Changing characteristics of the Torres Strait region and its people

This article provides a snapshot of Torres Strait Islander people living in the Torres Strait region using data from the 2011 and 2016 Census of Population and Housing and the 2014-15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey. It covers four broad topics and explores key characteristics such as: population distribution, migration, educational attainment, employment patterns, plus cultural and community connectedness.

The article arose from the relationship the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has developed with the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) and illustrates our commitment to returning information to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to deliver more effective regionally focussed information. It has been written in close collaboration with the TSRA to provide a local perspective of the trends revealed from ABS data.

The ABS signed an agreement with the TSRA in 2017 to produce a data library of statistics for the Torres Strait Region. The data library will provide valuable information that can be harnessed to gain a deeper understanding of regional social, cultural, economic and health trends that will help inform policy decisions. While the data library will contain comprehensive time series information on a broad range of topics, this article is only a snapshot of the Torres Strait region and its people. The findings in this article reveal the value of the data and the need for continued collection and analysis of data for Torres Strait Islander people in the Torres Strait.

Migration:

• Around 1 in 5 of everyone living on the Islands in 2011 had left for mainland Australia by 2016. Torres Strait Islander people who left were most likely to be aged 15-24.
• Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 living on the Islands in 2016 were the age group most likely to have moved to the Islands between 2011 and 2016.

While there could be a range of reasons for these movements, one potential reason may be that young people are moving to the mainland for education and training and returning later for family/cultural obligations and commitments.

Education:

• More Torres Strait Islander people completed year 12 (46%) in the 2016 Census compared to the 2011 Census (44%), which may be indicative of the educational opportunities provided to high school students, such as the ability to complete TAFE certificate courses in year 11 and 12.
   

Household Financial Stress:

• The number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households spending more than 30% of their income on rental payments doubled between 2011 (73 or 5.3%) and 2016 (156 or 11.2%).
   

Information presented in this article is about Torres Strait Islander people (footnote 1) unless otherwise stated.

The experiences and challenges faced by people living in the Torres Strait are unique. The Torres Strait Region consists of 18 island communities and two Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) mainland communities (footnote 2). The islands are dispersed over approximately 44,000 square kilometres, from the top of Cape York to the borders of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The nature of this scattered geography affects numerous aspects of daily life in the region, including service delivery, infrastructure, education and employment opportunities, and telecommunications.

This article provides some insight into life for Torres Strait Islander people in the Torres Strait region through information collected in the 2011 and 2016 Censuses of Population and Housing and the 2014-15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS).

• Of all people living on the Islands in 2011, around 1 in 5 had left for mainland Australia by 2016. Those Torres Strait Islander people who left were most likely to be aged 15-24.
• Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 living on the Islands in 2016 were in the age group most likely to have moved to the Islands between 2011 and 2016.
• The Torres Strait Islander population increased across every island group between 2011 and 2016, except for the Western Islands.
   

The Torres Strait Region includes 20 communities divided into five traditional island groups and two Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) communities (footnote 3) – see map below. The Torres Strait Region was home to 9,555 people in 2016, the majority (7,615 people, or 80%) of whom identified as Torres Strait Islander. In comparison, Torres Strait Islander people accounted for only 0.3% of Australia’s total population. Most of this article covers the 20 communities as a group and is referred to as the Torres Strait Region. Where the article refers to only the 18 islands, that area is referred to as the Torres Strait Islands.

The following analysis is based on results from the 2011 and 2016 Census for the 18 island communities and two Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) Torres Strait communities, referred to as the ‘Region’.

Information presented below is about Torres Strait Islander people (footnote 7) unless otherwise stated.

• More Torres Strait Islander people reported in the 2016 Census that they had completed year 12 (46%) compared to 2011 (44%).
• Public administration and safety was the main industry of employment in 2016.
• The most common occupations in 2011 and 2016 were community and personal service workers, labourers, and clerical and administrative workers.
• Median personal income increased from $371 to $424 per week.
   

With secondary level education only available from one school on Thursday Island and one in Bamaga, students from other islands have to leave their community to attend school. Almost half (46%) of Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over who had completed school, reported in the 2016 Census that they had completed year 12 or its equivalent. This was a marginal increase from 2011 (44%) and higher than for Torres Strait Islander people in the rest of Queensland (43%) and the rest of Australia (32%) in the 2016 Census.

The groups with the highest proportion of people who had completed year 12 were the NPA (51% in 2011 and 54% in 2016) and the Central Islands (51% in 2011 and 53% in 2016), while the Top Western Islands had the largest increase, rising from 40% in 2011 to 46% in the 2016 Census.

