This variable indicates if a person's place of work in the week before Census Night was imputed, and to what geographic level. Some people may provide an incomplete address for their place of work, and this flag indicates the geographic level at which imputation was then required. The address of the person’s workplace is coded to a Destination zone (DZN). Destination zones are co-designed with state and territory transport authorities.

People who have not provided enough information to have their place of work coded to a DZN will have this information imputed. Imputation is a statistical process for predicting values where no response was provided to a question and therefore a response could not be derived. The Imputation flag for place of work (IFPOWP) variable can be used to identify records whose place of work has been imputed. It provides information on the level of response a person provided to the question 'For the main job held last week, what was the person’s workplace address?'.

All persons aged 15 years and over who listed their employment status as ‘Employed’

This is a derived variable created during Census processing to indicate whether place of work is imputed. Where an incomplete place of work address is given, place of work is imputed at different geography levels using the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). This variable is coded based on what level the respondent’s place of work is imputed.

Respondents that provided partial or no information about their place of work will have a Place of work (POWP) DZN imputed to them. This is imputed based on the distribution of responses observed in the responding population. Depending on the level of imputation required, the following variables (where available) may be used in its method:

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Industry of employment (INDP)
• Method of travel to work (MTWP)

A question on place of work was first asked in 1971 with similar questions having been asked in every Census since then. The POWP variable was used for the first time in the 2006 Census and replaced the Journey to Work variable which was used prior to that.

Data is available for DZN in TableBuilder Pro. Prior to 2011, DZN data was only available via customised request. DZN boundaries were updated for 2016 and the new IFPOWP variable was introduced.

For 2021 a new instruction has been added to the online form to help people who are in COVID-19 affected areas answer the place of work question. Additional instructions were also added to the Census website – see Data use considerations for more details.

The non-response rate for Place of Work is not affected by persons who did not return a Census form because this variable is only applicable to persons with a labour force status of 'employed'. Persons who do not respond or have a labour force status of 'not stated' are not applicable to Place of Work.

Using the Imputation flag for Place of work (IFPOWP), the non-response rate for Place of work (POWP) was 11.1% in 2021. This is a increase from 10.0% in 2016. For more information on imputation, see Census Methodology.

Lockdown

A number of regions across the country were in various stages of lockdown on Census day, and the week preceding it, resulting in a greater number of people working from their homes. This may impact their responses for their place of work. Guidance on how to correctly respond was provided at the time on the Census website, as follows:

• For people who usually work from home, and did not have any other workplace, write the home address
• For people who are working from home temporarily due to COVID-19, write the workplace address they would normally be at.

Be aware that people may have put their home address as the workplace address despite instructions to put the regular work address if they were working from home during COVID-19 lockdown. 

Comparability of Destination zones over time 

DZN are not comparable across censuses due to changes to both the boundary and code structure.

POWP is a hierarchical classification, ranging from the broadest geographic level (Australia), to the finest level (DZN). The categories in this variable have changed to reflect the updated ASGS used for the 2021 Census. Data is also available for Local Government Areas to assist with time series comparison.

Journey to work information

Data for POWP, PURP and MTWP can be cross-classified to:

• examine movements of people to and from work
• analyse transport patterns
• assist in the planning for transport systems
• develop and release residential and commercial land.

Journey to work data is used by:

• transport authorities
• associated bodies
• organisations
• other interested people.

It is important to note that the different variables for cross-classification represent different time frames and can produce outliers in the data due to a variety of reasons. Variables are listed below: 

• POWP refers to a person’s workplace address last week
• PURP refers to where a person usually lives (which may or may not be where they were counted on Census Night)
• MTWP refers to how the person travelled to work on the day of the Census

Examples of how cross-classification can affect the data

• Place of work (POWP)
• Labour force status (LFSP)
• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Industry of employment (INDP)
• Method of travel to work (MTWP)
• Destination zone
• Imputation

• Labour
• Earnings and work hours
• Employment and unemployment
• Location: Census

• Understanding Place of work data

This variable indicates if a person's place of usual residence was imputed in the Census, and to what geographic level. Some people may provide an incomplete address of usual residence, and this flag indicates the geographic level at which imputation was then required.

