2074.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Mesh Block Counts, 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/12/2012  First Issue
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These datasets contain counts of the total usual resident population and total dwelling count from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing for Mesh Blocks.
Mesh Blocks are the smallest geographic region in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), and the smallest geographical unit for which Census data are available. In 2011, there were approximately 347,000 Mesh Blocks covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. They broadly identify land use such as residential, commercial, agricultural and parks etc. Mesh Blocks are identified with a unique 11 digit code.

Mesh Block boundaries are available to download from Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat no. 1270.0.55.001)

Most residential Mesh Blocks contain approximately 30 to 60 dwellings. Mesh Blocks have been designed to be small enough to aggregate accurately to a wide range of spatial units and thus enable a ready comparison of statistics between geographical areas. These are large enough to protect against accidental disclosure.

For 2011, Mesh Block counts are available by usual residence for basic person counts and dwelling counts.

  • Persons Usually Resident: This is the count of people where they usually live, which may or may not be where they were on Census Night. This data is coded from the address supplied to the question "Where does the person usually live?". For more information about usual residence, see Place of Usual Residence in the Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0).
  • Dwellings: A dwelling is a structure which is intended to have people live in it, and which is habitable on Census Night. Some examples of dwellings are houses, motels, flats, caravans, prisons, tents, humpies and houseboats. All occupied dwellings are counted in the Census. Unoccupied private dwellings are also counted with the exception of those in caravan parks, marinas and manufactured home estates. For more information about dwellings, see Dwelling Type in the Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0).

For the 2006 Census, experimental Mesh Blocks were developed and counts for usual residence population and total dwellings were provided for each Mesh Block. The boundaries were reviewed and revised in preparation for the 2011 Census.