1 N/A
Average number of registered motor vehicles per dwelling 0.5 N/A 1.2 N/A 1.9 N/A

(a) The Canadian National Occupancy Standard for Housing Appropriateness is used to determine whether there are enough bedrooms in the dwelling for the usual residents. See Housing suitability information below for more details.

More information on Number of bedrooms in private dwelling (BEDD), Household composition (HHCD), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Housing suitability (HOSD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Mortgage and Rent
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Median weekly rent (a) $80 N/A $130 N/A $300 N/A
Median monthly mortgage repayments $303 N/A $2,000 N/A $1,721 N/A

(a) Median rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free, this is not comparable to 2016 QuickStats data.

More information on Rent (weekly) dollar values (RNTD), Mortgage repayments (monthly) dollar values (MRED), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Family household composition
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
One family household: Couple family with no children 81 9.8 2,082 13.6 62,751 17.8
One family household: Couple family with children 212 25.8 4,322 28.3 104,435 29.7
One family household: One parent family 94 11.4 3,021 19.8 86,135 24.5
One family household: Other family 20 2.4 471 3.1 7,040 2.0
Multiple family household: Couple family with no children 40 4.9 249 1.6 2,130 0.6
Multiple family household: Couple family with children 210 25.5 1,276 8.4 6,813 1.9
Multiple family household: One parent family 92 11.2 973 6.4 8,606 2.4
Multiple family household: Other family 17 2.1 100 0.7 412 0.1
Other household 61 7.4 2,768 18.1 73,717 20.9

Note: This table counts the types of families within family households at the dwelling level. In multiple family households, only the family composition of the primary family is recorded. Other household includes lone person households and group households.

More information on Family household composition (dwelling) (HCFMD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Separate house 743 90.3 11,789 77.3 281,729 80.0
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. 63 7.7 1,916 12.6 38,396 10.9
Flat or apartment 5 0.6 1,286 8.4 27,919 7.9
Other dwelling 12 1.5 160 1.0 2,861 0.8

More information on Dwelling structure (STRD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Tenure type
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 		West Arnhem % West Arnhem Northern Territory % Northern Territory Australia % Australia
Owned outright 10 1.2 960 6.3 48,452 13.8
Owned with a mortgage (a) 0 0.0 2,459 16.1 96,647 27.5
Rented (b) 705 85.7 10,583 69.4 192,703 54.7
Other (c) 91 11.1 774 5.1 5,582 1.6
Not stated 15 1.8 475 3.1 8,652 2.5

(a) Includes dwellings purchased under a shared equity scheme.
(b) Excludes dwellings being occupied rent-free, this is not comparable to 2016 QuickStats data.
(c) Comprises dwellings occupied rent-free, occupied under a life tenure scheme and other tenure type

More information on Tenure type (TEND)
Table based on place of enumeration

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.