All persons

This is a derived variable created during Census processing to indicate whether usual address is imputed. Where incomplete address of usual residence is given, place of usual residence is imputed at different geography levels using the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. This variable is coded based on what level the respondent’s place of usual residence is imputed.

For more information about imputation, see Place of usual residence (PURP) and imputation in the Census Glossary.

Prior to the 1961 Census, questions did not differentiate between place of enumeration and place of usual residence. A question relating to Place of usual residence was first asked in the 1971 Census and has been asked at every Census since then.

No changes have been made for 2021.

There are no data use considerations for this variable.

Using the Imputation flag for place of usual residence (IFPURP), the non-response rate for Place of usual residence (PURP) at the Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) geographic level was 4.3% in 2021. This is a decrease from 5.4% in 2016. 

The non-response rate at the Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) geographic level was 4.4% in 2021. This is a decrease from 5.5% in 2016. For more information on imputation, see Census Methodology.

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Derivation
• Imputation
• Place of enumeration

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census
• Comparing Place of Enumeration with Place of Usual Residence
• 2021 Census methodology

This derived variable indicates if all, some, or none of the usual residents of a household on 10 August 2021 have a different usual address compared to one year earlier (i.e. 10 August 2020). Persons temporarily absent, visitors, and households containing only visitors, are excluded.

Family, group, lone person households

This variable is derived from the questions asking for a person's place of usual residence on Census Night and one year ago. From this data it is possible to identify the change of address of people and show the movement of households for one year prior to the Census date. The dwelling can then be coded as having all, some, or no residents in the household having a different address one year ago.

Dwellings where at least one resident aged one year and over did not state their address one year ago are coded to ‘& At least one resident did not state an address one year ago’.

The household mobility variable was first used for the 1991 Census. However, data about the change of addresses for individual persons, from which this variable is derived, has been collected since the 1976 Census.

In 2021, the reference year has been updated. The ‘Not stated’ category label has also been updated to ‘At least one resident did not state an address one year ago’.

There are no data use considerations for this variable.

The non-response rate for Household one year mobility indicator (MV1D) was 1.9% in 2021. This is a decrease from 6.2% in 2016. For this variable, the 'non-response' includes households in which one or more residents did not state their usual residence one year ago.

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Place of usual residence one year ago (PUR1P)
• Household five year mobility indicator (MV5D)
• Internal migration

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census

This derived variable indicates if all, some, or none of the usual residents of a household on 10 August 2021 have a different usual address compared to five years earlier (i.e. 10 August 2016). Persons temporarily absent, visitors, and households containing only visitors, are excluded.

Family, group, lone person households

This variable is derived from questions asking for a person's place of usual residence on Census Night, one year ago and five years ago. The dwelling can then be coded as having all, some, or no residents in the household having a different address five years ago.

Dwellings where at least one resident aged five years and over did not state their address five years ago are coded to ‘& At least one resident did not state an address five years ago’.

A variable on household mobility was first used for the 1991 Census. A question relating to place of usual residence five years ago was first asked in the 1971 Census and has been asked at every Census since then.

For 2021, output category labels have been updated to make the categories easier to understand.

From this data it is possible to identify the change of address of people and show the movement of households for five years prior to the Census date.

The non-response rate for Household five year mobility indicator (MV5D) was 2.5% in 2021. This is a decrease from 2.9% in 2016. For this variable, the 'non-response' includes households in which one or more residents did not state their usual residence five years ago.

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Place of usual residence five years ago (PUR5P)
• Household one year mobility indicator (MV1D)
• Internal migration

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census

This variable records the geographic area in which a person worked in the week before Census Night. The address of the person’s workplace is coded to a Destination zone (DZN). Destination zones are co-designed with state and territory transport authorities for the analysis of Place of work (POWP) data, commuting patterns and the development of transport policy.