While there could be a number of reasons for these completion rates, one possibility is the educational opportunities provided to the high school students in the Region that may help with gaining employment, such as the ability to complete TAFE certificate courses in year 11 and 12.

The graph below demonstrates the increase in people completing year 12 and corresponding decrease in those completing lower level school years, reflecting more students staying on to complete year 12.

The gap between the rate of male and female year 12 completion is narrowing. The proportion of males completing year 12 in the Region increased from 41% in the 2011 Census to 45% in 2016. In comparison, the proportion of females completing year 12 increased from 46% to 48% over the same period.

A total of 1,720 Torres Strait Islander people living in the Region reported having a non-school qualification in the 2016 Census. There was an increase in people with certificate level non-school qualifications between 2011 (71%) and 2016 (76%) but a slight decrease in people with diplomas (16% in 2011 down to 15%) or bachelor degrees and higher (10% in 2011 down to 8%).

Females were more likely than males to report having diplomas (21% compared with 7%) and bachelor degrees and above (12% compared with 4%) in the 2016 Census. These findings were similar in 2011. Males with a non-school qualification are most likely to hold a certificate level (87% in 2016), consistent with being employed in occupations such as labourers and technician and trade workers.

Note- the following information is influenced by the replacement of the 2011 Community Development Employment Projects scheme (CDEP) with the 2016 Community Development Programme (CDP) and the change in classification of participants from employed to not employed (footnote 9).

• Almost half (46%) of Torres Strait Islander people were in the labour force (working or looking for work).
• 2 in 5 people (39%) were employed.
• There was an unemployment rate of 15%.
   

The unemployment rate in the Region was lower than for Torres Strait Islander people in the rest of Queensland (22%) and similar to the rate of those living outside of Queensland (14%).

In common with young people around the country, people in the Region aged 15-24 experienced a higher rate of unemployment (27% in 2016) than any other age group. In the rest of Queensland, Torres Strait Islander people in this age group also experienced the highest rate of unemployment (32%).

• Public administration and safety – main industry (27% of the Region’s workforce) and highest in the Eastern Islands (46% of the Eastern Island’s workforce).
• Health care and social assistance – second most common industry in the Region (19% of the Region’s workforce) and highest in the NPA communities (24% of the NPA’s workforce).
• Education and training (14%), ‘other services’ such as personal care services or repair/maintenance services (10%) and retail trade (8%) were other key industries in the Region.
   

Females were most likely working in health care and social assistance (1 in 4 people), while males were most likely to be working in public administration and safety (1 in 3 people). Of Torres Strait Islander people working in public administration and safety, around 1 in 3 live on the Inner Islands (including Thursday Island).

The most common occupations over the period were:

• Community and personal service workers,
• Labourers (almost halved between 2011 and 2016),
• Clerical and administrative workers, and
• Professionals

Across the Region, males were more likely to be in occupations such as labourers and technicians and trades workers, while females were more likely to be community and personal service workers or clerical and administrative workers.

The Region’s median personal income in 2016 was $35 lower than that of Torres Strait Islander people in Australia ($459). The median personal income for people aged 15 years and over in the Region was $424 in 2016, up from $371 in 2011, an increase of $53 – the same increase as Torres Strait Islander people in the rest of Queensland ($405 to $458). The Central Islands reported the largest increase since 2011, increasing by $76, while the smallest increase was in the Top Western Islands, (up $9).

The following commentary relates to “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households” in the Torres Strait Region (footnote 11) unless otherwise specified.

• Median weekly household income increased 13% between 2011 and 2016.
• The percentage of households spending more than 30% of their income on rental payments doubled between 2011 and 2016.
• One-quarter needed one or more extra bedrooms, while almost half had one or more bedrooms spare in 2016.
   

The median weekly household income for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households rose by 13%, or $124, between 2011 ($969) and 2016 ($1,093) – this increase was smaller compared to the national income for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households (up 21% or $212). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the Inner Islands reported the highest median weekly income ($1,434 in 2016, up from $1,274 in 2011 – an increase of $160 or 13%), while those in the Top Western Islands reported the lowest ($820, up from $722 in 2011).

Households spending more than 30% of their household income on rent are at greater risk of experiencing household financial stress. In 2016, one in nine (11%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the Region had rental repayments greater than 30% of the household's income. This was an increase from 5% in 2011, but was still lower than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the rest of Queensland (23%) and Australia (21%). Compared to “Other households” (footnote 12) in the Region, the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households experiencing household financial stress was twice as high.

