2016 CENSUS SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON MITCHELL

Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the first results from the 2016 Census of Population and Housing, with the high quality data-set revealing how has grown and developed over time, said Federal Member for Mitchell, the Hon Alex Hawke MP.

 “Census data is used by individuals, businesses and governments at all levels to make important decisions and the data from the 2016 Census can be used with confidence.”

The 2016 Census revealed the number of Australians has increased from 21,507,719 in 2011 to 23,401,892 in 2016, an increase of 8.8 per cent over five years. This has helped update Australia’s Estimated Resident Population which has grown to 24.4 million people as at 31 December 2016.

The final dwelling response rate was 95.1 per cent which as noted by the Independent Assurance Panel, is of comparable quality to the 2011 and 2006 Census data and international benchmarks.

The data released today includes detailed, community-level data on population, housing, income, migration, language, religion, education, family structure, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin, and more.

Mitchell continues to be hugely desirable for families, with more than 85 percent of homes composing of family households and almost 60 percent of those composed of families with children. Children between the ages of 0 to 14 made up 21.8 percent of Mitchell and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.7 percent of Mitchell.

Median household incomes in Mitchell are 1.4 times higher than the national average.

In Mitchell 61.2 percent of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 5.3 percent, India 3.8 percent, England 3.0 percent, Korea, Republic of (South) 1.7 percent and Philippines 1.7 percent.

Every Australian in Mitchell has helped shape our national snapshot, revealing how Australian society has grown and diversified over time, which then helps Governments of every level and persuasion shape well-informed policy.

“The Census is Australia’s most comprehensive dataset, providing in-depth information about how our local communities have changed and developed,” Alex Hawke said.

“The Australian public have shown strong support for the 2016 Census with a significant shift from completing the Census on paper, to more than 4.9 million Australian households completing their Census online.”

“I thank the people of Mitchell for their participation in the 2016 Census. The Census is a vital resource, which helps Governments, business big and small and communities shape the future of our nation over the next five years”, concluded Alex Hawke MP.

The next release in October 2017 will feature data on employment, occupation, and qualifications.

The ABS will hold a series of Census Data Seminars around the country to help Australians better understand and use Census data. More information on these events can be found on the ABS website.