Western Downs

Latest release
2021 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type Indigenous Areas
Area code IARE306018
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 1,669
Male 50.0%
Female 50.0%
Median age 21
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families 579
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 725
Average number of people per household 3.2
Median weekly household income $1,346
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,280
Median weekly rent (a) $240

(a) For 2021, median weekly rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free.

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All tables refer to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons in Western Downs, unless otherwise stated.
Small random changes have been made to all cell values for privacy reasons. These changes may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from the table totals.

People and population

Indigenous status
All people
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander total 1,669 6.8 237,303 4.6 812,728 3.2
Aboriginal 1,571 6.4 193,405 3.8 742,882 2.9
Torres Strait Islander 41 0.2 21,772 0.4 33,765 0.1
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 58 0.2 22,122 0.4 36,083 0.1
Non-Indigenous 20,148 82.5 4,635,042 89.9 23,375,949 91.9
Not stated 2,626 10.7 283,793 5.5 1,234,112 4.9

More information on Place of Usual Residence (PURP), Indigenous status (INGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Age
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Median age 21 N/A 23 N/A 24 N/A
0-4 years 209 12.5 25,731 10.8 85,941 10.6
5-14 years 429 25.7 54,439 22.9 179,604 22.1
15-24 years 263 15.8 44,204 18.6 150,057 18.5
25-34 years 202 12.1 33,612 14.2 117,969 14.5
35-44 years 160 9.6 25,219 10.6 87,910 10.8
45-54 years 153 9.2 23,680 10.0 81,802 10.1
55-64 years 136 8.1 17,354 7.3 61,759 7.6
65 years and over 120 7.2 13,065 5.5 47,677 5.9

More information on Age (AGEP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Registered marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Married 250 24.2 33,341 21.2 127,525 23.3
Separated 71 6.9 6,967 4.4 23,982 4.4
Divorced 102 9.9 10,657 6.8 37,473 6.8
Widowed 39 3.8 4,181 2.7 16,329 3.0
Never married 575 55.7 101,985 64.9 341,871 62.5

Note: In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.

More information on Registered marital status (MSTP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Social marital status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, usually resident and present in the household on Census night
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Registered marriage (a) 233 24.6 30,074 21.4 112,643 23.0
De facto marriage (b) 146 15.4 25,417 18.0 81,295 16.6
Not married 563 59.4 85,357 60.6 296,032 60.4

(a) In December 2017, amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 came into effect enabling marriage equality for all couples. For 2021, registered marriages include all couples.
(b) De facto marriage is when two people live together as partners who are not in a registered marriage. It includes people who report de facto, partner, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, girlfriend or boyfriend.

More information on Social marital status (MDCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Education

Type of educational institution attending
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people attending an educational institution
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Preschool 37 6.2 6,070 6.6 25,485 8.0
Primary 298 49.6 35,874 38.9 120,864 37.9
Secondary 175 29.1 26,207 28.4 83,631 26.2
Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers) 28 4.7 4,967 5.4 21,273 6.7
Tertiary - University or higher education 12 2.0 6,362 6.9 21,149 6.6
Other 15 2.5 2,803 3.0 7,310 2.3
Not stated 36 6.0 9,970 10.8 38,814 12.2

More information Type of educational institution attending (TYPP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Level of highest educational attainment
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Bachelor Degree level and above 45 4.4 11,028 7.0 40,554 7.4
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level 49 4.7 10,614 6.8 34,681 6.3
Certificate level IV 36 3.5 6,227 4.0 23,374 4.3
Certificate level III 178 17.2 27,557 17.5 84,821 15.5
Year 12 140 13.6 28,526 18.2 82,998 15.2
Year 11 65 6.3 11,349 7.2 43,335 7.9
Year 10 240 23.2 28,737 18.3 102,707 18.8
Certificate level II 0 0.0 344 0.2 1,262 0.2
Certificate level I 0 0.0 52 0.0 241 0.0
Year 9 or below 183 17.7 18,908 12.0 75,326 13.8
Inadequately described 27 2.6 3,131 2.0 11,038 2.0
No educational attainment 8 0.8 1,193 0.8 5,242 1.0
Not stated 71 6.9 9,409 6.0 41,467 7.6

More information on Level of highest educational attainment (HEAP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Cultural diversity

Australian Indigenous language, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Australian Indigenous Languages, nfd 17 1.0 1,407 0.6 4,197 0.5
Aboriginal English, so described 4 0.2 585 0.2 1,371 0.2
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Australian Indigenous languages used at home 23 1.4 19,018 8.0 76,978 9.5
English only used at home 1,608 96.3 202,342 85.3 683,122 84.1
Ancestry, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Australian Aboriginal 1,429 85.6 194,063 81.8 695,359 85.6
Australian 695 41.6 78,079 32.9 277,467 34.1
English 387 23.2 35,211 14.8 131,618 16.2
Torres Strait Islander 89 5.3 38,500 16.2 57,353 7.1
Irish 68 4.1 9,006 3.8 31,853 3.9

Note 1: 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 sum of all ancestry responses for an area will not equal the total number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area.
Note 2: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not state an ancestry). In 2016 QuickStats percentages were based on total number of responses and will not be comparable to this table.

