This variable counts the number of dependent children in the family. A dependent child is a person who is either a child under 15 years of age, or a dependent student aged 15-24 years. It includes up to three dependent children who were temporarily absent from the dwelling on Census Night.
Scope
Families with children in family households
Categories
Code
Category
Couple family with:
00
No dependent children
01
One dependent child
02
Two dependent children
03
Three dependent children
04
Four dependent children
05
Five dependent children
06
Six or more dependent children
One parent family with:
07
No dependent children
08
One dependent child
09
Two dependent children
10
Three dependent children
11
Four dependent children
12
Five dependent children
13
Six or more dependent children
Not applicable:
@@
Not applicable
Number of categories: 15
Not applicable (@@) category comprises:
Couple families with no children
Other families
Non-family/Non-classifiable households
Unoccupied private dwellings
Non-private dwellings
Migratory, off-shore and shipping SA1s
Question(s) from the Census form
What is the person’s relationship to Person 1/Person 2?
Image
Description
What is Person 2's relationship to Person 1?
Examples of other relationships: Son-in-law, Grand-daughter, Uncle, Boarder.
More information
Husband or wife of Person 1
De facto partner of Person 1
Child of Person 1
Stepchild of Person 1
Brother or sister of Person 1
Unrelated flatmate or co-tenant of Person 1
Other relationship to Person 1 (please specify)
More information
Image
Description
What is Person 2's relationship to Person 1?
Examples of other relationships: Son-in-law, Grand-daughter, Uncle, Boarder.
More information
If more than one response applies, select only the option that shows the relationship that most closely applies.
What is Person 1's date of birth?
Image
Description
What is Person 1's date of birth?
If date of birth is not known, please select 'Don't know date of birth' and provide Person 1's age.
More information
Day Month Year
OR
Don't know date of birth
Age
More information
Image
Description
What is Person 1's date of birth?
If date of birth is not known, please select 'Don't know date of birth' and provide Person 1's age.
More information
It is important to note:
•Date of birth is the date that the person was born.
•Age is required only if the person's date of birth is not known. Please report age at Census night – Tuesday 10 August 2021.
If the person is less than one year old and their date of birth is not known, enter '0' in the age box.
Is Person 1 attending a school or any other education institution?
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Description
Is Person 1 attending a school or any other education institution?
Include tertiary education and vocational education and training providers (e.g. TAFE and private training providers).
Include external, online or correspondence study.
More information
No
Yes, full-time student
Yes, part-time student
More information
Image
Description
Is Person 1 attending a school or any other education institution?
Include tertiary education and vocational education and training providers (e.g. TAFE and private training providers).
Include external, online or correspondence study.
More information
Select full-time student or part-time student based on whether the institution considers the person to be a full-time or part-time student.
For a person who attends only hobby or recreational courses, select 'No'.
If the person is currently studying at home because of lockdowns or other COVID-related reasons, but usually attends a school or other education institution, select one of the 'Yes' options.
For each person away, complete the following questions:
The Census asks a number of questions for usual residents who were temporarily absent on Census night, these are known as persons temporarily absent (PTA) questions. The PTA questions below are used to derive this variable.
Image
Description
List the people who were away on the night of Tuesday 10 August 2021 but usually live in this dwelling.
Remember that people listed here will need to complete a Census form for where they were in Australia on Census night.
People away List Person Away 1 - Any person who usually lives in this dwelling, but was away.
Add another person away
Example
Image
Description
List the people who were away on the night of Tuesday 10 August 2021 but usually live in this dwelling.
Remember that people listed here will need to complete a Census form for where they were in Australia on Census night.
People away
Person 4 Surname - Any person who usually lives in this dwelling, but was away.
Add another person away
Image
Description
What is Person 4's date of birth?
If date of birth is not known, please give age.
More information
Date of birth
Day Month Year
OR
Age
More information
Image
Description
What is Person 4's date of birth?
If date of birth is not known, please give age.
More information
It is important to note:
• Date of birth is the date that the person was born.
• Age is required only if the person's date of birth is not known. Please report age at Census night – Tuesday 10 August 2021.
If the person is less than one year old and their date of birth is not known, enter '0' in the age box.
Image
Description
Is Person 4 a full-time student?
More information
No
Yes
More information
Image
Description
Is Person 4 a full-time student?
More information
Select 'Yes' if the institution considers the person to be a full-time student. Select 'No' if the institution considers the person to be a part-time student.
For a person who attends only hobby or recreational courses, select 'No'.
For a child who attends a preschool or preschool program (including early childhood education and centre based day care providers):
• Select 'Yes' if they attend at least 15 hours a week on average.
• Select 'No' if they attend less than 15 hours a week on average.
Image
Description
What is Person 4's relationship to Person 1/Person 2?
Examples of other relationships: Son-in-law, Grand-daughter, Uncle, Boarder.
More information
Husband or wife of Person 1
De facto partner of Person 1
Child of both Person 1 and Person 2
Child of Person 1 only
Child of Person 2 only
Unrelated flatmate or co-tenant of Person 1
Other relationship to Person 1 (please specify)
More information
Image
Description
What is Person 4's relationship to Person 1/Person 2?
Examples of other relationships: Son-in-law, Grand-daughter, Uncle, Boarder.
More information
If more than one response applies, select the option that shows the relationship that most closely applies.
How this variable is created
This variable is created from responses to relationship in household, age, attendance at an educational institution and persons temporarily absent (PTA) questions on the Census form.
It counts the number of dependent children in couple families and one parent families.
The Family composition (FMCF) variable is used to determine whether the family is a couple family or a one parent family.
Dependent children present in the household are counted if they are part of the family and are classified as one of the following Relationship in household (RLHP) categories:
children under 15 (categories 31-36)
dependent student (categories 41-43)
Dependent children who are temporarily absent from the household on Census Night are counted from the following variables:
Count of dependent children under 15 temporarily absent (CDCAF)
Count of dependent students (15-24 years) temporarily absent (CDSAF)
History and changes
This variable was first introduced in 2011.
No changes have been made for 2021.
Data use considerations
Usual residents may not be included in the household’s Census form because they were away from the dwelling on Census Night. In this case they should be included in the Persons temporarily absent section of the form. This can occur in both family and group households. Due to form limitations, a maximum of three people can be reported and coded as temporarily absent from the dwelling. If more than three people are absent from the household, the additional people are unable to be included on the form.
Care should be taken when comparing this variable to other family data from within the ABS or external organisations or agencies. The definition of a family can differ between different statistical collections and may not match Census definitions.
This variable does not have a non-response rate as it is created during Census processing by using responses from more than one question on the Census form.