In 2011, the Inner Islands (7%) and Western Islands (6%) had the highest percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households spending more than 30% of household income on rent. This changed in 2016 to the Eastern Islands (17%) and Top Western Islands (15%) having the highest.

In 2016 almost one-quarter (24%) of households across the Region reported needing one or more extra bedrooms – more than double that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the rest of Queensland (10%). While new houses are being built in the Region, the growth in the population continues to out-pace the available infrastructure. While not measurable by the Census, this may be explained by temporary mobility of people into and across the Region and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households acting as a key base for relatives, leading to overcrowding (footnote 14). In contrast, almost half (47%) of households had one or more bedrooms spare and 1 in 5 (20%) had no bedrooms needed or spare.

The following analysis is based on all households, not just Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households, for a more complete picture of household internet connection across the Region (footnote 15).

Just over two-thirds (68%) of households in the Region had an internet connection in 2016, much lower than the rest of Queensland (84%) but an increase from 2011 (49%). The island group with the lowest household internet access was the Top Western Islands, with 58%, while the majority (80%) of occupied houses in the NPA had access in 2016. These findings highlight the link between remoteness and internet access, with the mainland communities (NPA) having higher levels of access than the Islands.

The following analysis is based on results from the 2014-15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). In this survey, the data for the Torres Strait Islands excludes the NPA Torres Strait communities of Seisia and Bamaga. These communities are included in the ‘rest of Queensland’ due to data availability.

Information presented below is about Torres Strait Islander people (footnote 16) unless otherwise stated.

• Most people (78%) had a friend and/or family member outside their household that they could confide in.
• People living on the Islands reported higher levels of involvement in selected cultural events (such as NAIDOC week), ceremonies or organisations (95%) compared to the rest of Australia (50%).
   

Most (78%) Torres Strait Islander people on the Islands had a friend and/or family member outside their household that they could confide in. This was lower than for Torres Strait Islander people in the rest of Queensland (94%). Most people on the Islands felt they were able to get access to general support outside of their household (86%) and in times of crisis (91%). Most people (72%) also provided some form of support to relatives outside the household, such as food or clothing or assisting with money for bills and housing costs.

There was a higher rate of involvement in selected cultural events (such as NAIDOC week), ceremonies or organisations (95%) compared to Torres Strait Islander people in the rest of Queensland (75%), and the rest of Australia (50%). A large majority (91%) of people aged 15 years and over participated in cultural activities (such as making traditional arts or crafts). This was higher than for people living in the rest of Queensland (80%) and the rest of Australia (58%). This high participation in such activities and organisations is a positive indication of the connection Torres Strait Islander people living on the Islands have with their culture, which can have positive effects on social cohesion and the preservation of tradition. Most (90%) people felt they were able to attend or participate in cultural events as often as they wanted. This was similar to people living in Queensland (85%) and other parts of Australia (74%).

Around 2 in 3 (68%) people were taught culture at school or as part of further studies - similar to Torres Strait Islander people in the rest of Queensland, but higher than the rest of Australia (39%). The teaching of culture in schools is important for the sharing of cultural heritage across generations and supports cultural wellbeing.

Most people living in the Islands recognise an area as homelands or traditional country (93%). This is much higher than people living in the rest of Queensland (77%) and the rest of Australia (56%). They were also more likely to be living on homelands (85%) than people in the rest of Australia outside of Queensland (18%).

The percentage of people who identify with a clan, tribal or language group (80%) was similar to the rest of Queensland (77%) but much higher than the rest of Australia (49%).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics gratefully acknowledges and thanks the Torres Strait Regional Authority for their contributions to this article and enhancing the value of the statistical analysis by assisting us to present a local perspective.

This article complements the existing partnership arrangements with the Torres Strait Regional Authority to develop a regional data library.

“We in the Torres Strait welcome this publication from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the data and information that it contains about the Torres Strait region, its communities and people.

Resources such as the statistics and trends presented in this compilation assists the Torres Strait Regional Authority, along with other key service delivery organisations to strengthen planning and provide improved services by understanding more clearly the social circumstances of our people.

It is through this understanding that funding investments targeted to improving outcomes are able to be more effectively targeted based on future needs.

This statistical resource also provides an important basis for developing and designing policies and programs that seek to improve social, economic, health and well-being outcomes for residents of the Torres Strait region.

On behalf of the TSRA, I also welcome the efforts of the ABS to return data and information to the communities from which it is sourced, and look forward to working closely with the ABS, our leaders, and other peak organisations to increase the level of understanding and use of our statistics to determine evidence-based policies.”

Napau Pedro Stephen AM

TSRA Chairperson

This release previously used catalogue number 4738.0