Employed persons aged 15 years and over who listed their employment status as ‘Employed’

Place of work data is available for the following geographies:

• State/Territory
• Greater capital city statistical area
• Statistical area 4
• Statistical area 3
• Statistical area 2
• Local government areas
• Destination zones

A list of categories is available from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) although the following supplementary codes are always included:

• Not applicable
• Overseas visitor

Number of categories: Available on request

Not applicable category comprises:

• Unemployed persons, looking for either full-time or part-time work
• Persons not in the labour force
• Persons with Labour force status (LFSP) not stated
• Persons aged under 15 years

See Understanding supplementary codes for more information. 

This variable is determined from written responses to the Business name and Workplace address questions on the Census form.

Most responses for POWP are coded automatically. The remaining responses go through a bulk coding process where groupings of the same business or property are assigned a POWP code. The responses that cannot be coded using either method are coded manually using a workplace index.

Responses are coded to units of geography known as DZN. DZNs are aggregates of whole Mesh blocks (though data is not coded to the Mesh block level), and aggregate to Statistical area level 2. Due to the hierarchical nature of the ASGS, place of work data is also available in the following geographies:

• Statistical area level 3
• Statistical area level 4
• State/Territory and Greater capital city statistical area levels

Although DZNs do not fit neatly into Local Government Area (LGA) boundaries, a DZN to LGA correspondence is available to allow data to also be released at the LGA level. See the Data downloads section of this page to download the correspondence. 

A question on place of work was first asked in 1971 with similar questions having been asked in every Census since then. The POWP variable was used for the first time in the 2006 Census and replaced the Journey to work variable which was used prior to that.

Data is available for DZN in TableBuilder Pro. Prior to 2011, DZN data was only available via customised request. DZN boundaries were updated for 2016 and the new Imputation flag for place of work (IFPOWP) variable was introduced.

For 2021 a new instruction has been added to the online form to help people who are in COVID-19 affected areas answer the place of work question. Additional instructions were also added to the Census website – see Data use considerations for more details.

Using the Imputation flag for Place of work (IFPOWP), the non-response rate for Place of work (POWP) was 11.1% in 2021. This is an increase from 10.0% in 2016. For more information on imputation, see Census Methodology. 

Lockdown

A number of regions across the country were in various stages of lockdown on Census day, and the week preceding it, resulting in a greater number of people working from their homes. This may impact their responses for their place of work. Guidance on how to correctly respond was provided at the time on the Census website, as follows:

• For people who usually work from home, and did not have any other workplace, write the home address
• For people who are working from home temporarily due to COVID-19, write the workplace address they would normally be at.

Be aware that people may have put their home address as the workplace address despite instructions to put regular work address if they were working from home during COVID-19 lockdown.

Comparability of Destination zones over time 

DZN are not comparable across censuses due to changes to both the boundary and code structure.

POWP is a hierarchical classification, ranging from the broadest geographic level (Australia), to the finest level (DZN). The categories in this variable have changed to reflect the updated ASGS used for the 2021 Census. Data is also available for Local Government Areas to assist with time series comparison.

Journey to work information

Data for POWP, Place of usual residence (PURP) and Method of travel to work (MTWP) can be cross-classified to:

• examine movements of people to and from work
• analyse transport patterns
• assist in the planning for transport systems
• develop and release residential and commercial land.

Journey to work data is used by:

• transport authorities
• associated bodies
• organisations
• other interested people.

