Great Sandy Desert

Demographics & education

People tables are based on a person's place of usual residence on Census night

For the 2016 Census in Great Sandy Desert, there were 762 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 46.9% were male and 53.1% were female.

View the data quality statements for: Place of Usual Residence (PURP) Indigenous status (INGP)

In Great Sandy Desert, the median age of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people was 25 years. Of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 32.8% were children aged 0 to 14 years and 3.2% were people aged 65 years and over.

In Great Sandy Desert, 37.9% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were married and 7.9% were either divorced or separated.

In Great Sandy Desert, 31.4% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were in a registered marriage and 14.9% were in a de facto marriage.

Of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Great Sandy Desert, 46.9% were attending an educational institution. Of these, 19.9% were attending a primary school, 9.2% were attending a secondary school and 0.8% were attending a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Great Sandy Desert, 5.6% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 7.2% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 1.2% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

English was the only language spoken at home by 17.2% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Great Sandy Desert. Indigenous languages spoken at home include Jaru 9.6%, Kukatja 8.9%, Kriol 4.8%, Warlpiri 2.8% and Djapu 1.2%.

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Great Sandy Desert (including those who did not state an ancestry).

The only responses for ancestry for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Great Sandy Desert were Australian Aboriginal 64.1%, Australian 5.3%, English 1.3% and Irish 0.4%.

Employment

There were 120 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Great Sandy Desert. Of these 31.7% were employed full time, 21.7% were employed part-time and 34.2% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

For Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Great Sandy Desert, the most common occupations were Community and Personal Service Workers 29.0%, Labourers 19.4%, Professionals 16.1%, Technicians and Trades Workers 10.8%, Machinery Operators and Drivers 8.6%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 7.5%, Managers 5.4% and Sales Workers 3.2%.

For Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Great Sandy Desert, the most common industries of employment were Primary Education 18.0%, Combined Primary and Secondary Education 9.8%, Creative Artists, Musicians, Writers and Performers 8.2%, Labour Supply Services 6.6% and Forestry Support Services 4.9%.

The median weekly personal income for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in Great Sandy Desert was $242 and the median weekly household income was $514.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total household income (HIND)

In Great Sandy Desert, of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, 53.6% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 36.2% provided care for children and 24.9% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 10.3% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

View the data quality statements for: Unpaid domestic work (DOMP) Unpaid child care (CHCAREP) Unpaid assistance (UNCAREP) Voluntary work (VOLWP)

Dwelling characteristics

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

There has been change in methodology used to calculate the average number of persons per bedroom. To compare the time series for average number of persons per bedroom please refer to Understanding the Census and Census Data

In Great Sandy Desert, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.8 persons, with 1.3 persons per bedroom and 0.3 registered motor vehicles per dwelling.

View the data quality statements for: Number of Bedrooms in Private Dwelling (BEDD) Household composition (HHCD) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)

In Great Sandy Desert, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $80 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $0.

View the data quality statements for: Rent weekly payments (RNTD) Mortgage monthly repayments (MRED) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)

In Great Sandy Desert, of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households, 14.8% were a couple family with no children, 41.7% were a couple family with children and 22.2% were a one parent family.

In multiple family households, only the family composition of the primary family is recorded. Other household includes lone person households and group households.

Dwelling structure

In Great Sandy Desert there were 117 private dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Where a dwelling type was stated, 97.4% were separate houses, 0.0% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 2.6% were flats or apartments and 0.0% were other dwellings.

In Great Sandy Desert, of dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, 0.0% were owned outright, 0.0% were owned with a mortgage and 89.1% were rented.