Australian Capital Territory: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population summary

In the Australian Capital Territory 9,000 people identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represented 2.0% of the Australian Capital Territory population. This was up from 1.6% in 2016, and 1.5% in 2011.

Of the 9,000 people who identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin:

• 94.1% identified as Aboriginal
• 2.6% identified as Torres Strait Islander
• 3.4% identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

The median age for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Capital Territory increased over the last 10 years. In 2021 the median age was 24 years, up from 23 years in 2016 and 22 years in 2011.

In 2021, 50.4% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Capital Territory were aged under 25 years, down from 55.1% in 2011.

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 75 years and over in 2021 was larger than in 2011 (1.3% compared to 0.4%).

In 2021, the Australian Capital Territory Indigenous Location (ILOC) with the most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was Tuggeranong, followed by Belconnen and Narrabundah-Weston.

In the Tuggeranong ILOC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represented:

• 3.0% of the ILOC population
• 30.5% of the overall Australian Capital Territory population.

In the Census, an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander household is a dwelling where at least one person identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. On Census Night the person needs to have been present and a usual resident at the dwelling.

The average size of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the Australian Capital Territory was 2.9 people, down from 3.1 people in 2011.

Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households (76.0%) were family households, including 2.5% with more than one family living together. One in six households (16.6%) were made up of people who lived alone while a small proportion were group households (7.4%).

Securing appropriate housing is an outcome area in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, measured by a housing suitability target. Housing suitability is based on the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (CNOS) which may not adequately reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives of appropriate housing and overcrowding (1).

In 2021, most (90.7%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Capital Territory lived in appropriately sized (not overcrowded) dwellings, where no extra bedrooms were needed to adequately house the usual residents. For more information, see Housing suitability (HOSD).

The most common Tenure types (TEND) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the Australian Capital Territory were:

• owned with a mortgage (32.8%)
• rented through a real estate agent (23.7%)
• rented through a state or territory housing authority (17.9%)
• owned outright (11.1%).

In 2021, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households had a median:

• weekly rent (RNTD) of $425
• monthly mortgage (MRED) of $2,141.

Of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Capital Territory:

• most (90.7%) used only English at home (LANP)
• 2.9% used an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language at home (LNGP).

Of the 258 people who used Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages, the most common language spoken was Wiradjuri (31.0%).

More than half (61.9%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the Australian Capital Territory reported an equivalised total household weekly income (HIED) of $1,000 or more in 2021, compared with 36.7% nationally.

The median equivalised total household weekly income for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households in the Australian Capital Territory was $1,378. This was higher than the national average ($830).

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 to 24 years in the Australian Capital Territory who had completed Year 12 or equivalent as their highest year of school was 73.2%, up from 56.3% in 2011.

Almost one-quarter (21.8%) of people aged 18-24 years were attending university or other higher education institutions at the time of the 2021 Census, up from 16.7% in 2011.

In 2021, 7.1% of people aged 25 years and over were attending university or other higher education institutions, up from 6.8% in 2011.

The 2021 Census included a new topic to collect data on certain long-term health conditions (LTHP). This information will not have the same level of detail as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS). Long-term health conditions data from the Census is not intended to provide prevalence estimates at national and state/territory levels. Prevalence estimates of long-term health conditions should be sourced from the NATSIHS.

More detailed information on long-term health conditions data collected in the Census can be found in Comparing ABS long-term health conditions data sources.

In 2021, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females in the Australian Capital Territory were more likely than males to report having:

• arthritis (9.1% compared with 4.9% of males)
• asthma (18.9% compared with 13.1% of males)
• mental health conditions (22.8% compared with 14.2% of males).

Males were more likely to report having heart disease (3.1% compared with 2.2% of females) and having no long-term health condition (56.4% compared with 49.8% of females). Males also had a higher non-response rate to the Census question (6.9% compared with 4.0% of females).

More data related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can be found in the data downloads on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Census topic page. 

1. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute 2017. Understanding ‘demand sharing’ of Indigenous households. Available at Understanding 'demand sharing' of Indigenous households | AHURI.