EXPERT REACTION: 2016 Census data released

Over 300 languages are spoken in Australia, making us one of the most multicultural and linguistically diverse nations in the world. English remains by far the most spoken language in Australian homes. Interestingly, the census figures reveal a shift in the top languages spoken at home from European to Asian. This reflects recent immigration trends. Mandarin remains the most spoken language other than English, and the number of Mandarin speakers has increased quite dramatically. Arabic has climbed to become the third most spoken language, followed by Vietnamese and Cantonese. Hindi and Punjabi also have increasing numbers of speakers. In contrast, European languages such as Italian, Greek, and Spanish have fallen in the rankings, and each of these European languages has been declining in their number of speakers.

The 2016 census data shows that the number of households where at least one person accesses the web continues to increase. The vast majority of Australian households - 83.2% - have someone in the home that accesses the web. We can take this as a good sign, given the web increasingly mediates all aspects of our lives. However the data suggests that there are still a good number of Australian households not online (14.1%) and it is important that existing social inequalities are not furthered by advances in digital technologies. It would be useful to know more about the quality of Australia’s web use – how well are people using the web and what do we need to do to support people to use the web in meaningful ways?

With the 2016 census, Australia is less a Christian country (from around 61% in 2011 to 52%), and is only just over half Christian dominant. It has become more of a secular country with around 22% of the population claiming to have no-religion in the former census to close to 30% in this round. It is the first time in the history of our country that the no-religion category is the largest group in Australia. In 2011, it was the Catholics (around 25%) who are now down to around 23%. Australia is also more a non-Christian country as religions other than Christianity are at around 8% (from 7% in 2011).

Many of the trends on migration and cultural diversity revealed in the 2016 Census are unsurprising. Migrants today are increasingly young and educated, tend to settle in urban areas and, although the UK and New Zealand remain key source countries, today’s migrants are more likely than in the past to hail from Asian countries, particularly India and China.

What the data only hints at, though, is that Australia’s cultural landscape is increasingly one of cultural complexity as well as cultural diversity. With source countries for new migrants diversifying and numbers of second generation and third generation Australian increasing, cultural diversity in Australia is increasingly transformed by generational change, high levels of intermarriage, cultural adaptation, multilingualism, ‘hybrid’ identities and the increasing transnational mobility for work, study and visits of both the overseas-born and the Australian-born.

Ethno-cultural boundaries and group identities that may have seemed clear in the early stages of multiculturalism, are likely to become less clearly defined, as ethnic communities experience more internal diversity and more first and second-generation Australian have multiple cultural identities and affiliations that can both overlap and change over time.

Australians with Indian ancestry, for example, can have a wide range of linguistic and religious affiliations, while Australian residents with Chinese ancestry may have transnational connections across a global Chinese diaspora, not just mainland China. Migrants who arrive from the UK and New Zealand, which also have histories of multiculturalism, can also have diverse heritages. These trends will in the future involve a rethinking of diversity and how it’s measured in Australia.

2016 Census data shows that a declining proportion of Australian households own or are purchasing their own home. This confirms a long-standing national decline (a national trend since 1971 of 69%).

In conjunction with declining home ownership we are also seeing an increasing proportion of renter households in Australia.

Australian renters are paying higher rents – median household rent has increased at a greater rate than median personal income. This has greatest impact on single person households and single-parent and couple households where there is only one income. The median single income household would need to spend more than 50% of their household income to pay the median rent. This is unaffordable by any measure and is indicative of the housing stress facing Australian renters.

Australian households are changing. The traditional nuclear family is declining as a proportion of all household types, and there are increasing proportions of single parent households and couple households without children.

Since 1991 the proportion of multi-family households has more than doubled, and lone-person households have increased by almost 25%. 

Despite these trends the make-up of the Australian housing stock has not shifted dramatically. This is because most housing is historical stock – it was built to suit the traditional nuclear family rather than the more diverse household types we see today.

There is a need for more diverse or flexibly designed housing to accommodate the changing nature of Australian households.

This could include housing that is designed to allow multi-family households to share a house well. For example, that provides spaces that are large enough for households to come together, but also give families privacy.

There is also a need for housing that is adaptable over time – for example, houses with doors that lock to turn a larger house into a few smaller dwellings would allow households to alter their housing to suit their changing needs as people move in and out of the household.

The Census figures show that a greater proportion of households are carrying mortgage debt and a greater proportion of households are renting. These figures are consistent with concerns that home ownership is becoming unaffordable in Australia.The ongoing growth of lone person households and corresponding reduction in household size is also worth noting – as this indicates that the types of housing that might be appropriate or desirable in Australia is changing.

The Census data shows that our understanding of what constitutes a ‘family’ needs to catch up to lived experience. For some time we have been seeing a growth in diverse family formations. While the nuclear family is still considered to be the norm, one family and couple family households are on the decline and lone person, single-parent, and multiple family households are on the increase, as are same-sex couples and couples without children.

Migration, an ageing population, divorce, increased gay and lesbian rights and our tendency to delay marriage and family would all play a part in these trends.

There is also an important gender dimension to these family statistics – women make up the majority of lone person households and single-parents. Women therefore face specific economic and social challenges which require sensitive solutions from communities and government policy.

Rather than merely adapting to the social world, censuses play a central role in configuring it. Censuses legitimise certain social identities, but they can also contribute to generating those identities. In this regard, some analysts consider that censuses nominate groups into institutionally recognised existence.
 
Politics, and not only demographics, is at the core of national censuses. The release of the 2016 Australian Census Data is a great opportunity to increase public awareness around key aspects of contemporary life in Australia and discuss plans for the future of the country.
 
Another important aspect in contemporary censuses is that of self-identification. This is a relatively recent mechanism in the history of censuses, replacing external identification – that is, when a census enumerator decided what was the social identity of the interviewee according to pre-existing categories. 
 
Self-identification overcomes undignifying census practices and is expected to provide more realistic portraits of the cultural diversity in a country.

Australia’s housing affordability problem is not only having an impact on the number of people renting versus buying, but is also driving up household sizes, especially in Sydney where average household size has continued to climb.
 
This means that while Sydney’s population is continuing to grow, affordability pressures mean that the number of dwellings to service this increased population is struggling to keep up, as more people are living in each dwelling.

The Census Independent Assurance Panels report has been released. In it, we determined the 2016 Census data is of comparable quality to the 2011 and 2006 Census data and can be used with confidence.

The 2016 Census results for those who identified as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander are comparable to those who identified their background in the 2011 Census. There remains a large undercount of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and this is a concern that that ABS will need to address. One way to do this is to work more closely with communities and understand better what communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people want from the Census. These are hard conversations to have, but ones that are needed so that the statistical agency and its many partners can serve better the needs of vulnerable Australians.

Census data showing an increase in same-sex marriages is welcome because the more the ABS is permitted to collect more information on our same-sex populations the safer and more established they will become.

The number, in excess of 46,000, suggests same-sex people can enjoy couple status and privileges without the need for marriage, which in Victoria would be a function of the State's relationship legislation which allows same-sex couples of more than two years' standing the same rights and privileges as de facto straight relationships, a fact often overlooked in the gay marriage debate. It suggests also that homophobia is in decline.

Permitting the ABS to collect more details about where same-sex relationships predominate would help because until they can occur as safely and easily in country towns and regions as they do in parts of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney and provincial cities we cannot finally say that homophobia is on the wane or has been eliminated.