Year of arrival in Australia (YARP)

This variable is applicable to persons born overseas and records the year they first arrived in Australia to live for one year or more.

See also, Year of arrival in Australia (ranges) (YARRP).

Persons born overseas who will be in Australia for more than one year

The Country of birth of person (BPLP) variable is used to determine if a person was born in Australia or overseas. Australia refers to the geographical Australia defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

Data for this variable is captured automatically from written numeric responses, or the 'Will be in Australia less than one year' mark box. High and low values are checked manually to ensure that they match the actual response on the form. A check is made to ensure that a person's stated age is compatible with period of residence.

If a respondent answers they:

• Usually reside in another country, they are coded to 'Overseas visitor'
• Were born overseas and usually reside in Australia but will be in Australia for less than one year, they are coded to 'Not stated'
• Were born in Australia, they are coded to 'Not applicable'

A question on year of arrival in Australia, or length of residence, was first asked in the 1911 Census and has been asked in every Census since.

In censuses prior to 1991, the question was asked in terms of number of completed years of residence in Australia.

In 1996, data was collected in categories ranging from 'Before 1981' to '1996'.

From 2001 onwards, data was collected by single year with valid responses in 2011 being in the range 1895 to 2011. For 2016, data was collected by single year with valid responses in the range 1900 to 2016.

For 2021, data is collected by single year with valid responses in the range of 1905 to 2021.

When this variable is cross-classified with other Census data, it is useful for analysing how the characteristics of migrants change with their length of time in Australia. 

Data is available in years singly from 1905 to 2021 (YARP), with 2021 referring to the period from 1 January to 10 August 2021 only.

A check is performed to ensure that a person's stated age is compatible with their period of residence.

The non-response rate for Year of arrival in Australia (YARP) was 2.4% in 2021. This is a decrease from 3.5% in 2016. Where an applicable person has not provided a year of arrival, but has marked the 'Will be in Australia less than one year' mark box, this response is set to not stated.

• Country of birth of person (BPLP)
• Year of arrival in Australia (ranges) (YARRP)
• Ethnicity

• People
• People and communities
• Year of Arrival Standard, 2014 v1.5
• Cultural diversity: Census
• Understanding Migrant Statistics in the Census and other data sources