Where do Australia’s children live?

Children in the States and Territories

2.10 Australia’s child population, in common with the total population, is largely concentrated in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The 1996 census counted almost 77% of all Australian children living in these three States on 6 August 1996.[24] Children made up between 25.9% and 30.1% of the populations in each of the States and Territories.

Table 2.5 Children by State/Territory[25]

State/Territory

Number of children

Percentage of total population in the State or Territory

NSW

1 616 660

26.8

Victoria

1 169 948

26.8

Queensland

916 507

27.2

South Australia

370 208

25.9

Western Australia

485 315

28.1

Tasmania

131 231

28.5

Northern Territory

58 712

30.1

ACT

86 577

28.9

2.11 The characteristics of the child populations in the different States and Territories vary greatly. For example, the following table shows the populations of Indigenous children in each State and Territory.

Table 2.6 Indigenous children by State/Territory[26]

State/Territory

Number of Indigenous children

Percentage of the total child population in the State or Territory

NSW

49 358

3.0%

Victoria

9 937

0.8%

Queensland

46 656

5.1%

South Australia

9 639

2.6%

Western Australia

24 262

5.0%

Tasmania

6 968

5.3%

Northern Territory

21 251

36.2%

ACT

1 399

1.6%

2.12 The majority (56.6%) of Indigenous children living in Australia live in NSW and Queensland. Yet Indigenous children in these two States made up only 3% and 5.1% respectively of the total child populations of each State. By comparison, although only 12.5% of all Indigenous children lived in the Northern Territory, Indigenous children made up 36.2% of all children aged 0 to 18 living there in 1996. Victoria’s 9 937 Indigenous children (5.9% of all Indigenous children) made up only 0.8% of the Victorian child population.[27]

2.13 The largest percentages of overseas-born children live in NSW and Victoria. In 1996, 37.1% of overseas-born children counted in the census were living in NSW and 24.4% were living in Victoria.[28]

Table 2.7 Overseas-born children by State/Territory[29]

State/Territory

Number of overseas-born children

Percentage of the total child population in the State or Territory

NSW

134 107

8.3

Victoria

86 938

7.4

Queensland

56 551

6.0

South Australia

18 871

5.1

Western Australia

47 614

9.8

Tasmania

3 145

2.4

Northern Territory

2 644

4.5

ACT

6 722

7.8

2.14 The States and Territories also varied with respect to the ethnic make-up of their child populations, demonstrated by differences in the most common languages spoken at home by children.

Table 2.8 Most common languages (other than English) spoken at home by children, by State/Territory[30]

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

NSW

Lebanese

Chinese

Vietnamese

Serbian, Croatian

Greek

Italian

VIC

Chinese

Greek

Italian

Vietnamese

Serbian, Croatian

Lebanese

QLD

Chinese

Vietnamese

Spanish

Italian

German

Greek

SA

Greek

Italian

Vietnamese

Chinese

Serbian, Croatian

Polish

WA

Chinese

Italian

Vietnamese

Serbian, Croatian

Indonesian

Polish

TAS

Greek

German

Chinese

Spanish

Italian

Lebanese

NT

Greek

Chinese

Indonesian

Vietnamese

Portuguese

German

ACT

Chinese

Serbian, Croatian

Vietnamese

Spanish

Greek

Italian

Rural and urban distributions

2.15 Many more children in Australia live in cities and other urban areas than in rural areas.[31] The 1991 census showed that almost two thirds of the child population, or 2.7 million children, lived in major urban centres.[32] A further 24% (1 086 300) lived in other urban areas.[33] The rest of the child population lived in rural areas, including bounded localities (population clusters of 200-999 people).[34]

2.16 Indigenous people and their children are more likely to be living in rural or remote areas than non-Indigenous people. In 1994, 28% of Indigenous people lived in capital cities and just under 20% lived in rural and remote areas, with 50% living in towns and bounded localities.[35] There are significant variations in the regional distribution of Indigenous people within the States. For example, in Victoria, almost half (48%) of the Indigenous population was counted in Melbourne in 1994, while in Queensland and Western Australia only 20% and 28% respectively were counted in the capital city.[36]

[24] ABS unpublished data prepared for the Inquiry 22 July 1997.

[25] Derived from ABS 1996 Census of Population and Housing: Selected Social and Housing Characteristics — Australia ABS Canberra 1997, 6-19 & ABS unpublished data prepared for the Inquiry 22 July 1997.

[26] ABS unpublished data prepared for the Inquiry 22 July 1997.

[27] ibid.

[28] ibid. The proportions for the other States and Territories were: Qld — 15.8% of all overseas-born children; SA — 5.3%; WA — 13.3%; Tas — 0.88%; NT — 0.74; ACT — 1.9%. Australia’s external territories account for the rest.

[29] ABS unpublished data prepared for the Inquiry 22 July 1997.

[30] ibid.

[31] A major urban centre is defined as a community with a population of 100 000 or more. The term ‘other urban area’ means those areas that have populations of between 1000 and 99 999: ABS & National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS) Australia’s Young People ABS Canberra 1993, 7.

[32] Derived from table 1.5: ABS & NYARS Australia’s Young People ABS Canberra 1993, 9. The 1996 census statistics had not been released when this Report was finalised

[33] ibid.

[34] The proportion of children who were living in these rural areas remained constant between 1989 and 1991: ABS & NYARS Australia’s Young People ABS Canberra 1993, 8. In the last few years however, there appears to be a growing trend for Australians, and subsequently for their children, to move away from major cities to adjacent rural areas and the coast: Shu et al, Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research Australia’s Population Trends and Prospects 1995 AGPS Canberra 1996, 51.

[35] G Hugo & C Maher, Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research Atlas of the Australian People — 1991 Census AGPS Canberra 1995, 4, 10-11.

[36] ABS 1996 Yearbook Australia ABS Canberra 1996, 81.