More information on Ancestry multi response (ANCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Income and work

Participation in the labour force
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
In the labour force 541 52.4 88,971 56.6 296,172 54.1
Not in the labour force 479 46.4 64,129 40.8 234,314 42.8
Not stated 10 1.0 4,029 2.6 16,695 3.1

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Employment status
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Employed  null  null  null  null  null  null
Worked full-time 273 50.5 42,934 48.3 144,659 48.8
Worked part-time 174 32.2 25,926 29.1 87,019 29.4
Away from work (a) 39 7.2 8,254 9.3 28,075 9.5
Total employed 484 89.5 77,118 86.7 259,754 87.7
Unemployed 64 11.8 11,853 13.3 36,419 12.3

Note 1: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over, who reported being in the labour force in the area.
Note 2: The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's labour force. More information is provided in Comparing 2021 Census and Labour Force Survey.
Note 3: For information on Community Development Program participation (CDPP), please refer to the Census Dictionary. CDPP data is available in TableBuilder.

(a) Counts employed people who reported 0 hours of work the week before the Census or did not state their hours of work.

More information on Labour force status (LFSP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Occupation, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Labourers 125 25.8 12,156 15.8 37,003 14.2
Technicians and Trades Workers 63 13.0 10,330 13.4 35,333 13.6
Machinery Operators and Drivers 62 12.8 7,488 9.7 23,291 9.0
Community and Personal Service Workers 58 12.0 13,289 17.2 45,221 17.4
Sales Workers 47 9.7 7,120 9.2 22,365 8.6
Managers 44 9.1 5,606 7.3 21,218 8.2
Professionals 41 8.5 9,392 12.2 36,013 13.9
Clerical and Administrative Workers 32 6.6 9,217 12.0 30,731 11.8

More information on Occupation (OCCP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Industry of employment, top responses
Employed Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Supermarket and Grocery Stores 30 6.2 2,658 3.4 8,816 3.4
Beef Cattle Farming (Specialised) 24 5.0 351 0.5 837 0.3
Aged Care Residential Services 21 4.3 1,522 2.0 5,245 2.0
Takeaway Food Services 19 3.9 2,385 3.1 7,371 2.8
Road Freight Transport 18 3.7 1,102 1.4 3,378 1.3

More information on Industry of employment (INDP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Median weekly incomes (a)
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Personal (b) 535 N/A 563 N/A 540 N/A
Family (c) 1,405 N/A 1,510 N/A 1,527 N/A
Household (d) 1,346 N/A 1,517 N/A 1,507 N/A

(a) Incomes are collected in ranges. The medians are then calculated using information from the Survey of Income and Housing.
(b) Excludes people aged 15 years and over who did not state their income.
(c) Excludes families where at least one family member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.
(d) Excludes households where at least one household member aged 15 years and over did not state their income.

More information on Total personal income (weekly) (INCP), Total family income (weekly) (FINF), Total household income (weekly) (HIND), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander family indicator (INGF)
Personal income data is based on place of usual residence
Family and household income data is based on place of enumeration

Unpaid work and care

Unpaid work and care
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Did unpaid domestic work (week before Census Night) 625 60.4 93,340 59.4 328,022 59.9
Provided unpaid care for child/children (during two weeks before Census Night) 317 30.7 46,884 29.8 166,628 30.5
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition or due to old age (during two weeks before Census Night) 151 14.6 20,506 13.1 76,568 14.0
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months) 147 14.2 16,824 10.7 58,029 10.6

Health

Type of long-term health condition
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Arthritis 148 8.9 13,964 5.9 50,807 6.3
Asthma 279 16.7 30,328 12.8 107,162 13.2
Cancer (including remission) 32 1.9 3,684 1.6 12,927 1.6
Dementia (including Alzheimer's) 4 0.2 1,084 0.5 3,610 0.4
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) 92 5.5 14,227 6.0 47,688 5.9
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) 76 4.6 8,644 3.6 30,160 3.7
Kidney disease 20 1.2 2,678 1.1 10,053 1.2
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) 51 3.1 4,813 2.0 17,552 2.2
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) 246 14.7 29,713 12.5 107,776 13.3
Stroke 30 1.8 2,004 0.8 7,059 0.9
Any other long-term health condition(s) 152 9.1 20,408 8.6 70,592 8.7
No long-term health condition(s) 933 55.9 138,929 58.5 462,348 56.9
Not stated 80 4.8 17,857 7.5 65,539 8.1

Note 1: Measures the number of people who reported that they have been told by a doctor or nurse that they have any of these long-term health conditions.
Note 2: Respondents had the option of reporting multiple long-term health conditions. Therefore, the sum of all long-term health condition responses for an area will not equal the total number of people in the area.
Note 3: Calculated percentages represent a proportion of the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the area (including those who did not answer the long-term health conditions question).