It is important to note that the different variables for cross-classification represent different timeframes and can produce outliers in the data due to a variety of reasons. Variables are listed below: 

• POWP refers to a person’s workplace address last week
• PURP refers to where a person usually lives (which may or may not be where they were counted on Census Night)
• MTWP refers to how the person travelled to work on the day of the Census

Examples of how cross-classification can affect the data

• Imputation flag for place of work (IFPOWP)
• Labour force status (LFSP)
• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Industry of employment (INDP)
• Method of travel to work (MTWP)
• Derivation
• Destination zone
• Imputation

• Labour
• Earnings and work hours
• Employment and unemployment
• Location: Census
• Understanding Place of work data

This variable records the geographic area in which a person usually lived one year before the Census. The base area that is output is Statistical area level 2. These can be aggregated to form higher Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) areas:

• Statistical area level 3
• Statistical area level 4
• Significant urban area
• Greater capital city statistical areas
• State/Territory

For details of these areas refer to the ASGS.

People aged one year and over

PUR1P is coded to SA2 geography based on the response to the question, 'Where did the person usually live one year ago (at 10 August 2020)?'. If PUR1P cannot be coded to SA2 geography, it is assigned to a 'Capital city nfd' category, or a 'State/Territory nfd' category.

For people whose place of usual residence one year ago was the same as their place of usual residence on Census Night, PUR1P is automatically derived from Place of usual residence (PURP). People who lived overseas one year ago are coded to ‘Overseas’. For people who lived elsewhere in Australia one year ago, the address details provided on the form are coded using automatic or clerical processes.

People who did not answer 'Where did the person usually live one year ago (at 10 August 2020)?' are coded to ‘Not stated’.

The question 'Where did the person usually live one year ago?' was first asked in the 1976 Census and has been asked at every Census since.

In 2021, Geographic classifications have been changed to reflect the updated ASGS used for the 2021 Census. Supplementary code ‘Undefined state’ has been updated to ‘State/Territory nfd’ to better reflect the category.

There are no data use considerations for this variable.

The non-response rate for Place of usual residence one year ago (PUR1P) was 6.0% in 2021. This is a decrease from 8.6% in 2016.

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Usual address indicator census night (UAICP)
• Usual address one year ago indicator (UAI1P)
• Internal migration
• Usual residence

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census

This variable records the geographic area in which a person usually lived five years before the Census. The base area that is output for Place of usual residence five years ago (PUR5P) is Statistical area level 2 (SA2). These can be aggregated to form higher Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) areas:

• Statistical area level 3
• Statistical area level 4
• Significant urban area
• Greater capital city statistical areas
• State/Territory

For details of these areas refer to the ASGS.

Persons aged five years and over

PUR5P is coded to SA2 based on the response to the question 'Where did the person usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)?'. If PUR5P cannot be coded to the SA2 geography, it is assigned to a 'Capital city nfd' category, or a 'State/Territory nfd' category.

For people whose place of usual residence five years ago was the same as their place of usual residence on Census Night, their PUR5P is automatically derived from Place of usual residence (PURP). People who lived overseas five years ago are coded to ‘Overseas’. For people who lived elsewhere in Australia five years ago, the address details provided on the form are coded using automatic or clerical processes.

People who did not answer the question 'Where did the person usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)?' are coded to ‘Not stated’.

This question relating to place of usual residence five years ago was first asked in the 1971 Census and has been asked at every Census since then.

In 2021, Geographic classifications have been changed to reflect the updated ASGS used for the 2021 Census. Supplementary code ‘Undefined state’ has been updated to ‘State/Territory nfd’ to better reflect the category.

There are no data use considerations for this variable.

The non-response rate for Place of usual residence five year ago (PUR5P) was 6.9% in 2021. This is a decrease from 8.0% in 2016.

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Usual address indicator census night (UAICP)
• Usual address five years ago indicator (UAI5P)
• Internal migration
• Usual residence

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census

This variable records the geographic area in which a person usually lives. It may or may not be the place where the person was counted on Census Night. The base area for Place of usual residence (PURP) is a mesh block (MB). These can be aggregated to form higher Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) areas.

For details of these areas refer to the ASGS.

All persons

For people who are at home on Census Night, Place of usual residence (PURP) is automatically derived from their place of enumeration.  

People who usually lived overseas are coded as ‘Overseas visitors’.

