Type of non-private dwelling (NPDD)

This variable classifies the type of non-private dwelling in which people were counted on Census night. Non-private dwellings (NPDs) are establishments which provide a communal and often short-term type of accommodation. 

Non-private dwellings 

This variable is not collected from a question on the Census form. 

Type of non‑private dwelling information is taken from the ABS Address Register. For details on how the Address Register is maintained, see the ABS Address Register Information Guide. 

Census staff review this information before Census night, and Census Field Officers confirm the dwelling information when they call or visit each establishment. Through this process, new non‑private dwellings may be added, and existing records may be updated. 

Information about the types of non‑private dwellings where people stay on Census night has been collected in every Census since 1911. 

Since the 2016 Census, the type of non‑private dwelling has been derived from the ABS Address Register. This information is updated when needed using details collected by ABS field officers during enumeration. 

In 2026, the categories were updated to make them clearer for data collection and classification, to improve processing efficiency, and to ensure more consistent data output. These updates include: 

• 01 ‘Hotel, motel, bed and breakfast’ renamed to ‘Hotel, motel, holiday accommodation, bed and breakfast’
• 02 ‘Nurses’ quarters’ and 03 ‘Staff quarters’ combined and renamed to 03 ‘Staff accommodation’
• 04 ‘Boarding house, private hotel’ renamed to 'Boarding house'
• 06 ‘Residential college, hall of residence’ renamed to ‘Tertiary student accommodation’
• 09 ‘Psychiatric hospital or institution’ renamed to ‘Psychiatric hospital or facility’
• 10 ‘Hostel for the disabled’ renamed to ‘Accommodation for people with disability'
• 11 ‘Nursing home’ and 12 ‘Accommodation for the retired or aged (not self-contained)' combined and renamed to 12 ‘Residential aged care accommodation (not self-contained)'
• 13 ‘Hostel for homeless, night shelter, refuge’ renamed to ‘Transitional, crisis and homeless accommodation' 
• 14 ‘Child care institution’ renamed to ‘Out-of-home group accommodation for children’
• 15 ‘Corrective institution for children’ renamed to ‘Corrective institution (youth)'
• 16 ‘Other welfare institution’ renamed to ‘Other welfare establishment’
• 17 ‘Prison, corrective institution for adults' renamed to ‘Corrective institution (adult)'
• 18 ‘Immigration detention centre’ renamed to ‘Immigration detention centre or transit accommodation’ 
• 19 ‘Convent, monastery, etc’ renamed to ‘Accommodation for religious orders’
• 20 ‘Other and non-classifiable’ renamed to ‘Other non-private dwelling (not elsewhere classified)’