Remote Australia (WA)

Latest release
2021 Census Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people QuickStats
Geography type Remoteness Areas
Area code RA53
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 10,411
Male 50.3%
Female 49.7%
Median age 25
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families 2,980
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander households 3,736
Average number of people per household 3
Median weekly household income $1,740
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,785
Median weekly rent (a) $200

(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 Remote Australia (WA), 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander total 10,411 11.9 88,693 3.3 812,728 3.2
Aboriginal 9,619 11.0 85,004 3.2 742,882 2.9
Torres Strait Islander 300 0.3 1,625 0.1 33,765 0.1
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 483 0.6 2,068 0.1 36,083 0.1
Non-Indigenous 65,613 75.0 2,431,204 91.4 23,375,949 91.9
Not stated 11,409 13.0 140,128 5.3 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Median age 25 N/A 24 N/A 24 N/A
0-4 years 1,082 10.4 9,264 10.4 85,941 10.6
5-14 years 2,256 21.7 19,164 21.6 179,604 22.1
15-24 years 1,730 16.6 16,006 18.0 150,057 18.5
25-34 years 1,549 14.9 13,512 15.2 117,969 14.5
35-44 years 1,301 12.5 10,445 11.8 87,910 10.8
45-54 years 1,058 10.2 8,961 10.1 81,802 10.1
55-64 years 859 8.3 6,632 7.5 61,759 7.6
65 years and over 577 5.5 4,716 5.3 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Married 1,256 17.8 12,414 20.6 127,525 23.3
Separated 285 4.0 2,666 4.4 23,982 4.4
Divorced 337 4.8 3,260 5.4 37,473 6.8
Widowed 231 3.3 1,837 3.0 16,329 3.0
Never married 4,963 70.2 40,088 66.5 341,871 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Registered marriage (a) 1,017 16.9 9,839 19.6 112,643 23.0
De facto marriage (b) 1,502 25.0 9,703 19.3 81,295 16.6
Not married 3,494 58.1 30,724 61.1 296,032 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Preschool 244 6.3 2,321 6.6 25,485 8.0
Primary 1,455 37.8 12,434 35.5 120,864 37.9
Secondary 987 25.7 8,838 25.3 83,631 26.2
Tertiary - Vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers) 194 5.0 1,694 4.8 21,273 6.7
Tertiary - University or higher education 103 2.7 1,710 4.9 21,149 6.6
Other 78 2.0 782 2.2 7,310 2.3
Not stated 781 20.3 7,209 20.6 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Bachelor Degree level and above 306 4.3 3,247 5.4 40,554 7.4
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level 277 3.9 2,678 4.4 34,681 6.3
Certificate level IV 304 4.3 2,311 3.8 23,374 4.3
Certificate level III 967 13.7 7,762 12.9 84,821 15.5
Year 12 1,163 16.5 9,364 15.5 82,998 15.2
Year 11 789 11.2 5,923 9.8 43,335 7.9
Year 10 1,543 21.8 14,035 23.3 102,707 18.8
Certificate level II 18 0.3 106 0.2 1,262 0.2
Certificate level I 4 0.1 22 0.0 241 0.0
Year 9 or below 771 10.9 7,020 11.6 75,326 13.8
Inadequately described 120 1.7 1,073 1.8 11,038 2.0
No educational attainment 91 1.3 854 1.4 5,242 1.0
Not stated 716 10.1 5,847 9.7 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Yindjibarndi 316 3.0 362 0.4 373 0.0
Yawuru 103 1.0 125 0.1 145 0.0
Australian Indigenous Languages, nfd 91 0.9 700 0.8 4,197 0.5
Kriol 75 0.7 2,027 2.3 7,403 0.9
Nyungar 68 0.7 1,324 1.5 1,441 0.2
 null  null  null  null  null  null  null
Australian Indigenous languages used at home 1,221 11.7 11,213 12.6 76,978 9.5
English only used at home 8,130 78.1 68,481 77.2 683,122 84.1

More information on Language used at home (LANP), Whether reported using an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander language at home (LNGP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Ancestry, top responses
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Australian Aboriginal 9,101 87.4 76,590 86.4 695,359 85.6
Australian 2,721 26.1 25,219 28.4 277,467 34.1
English 1,217 11.7 11,662 13.1 131,618 16.2
Torres Strait Islander 712 6.8 2,830 3.2 57,353 7.1
Irish 266 2.6 2,385 2.7 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
In the labour force 3,713 52.5 29,553 49.0 296,172 54.1
Not in the labour force 2,995 42.4 27,477 45.6 234,314 42.8
Not stated 363 5.1 3,234 5.4 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Employed  null  null  null  null  null  null
Worked full-time 1,977 53.2 14,457 48.9 144,659 48.8
Worked part-time 838 22.6 7,744 26.2 87,019 29.4
Away from work (a) 392 10.6 2,661 9.0 28,075 9.5
Total employed 3,206 86.3 24,863 84.1 259,754 87.7
Unemployed 503 13.5 4,688 15.9 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Technicians and Trades Workers 559 17.4 3,643 14.7 35,333 13.6
Machinery Operators and Drivers 520 16.2 3,385 13.6 23,291 9.0
Community and Personal Service Workers 446 13.9 3,807 15.3 45,221 17.4
Clerical and Administrative Workers 392 12.2 2,841 11.4 30,731 11.8
Labourers 386 12.0 3,326 13.4 37,003 14.2
Professionals 371 11.6 3,455 13.9 36,013 13.9
Managers 272 8.5 1,852 7.4 21,218 8.2
Sales Workers 133 4.1 1,606 6.5 22,365 8.6