People who have 'no usual address' are instructed on the Census form to write 'None' in the suburb/locality field for the usual address question. Each state/territory has one Statistical area 1 (SA1) and Statistical area 2 (SA2) imputed specifically for these responses.

Shipping SA1s and Offshore SA1s are also valid for PURP.

For people who live elsewhere in Australia, address details that are provided on the form are coded to mesh block (MB) where possible using automatic or clerical processes. MBs are the smallest geographical unit in the ABS and form the basis for the larger regions of the ASGS.

Where incomplete address of usual residence is given, PURP is imputed at different geography levels using the ASGS. The variable Imputation flag for place of usual residence (IFPURP) indicates if a person's PURP was imputed in the Census, and to what level. For more information about imputation, see imputation in the Census Glossary.

Migratory SA1s are invalid for place of usual residence and such responses are imputed to a valid spatial SA1.

A question relating to place of usual residence was first asked in the 1971 Census and has been asked at every Census since then. Prior to the 1961 Census, questions did not differentiate between place of enumeration and place of usual residence.

Since the 2001 Census, an additional note was included: 'For persons who usually live in another country and who are visiting Australia for less than one year, mark 'Other country'.

The categories in this variable have changed to reflect the updated ASGS used for the 2021 Census. Provision is also made for persons who indicate that they have no usual place of residence.

Prior to 2016, usual address information for persons staying in a non-private dwelling (hotel, hospitals) on Census Night was recorded on a Summary form by a Census Field Officer. In 2016, under the new enumeration method, usual address information was no longer collected during the non-private dwelling enumeration process. If a form was not returned by a respondent in a non-private dwelling, demographic information including their usual address was imputed based on people in similar non-private dwellings. 

For 2021, instructional text was added to aid people without a fixed or return address by including examples ‘due to family conflict’ or ‘eviction’.

The technical definition of usual residence refers to the address at which a person lives or intends to live for six months or more. However, the data is self-reported and sometimes, the address that is reported may be what respondents consider their 'usual address' rather than the technical definition. People visiting Australia from another country for less than one year are considered overseas visitors.

Using the Imputation Flag for Place of Usual Residence (IFPURP), the non-response rate for Place of usual residence (PURP) at the Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) geographic level was 4.3% in 2021. This is a decrease from 5.4% in 2016. 

The non-response rate at the Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) geographic level was 4.4% in 2021. This is a decrease from 5.5% in 2016. For more information on imputation, see Census Methodology.

• Place of usual residence one year ago (PUR1P)
• Place of usual residence five years ago (PUR5P)
• Usual address indicator Census night (UAICP)
• Census counts
• Derivation
• Estimated resident population (ERP)
• Imputation
• Internal migration
• Place of enumeration
• Usual residence
• Visitors to Australia

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census
• Comparing Place of Enumeration with Place of Usual Residence

This variable indicates whether a person:

• lived in the same address one year ago as their current usual residence
• lived elsewhere in Australia one year ago
• usually lived in another country one year ago

This variable when used with Usual address indicator Census Night (UAICP), Usual address five years ago indicator (UAI5P), and additionally with Place of usual residence (PURP) data, shows migration patterns.

All persons aged one year and over

This variable contains the response category answer to the question 'Where did the person usually live one year ago (at 10 August 2020)?'. The responses are captured automatically from mark box responses on the form.

Where the indicator mark boxes have been left blank by a respondent, but they have reported an address one year ago, UAI1P is derived based on the address reported. If the respondent does not report either the indicator or the address, they will be set to 'Not stated'. However, where a person who is aged under 16 years (i.e. they were aged under 15 years one year ago) does not respond to the usual address one year ago question, but their parent(s) did respond, their UAI1P is set to the same value as their parent.

The question relating to the usual address one year ago was first asked in the 1976 Census and has been asked at every Census since.

In 2021, the categories with years have been updated to 2021 and the previous year of 2020. 

There are no data use considerations for this variable.

