Place of usual residence five years ago (PUR5P)

Latest release
Census of Population and Housing: Census dictionary
Cite
Reference period
2021

Definition

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.

Scope

Persons aged five years and over

Categories

CodeCategory
 In addition to the ASGS geographic areas outlined above, the following categories are also included:
9099Capital city nfd
9299Overseas
9499No usual residence
9799Migratory, off-shore and shipping
9899State/Territory nfd
&&&&Not stated
@@@@Not applicable
VVVVOverseas visitors

Number of categories:  Total number of categories will depend on the geographic level chosen

Not applicable (@@@@) category comprises:

  • Persons aged under 5 year

See Understanding supplementary codes for more information.

Special purpose code definitions

Special purpose codeDefinition

Capital city nfd

Used to code place of usual residence one and five years ago. Used where a respondent has given incomplete address information on the Census form but has given enough information to allow coding to a capital city. There is a category for each capital city:

  • Capital city (Greater Sydney) nfd
  • Capital city (Greater Melbourne) nfd
  • Capital city (Greater Brisbane) nfd
  • Capital city (Greater Adelaide) nfd
  • Capital city (Greater Perth) nfd
  • Capital city (Greater Hobart) nfd
  • Capital city (Greater Darwin) nfd
  • Capital city (ACT) nfd

State/Territory nfd

Used to code place of usual residence one and five years ago. Used where a respondent has given incomplete address information on the Census form but has given enough information to allow coding to a state/territory. There is a category for each state/territory:

  • State/Territory nfd (NSW)
  • State/Territory nfd (Vic.)
  • State/Territory nfd (Qld)
  • State/Territory nfd (SA)
  • State/Territory nfd (WA)
  • State/Territory nfd (Tas.)
  • State/Territory nfd (NT)
  • State/Territory nfd (OT)

Migratory

Used to code people who are in transit on long distance trains, buses, aircraft and long-haul road transport vehicles on Census Night.

Off-shore

Used to code people who are on oil rigs and drilling platforms etc. on Census Night.  Also used for expeditioners in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Shipping

Used to code people who are on board vessels in Australian waters, in or between Australian ports on Census Night.

No usual residence

Used to code people who have no fixed address, such as travellers who move across Australia.

Not applicable

Used to code a person’s place of usual residence one and five years ago, for children who had not been born one or five years ago.

Overseas

Used to code a person’s place of usual residence one and five years ago, for people who lived overseas one and five years ago.

  
  

 

Question(s) from the Census form

Where does the person usually live?

Where does the person usually live?
Where does Person 1 usually live? For people who usually live in another country and who are visiting Australia for less than one year, select 'Other country'. For other people, 'usually live' means the address at which the person has lived, or intends to live, for a total of six months or more in 2021. For people who have no fixed or return address (for example, due to family conflict or eviction), select 'Elsewhere in Australia' and write 'None' in the 'Suburb/Locality' box. For boarders at boarding school, provide the address of the boarding school or college. More information Person's usual address 1 Smith Street Belconnen ACT 2617 Elsewhere in Australia (please specify address) Other country

More Information

Additional information relating to the question on: Where does the person usually live?
Where does Person 1 usually live? For people who usually live in another country and who are visiting Australia for less than one year, select 'Other country'. For other people, 'usually live' means the address at which the person has lived, or intends to live, for a total of six months or more in 2021. For people who have no fixed or return address (for example, due to family conflict or eviction), select 'Elsewhere in Australia' and write 'None' in the 'Suburb/Locality' box. For boarders at boarding school, provide the address of the boarding school or college. More information If you have written 'None' in the 'Suburb/Locality' box, make sure the other boxes are empty. If the person is providing an address for 'Elsewhere in Australia' and they usually live in Norfolk Island or other external territories, such as Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay, please select 'Other external territory' in the State/Territory box.

Where did the person usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)?

Where did the person usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)?
Where did Person 1 usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)? For people who had no usual address on 10 August 2016, select 'Elsewhere in Australia' and provide the address at which they were then living. More information Person's usual address five years ago 1 Smith Street Belconnen ACT 2617 Elsewhere in Australia (please specify address) Other country

Example

Place of usual residence five years ago example - elsewhere in Australia response selected
Where did Person 1 usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)? For people who had no usual address on 10 August 2016, select 'Elsewhere in Australia' and provide the address at which they were then living. More information Person's usual address five years ago 1 Smith Street Belconnen ACT 2617 Elsewhere in Australia (please specify address) (selected response) Fill in the address details Apartment/Flat/Unit number (if any) Street number Street name Suburb/Locality State/Territory Postcode Other country

More Information

Additional information relating to the question on: Where did the person usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)?
Where did Person 1 usually live five years ago (at 10 August 2016)? For people who had no usual address on 10 August 2016, select 'Elsewhere in Australia' and provide the address at which they were then living. More information If the complete address is not known, please provide as much of the address as possible. If the person is providing an address for 'Elsewhere in Australia' and they usually live in Norfolk Island or other external territories, such as Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay, please select 'Other external territory' in the State/Territory box.

How this variable is created

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’.

History and changes

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.

Data use considerations

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.

Related variables and glossary terms

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