2033.0.55.001 - Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia, 2016 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/03/2018   
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INTERACTIVE MAPS

The following pages contain interactive maps that allow users to explore the distribution of the SEIFA 2016 indexes visually.

The four indexes included in SEIFA are:

  • the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD)
  • the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD)
  • the Index of Economic Resources (IER)
  • the Index of Education and Occupation (IEO)

For introductory information about the indexes, see the SEIFA Basics guide on the Summary tab. The SEIFA 2016 Technical Paper provides more detailed information on the concepts, data and methods used to create SEIFA 2016. The Technical Paper is available in PDF format from the Downloads tab.

Information about the geographic areas used in the maps is available in the Glossary under the Explanatory Notes tab. For more detailed information, see the ASGS page.

The underlying index scores used to create the maps are available in data cubes from the Downloads tab.

Users of the interactive maps should note the following points:
  • The colours used in the map are determined by the quintile that the area falls into. The quintiles are calculated as follows: the lowest scoring 20% of areas are given a quintile number of 1, the second-lowest 20% of areas are given a quintile number of 2 and so on, up to the highest 20% of areas which are given a quintile number of 5. The quintiles used for these maps are area-based, which means that the quintiles contain equal numbers of areas. They do not necessarily contain equal numbers of people or dwellings.
  • Areas appear white on the maps if they have not received a SEIFA score due to low populations or low response rates for certain variables. For more information, see Section 4.2 of the SEIFA 2016 Technical Paper (available from the Downloads tab).
  • The SEIFA scores were initially calculated for Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) areas. Scores for higher level geographic areas, such as Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and Local Government Area (LGA), were calculated by taking population-weighted averages of the SA1 level scores. The population weighting means that a physically small SA1 with a larger population will have a greater influence on the higher level score than a physically large SA1 with a smaller population.
  • The Index of Economic Resources (IER) summarises variables related to the financial aspects of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage, while the Index of Education and Occupation (IEO) summarises variables related to the educational and occupational aspects of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage. The Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) provides a more general summary of relative socio-economic disadvantage, and the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) provides a more general summary of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage.
  • Scores and other SEIFA measures (such as ranks, quintiles and percentiles) for State Suburbs (SSCs) and Postal Areas (POAs) with small populations should be used with caution, as they may have been calculated from SA1s that do not correspond closely with the boundaries of the SSC or POA. The data cubes available from the Downloads tab indicate which areas are affected. The ABS Maps product may also be useful for exploring how the boundaries of SSCs and POAs compare with SA1s. It is recommended that users who wish to analyse SEIFA scores for small areas use the SA1 level scores, since this is the level that will give the most accurate measures.