The non-response rate for Usual address one year ago indicator (UAI1P) was 5.5% in 2021. This is a decrease from 8.3% in 2016.

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Place of usual residence one year ago (PUR1P)
• Usual address indicator Census Night (UAICP)
• Internal migration
• Usual residence

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census

This variable indicates whether a person:

• lived in the same address five years ago as their current usual residence
• lived elsewhere in Australia five years ago
• usually lived in another country five years ago

This variable when used with Usual address Census Night indicator (UAICP), Usual address one year ago indicator (UAI1P), and also with Place of usual residence (PURP) data, shows migration patterns.

All persons aged five years and over

This variable is derived from the response category answer to the question on the 2021 Census forms which asks, 'Where did the person usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)?'. 

The responses to this question are captured automatically from mark box responses on the form. Where the indicator mark boxes have been left blank by a respondent but they have reported an address five years ago, UAI5P is derived based on the address reported. If the respondent does not report either the indicator or the address, they will be set to 'Not stated'. However, where a person who is aged under 20 years (i.e. they were aged under 15 years five years ago) does not respond to the usual address five years ago question, but their parent(s) did respond, their UAI5P is set to the same value as their parent.

The question relating to usual address five years ago was first asked in the 1971 Census and has been asked at every Census since then.

In Censuses prior to 2011, there was a separate category for people who had the same address five years ago as for their address one year ago. This allowed users to differentiate between those people who lived at a different address five years ago and one year ago, compared with those who lived at the same address five years ago and one year ago. While the data is collected and processed in the same way, this information is no longer publicly available as it is merged with 'elsewhere in Australia' prior to release.

In 2021, the categories with years have been updated to 2021, the previous year of 2020 and 2016 for five years ago. 

There are no data use considerations for this variable.

The non-response rate for Usual address five years ago indicator (UAI5P) was 6.0% in 2021. This is a decrease from 7.3% in 2016.

• Place of usual residence (PURP)
• Place of usual residence one year ago (PUR1P)
• Place of usual residence five years ago (PUR5P)
• Usual address one year ago indicator (UAICP)
• Internal migration
• Usual residence

• Population
• People and communities
• Location: Census

This variable indicates whether a person was at home or elsewhere on Census Night. It contains the answer to the Census question about usual residence, which asks if the person usually lived:

• at the address on the front of the Census form (where they were on Census Night)
• elsewhere in Australia
• overseas.

In cases where a person did not state where they usually live, Usual address indicator Census night (UAICP) and Place of usual residence (PURP) are imputed. See Imputation flag for place of usual residence (IFPURP).

All persons

The data is largely captured from mark-box responses on the form, so the risk of processing error is low. Where the indicator mark boxes have been left blank by a respondent, but they have reported a usual address, UAICP is derived based on the address reported. Data may also be derived based on the relationship information reported on the form indicating that they are a visitor.

Usual residence data is a key demographic variable. If a person does not state where they usually live, UAICP and PURP are imputed. For more information about imputation, see imputation in the Census Glossary.

A question relating to usual residence was first asked in the 1971 Census and has been asked at every Census since.

The question was updated in 2021, instructional text was added to help people answer the question on usual address. Examples including ‘due to family conflict’ or ‘eviction’ were added to assist people who have no fixed or return usual address answer the question.

This variable, when used with the following data shows migration patterns:

• Usual address one year ago indicator (UAI1P)
• Usual address five years ago indicator (UAI5P)
• Place of usual residence (PURP)

Usual address indicator Census night (UAICP) is derived from Imputation flag for place of usual residence (IFPURP). Using the Imputation flag for place of usual residence (IFPURP), the non-response rate for Usual address indicator Census night (UAICP) was 4.3% in 2021. This is a decrease from 5.4% in 2016. For more information on imputation, see Census Methodology.

• Imputation flag for place of usual residence (IFPURP)
• Internal migration
• Place of enumeration
• Usual residence

• Population 
• People and communities
• Location: Census
• Comparing Place of Enumeration with Place of Usual Residence