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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Iron Ore Mining 560 17.5 2,289 9.2 2,518 1.0
Primary Education 105 3.3 684 2.8 6,313 2.4
Other Social Assistance Services 87 2.7 822 3.3 10,154 3.9
Oil and Gas Extraction 85 2.7 250 1.0 596 0.2
Secondary Education 79 2.5 513 2.1 4,358 1.7

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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Personal (b) 567 N/A 481 N/A 540 N/A
Family (c) 1,907 N/A 1,469 N/A 1,527 N/A
Household (d) 1,740 N/A 1,480 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Did unpaid domestic work (week before Census Night) 3,798 53.7 33,333 55.3 328,022 59.9
Provided unpaid care for child/children (during two weeks before Census Night) 2,119 30.0 18,072 30.0 166,628 30.5
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition or due to old age (during two weeks before Census Night) 785 11.1 7,340 12.2 76,568 14.0
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months) 722 10.2 6,004 10.0 58,029 10.6

More information on Unpaid domestic work: number of hours (DOMP), Unpaid child care (CHCAREP), Unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition, or due to old age (UNCAREP), Voluntary work for an organisation or group (VOLWP)
Table based on place of usual residence

Health

Type of long-term health condition
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Arthritis 389 3.7 3,896 4.4 50,807 6.3
Asthma 834 8.0 8,714 9.8 107,162 13.2
Cancer (including remission) 130 1.2 1,122 1.3 12,927 1.6
Dementia (including Alzheimer's) 40 0.4 403 0.5 3,610 0.4
Diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes) 727 7.0 6,042 6.8 47,688 5.9
Heart disease (including heart attack or angina) 369 3.5 3,064 3.5 30,160 3.7
Kidney disease 160 1.5 1,139 1.3 10,053 1.2
Lung condition (including COPD or emphysema) 134 1.3 1,277 1.4 17,552 2.2
Mental health condition (including depression or anxiety) 605 5.8 8,192 9.2 107,776 13.3
Stroke 87 0.8 683 0.8 7,059 0.9
Any other long-term health condition(s) 601 5.8 6,084 6.9 70,592 8.7
No long-term health condition(s) 6,659 64.0 52,662 59.4 462,348 56.9
Not stated 1,034 9.9 10,368 11.7 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
None of the selected conditions 6,985 67.1 55,618 62.7 493,110 60.7
One condition 1,687 16.2 15,383 17.3 167,204 20.6
Two conditions 441 4.2 4,607 5.2 54,174 6.7
Three or more conditions 256 2.5 2,725 3.1 32,701 4.0
Not stated 1,034 9.9 10,368 11.7 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Number of dwellings requiring one or more extra bedroom(s) (a) 342 9.2 3,233 9.5 31,268 8.9
Average number of people per household 3 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 1.8 N/A 1.8 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Median weekly rent (a) $200 N/A $260 N/A $300 N/A
Median monthly mortgage repayments $1,785 N/A $1,733 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
One family household: Couple family with no children 620 16.6 5,511 16.2 62,751 17.8
One family household: Couple family with children 1,148 30.7 10,128 29.8 104,435 29.7
One family household: One parent family 861 23.0 8,458 24.9 86,135 24.5
One family household: Other family 88 2.4 847 2.5 7,040 2.0
Multiple family household: Couple family with no children 17 0.5 222 0.7 2,130 0.6
Multiple family household: Couple family with children 57 1.5 638 1.9 6,813 1.9
Multiple family household: One parent family 61 1.6 910 2.7 8,606 2.4
Multiple family household: Other family 10 0.3 69 0.2 412 0.1
Other household 870 23.3 7,167 21.1 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Separate house 2,889 77.3 28,229 83.2 281,729 80.0
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc. 669 17.9 4,051 11.9 38,396 10.9
Flat or apartment 101 2.7 1,243 3.7 27,919 7.9
Other dwelling 43 1.2 261 0.8 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 		Remote Australia (WA) % Remote Australia (WA) Western Australia % Western Australia Australia % Australia
Owned outright 404 10.8 3,673 10.8 48,452 13.8
Owned with a mortgage (a) 619 16.6 9,444 27.8 96,647 27.5
Rented (b) 2,418 64.7 19,092 56.2 192,703 54.7
Other (c) 125 3.3 597 1.8 5,582 1.6
Not stated 178 4.8 1,140 3.4 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.