Administrative data snapshot of population

Latest release

An experimental snapshot of Australia’s population using administrative data

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Reference period
30 June 2021
Released
15/08/2023
Next release Unknown
First release

Key statistics

  • The Administrative data snapshot identified 25,744,797 residents of Australia on 30 June 2021.
  • People aged 25 to 34 were least likely to have lived at the same address five years ago (27.6%).
  • Three-quarters (76%) of people who earned $250 to $499 per week had their main source of income as Government benefits and allowances.

The Administrative Data Snapshot of Population and Housing (ADS) is a new, experimental release of population and housing data built from administrative data sources.

Like the Census, the ADS provides a snapshot of Australian people and houses at a point in time but has a smaller and different set of person and housing characteristics.

This release provides selected statistics and data tables from the population part of the ADS, referred to as the "population snapshot".  There is a similar release for the housing part of the ADS, referred to as the "housing snapshot".

Data included in this release are not official statistics. They provide experimental information about people recorded in administrative data. The ABS would like your feedback on this product and how it could be improved.

Population

National

According to the population snapshot:

  • There were 25,744,797 residents of Australia on 30 June 2021.
  • 18.1% of the population was aged 0-14 years and 16.7% were 65 years and over.

States and territories

State and territory counts are very similar overall to official population estimates. This is discussed in more detail in Administrative data snapshot of population, methodology.

Movement within Australia

Current and previous location

  • More than 5 in 6 (84.6%) people lived at the same address one year ago.
  • Just over half (55.5%) of people lived at the same address five years ago.

(a) Excludes persons with current or previous location not determined.

Current and previous location by age

  • People aged 25 to 44 years were less likely to have stayed in the same location than people in other age groups. Around one-quarter (27.6%) of people aged 25 to 34 years and 2 in 5 (42.2%) people aged 35 to 44 years were at the same address five years ago.
  • In other age groups more than half of people were at the same address five years ago , including 5 in 6 (83.8%) people aged 85 years and over.

(a) Excludes persons with current or previous location not determined.

Income

National

  • The mean personal income was $1,110 per week . The median was lower, however, at $764 per week. This is due to the larger proportion of people with middle or low income and the small proportion of people with very high income, as shown in the following graph.
  • There were 284,207 people (1.3%) aged 15 years and over with a weekly income of $5,000 or more.
  • There were 1,696,694 people (8.1%) aged 15 years and over with Nil income.

(a) Persons aged 15 years and over. Denominator includes persons with a weekly income of $5,000 or more.

Main source of income

  • Three-quarters (76%) of people who earned $250-$499 per week had Government benefits and allowances as their main source of income.
  • More than 7 in 8 (88%) people who earned more than $1,000 per week had Employee wages and salary as their main source of income.

(a) Includes persons aged 15 years and over. Excludes persons with nil or negative income, or Other main source of income.

Further analysis of income from administrative data is available in New Census insights on income in Australia using administrative data.

Interactive map

Data sourced from the Administrative Data Snapshot of Population and Housing can be viewed on the interactive map.

Simple image of interactive map

How to use

  • Several of the maps displayed use a concept of predominance where colour is used to indicate the strongest or most common category for the region.
  • By clicking on a circle or region a new window will appear revealing a further breakdown of the categories.
  • A series of buttons appear with each map which enable the user to zoom the map to capital cities, state and territory views or return to the original Australia extent.
  • Search: the search icon opens the search function. It is set to look for locations such as addresses, suburbs and SA2/LGA name.
  • Data: on each map, an SA2 or LGA region can be selected to view the underlying data. Data for all SA2s and LGAs can be found in the Download section of this publication.
  • If the maps do not load successfully, please try refreshing this page.

Geographic areas

The  boundaries used in this map are:

Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and Local Government Areas (LGA), 2021, boundaries according to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3.

Data downloads

Download all (3.06 MB)

Population snapshot

Data files

Methodology

Administrative data snapshot of population, methodology, 30 June 2021