More information on Type of long-term health condition (LTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Count of selected long-term health conditions
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
None of the selected conditions 985 59.0 147,859 62.3 493,110 60.7
One condition 381 22.8 47,176 19.9 167,204 20.6
Two conditions 119 7.1 15,219 6.4 54,174 6.7
Three or more conditions 98 5.9 9,182 3.9 32,701 4.0
Not stated 80 4.8 17,857 7.5 65,539 8.1

Note: Selected long-term health conditions include arthritis, asthma, cancer (including remission), dementia (including Alzheimer's), diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes), heart disease (including heart attack or angina), kidney disease, lung condition (including COPD or emphysema), mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) and stroke. Other long-term health conditions are not included in this count.

More information on Count of selected long-term health conditions (CLTHP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Housing

Dwelling characteristics
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Number of dwellings requiring one or more extra bedroom(s) (a) 70 9.7 9,479 9.3 31,268 8.9
Average number of people per household 3.2 N/A 3.2 N/A 3.1 N/A
Average number of persons per bedroom 1 N/A 1 N/A 1 N/A
Average number of registered motor vehicles per dwelling 1.9 N/A 1.9 N/A 1.9 N/A

(a) The Canadian National Occupancy Standard for Housing Appropriateness is used to determine whether there are enough bedrooms in the dwelling for the usual residents. See Housing suitability information below for more details.

More information on Number of bedrooms in private dwelling (BEDD), Household composition (HHCD), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD), Housing suitability (HOSD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Mortgage and Rent
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Median weekly rent (a) $240 N/A $305 N/A $300 N/A
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,280 N/A $1,670 N/A $1,721 N/A

(a) Median rent calculations exclude dwellings being occupied rent-free, this is not comparable to 2016 QuickStats data.

More information on Rent (weekly) dollar values (RNTD), Mortgage repayments (monthly) dollar values (MRED), Indigenous household indicator (INGDWTD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Family household composition
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
One family household: Couple family with no children 124 17.1 18,041 17.8 62,751 17.8
One family household: Couple family with children 235 32.4 30,193 29.7 104,435 29.7
One family household: One parent family 172 23.7 25,214 24.8 86,135 24.5
One family household: Other family 12 1.7 2,079 2.0 7,040 2.0
Multiple family household: Couple family with no children 5 0.7 570 0.6 2,130 0.6
Multiple family household: Couple family with children 14 1.9 2,042 2.0 6,813 1.9
Multiple family household: One parent family 15 2.1 2,678 2.6 8,606 2.4
Multiple family household: Other family 0 0.0 108 0.1 412 0.1
Other household 153 21.1 20,562 20.3 73,717 20.9

Note: This table counts the types of families within family households at the dwelling level. In multiple family households, only the family composition of the primary family is recorded. Other household includes lone person households and group households.

More information on Family household composition (dwelling) (HCFMD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Dwelling structure
Occupied private dwellings where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Separate house 656 90.5 80,529 79.3 281,729 80.0
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. 49 6.8 11,082 10.9 38,396 10.9
Flat or apartment 7 1.0 8,530 8.4 27,919 7.9
Other dwelling 7 1.0 1,003 1.0 2,861 0.8

More information on Dwelling structure (STRD)
Table based on place of enumeration

Tenure type
Occupied private dwellings (excl. visitor only households and other non-classifiable households) where at least one person was Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Western Downs % Western Downs Queensland % Queensland Australia % Australia
Owned outright 167 23.0 12,395 12.2 48,452 13.8
Owned with a mortgage (a) 165 22.8 26,096 25.7 96,647 27.5
Rented (b) 336 46.3 59,211 58.3 192,703 54.7
Other (c) 34 4.7 1,295 1.3 5,582 1.6
Not stated 18 2.5 2,502 2.5 8,652 2.5

(a) Includes dwellings purchased under a shared equity scheme.
(b) Excludes dwellings being occupied rent-free, this is not comparable to 2016 QuickStats data.
(c) Comprises dwellings occupied rent-free, occupied under a life tenure scheme and other tenure type

More information on Tenure type (TEND)
Table based on place of enumeration

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.