The average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia is just one indicator of the gap in health outcomes that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. From 2015 to 2017, the average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island men and women in major cities in Australia was 72.1 and 76.5 years, respectively. By comparison, the non-Indigenous population lived around eight years longer on average. This divide is even more pronounced in rural and very remote areas where the life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders drops to below 70 years.

Closing the gap

Over the past decade the federal, state and territory Governments of Australia have been working toward closing the gap of inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the Closing the Gap Framework, introduced in 2008. The Framework identified seven target areas for improving the health and wellbeing outcomes of Indigenous Australians. These target areas covered early childhood, schooling, health, economic participation, healthy homes, safe communities, and governance and leadership. In 2020, school enrollment rates were steadily increasing and more Indigenous Australians were attaining a bachelor degree. As a result, the schooling target was considered to be ‘on track’ along with early childhood education participation.

More work to be done

Although two of the seven targets were ‘on track’ in 2020, the other five Closing the Gap targets were not. This indicated that Australia still has a long way to go in order to significantly reduce the gap of disadvantage faced by indigenous Australians. This is evident in the proportion of Aboriginal Australians who remain unemployed or not in the labor force and Indigenous youth incarceration rates, which have been increasing.

From 2015 to 2017, the average life expectancy of non-Indigenous women in major cities in Australia was 83.7 years. By comparison, men had a shorter life expectancy of around three years. Although life expectancy dropped slightly in regional areas, non-Indigenous Australians in remote areas enjoyed a similar life expectancy to their major city counterparts.

The statistic shows the total population of Australia from 1980 to 2023, with projections up until 2030. In 2023, Australia had a total population of about 26.95 million people. Population of Australia Australia is among the ten largest countries in the world, in terms of area size, although its total population is low in relation to this. Much of Australia’s interior remains uninhabited, as the majority of Australians live in coastal metropolises and cities. Most of the population is of European descent (predominantly British), although there is a growing share of the population with Asian heritage; only a small percentage belongs to the indigenous Aboriginal population. Australia's year-on-year population growth is fairly high compared to most other economically and demographically advanced nations, due to comparatively high rates of natural increase and immigration. Living standards Standard of living is fairly high in Australia, which can be seen when looking at the Human Development Index, which ranks countries by their level of human development and living standards, such as their unemployment rate, literacy rate, or life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy of Australia’s population is quite high in international comparison, for example, Australia is also among the leading countries when it comes to this key factor. Economically speaking, Australia is also among the leading nations, with a steadily rising employment rate, an increasing gross domestic product (GDP) with a steady growth rate, and a relatively stable share in the global GDP.

This dataset, released August 2017, contains Aboriginal population as a percentage of the total usual resident population, 2016. The data is by Local Government Area (LGA) 2016 geographic …Show full descriptionThis dataset, released August 2017, contains Aboriginal population as a percentage of the total usual resident population, 2016. The data is by Local Government Area (LGA) 2016 geographic boundaries. For more information please see the data source notes on the data. Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2016. Please note: AURIN has spatially enabled the original data. "*" - Indicates statistically significant, at the 95% confidence level. "**" - Indicates statistically significant, at the 99% confidence level. "~" - Indicates modelled estimates have Relative Root Mean Square Errors (RRMSEs) from 0.25 to 0.50 and should be used with caution. "~~" - Indicates modelled estimates have RRMSEs greater than 0.50 but less than 1 and are considered too unreliable for general use. '?' - Indicates modelled estimates are considered too unreliable. Blank cell - Indicates data was not shown/not applicable/not published/not available for the specific area ('#', '..', '^', 'np, 'n.a.', 'n.y.a.' in original PHIDU data). Copyright attribution: Torrens University Australia - Public Health Information Development Unit, (2018): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 AU)

This dataset, released in December 2017, contains the Aboriginal usual resident population by 5 year age groups: 0-4 years to 65+ years, 2016. The data is by Local Government Area (LGA) 2016 geographic boundaries.

Population Health Areas, developed by PHIDU, are comprised of a combination of whole SA2s and multiple (aggregates of) SA2s, where the SA2 is an area in the ABS structure.

For more information please see the data source notes on the data.

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2016.

AURIN has spatially enabled the original data. Data that was not shown/not applicable/not published/not available for the specific area ('#', '..', '^', 'np, 'n.a.', 'n.y.a.' in original PHIDU data) was removed.It has been replaced by by Blank cells. For other keys and abbreviations refer to PHIDU Keys.

This dataset, released in June 2019, contains the Aboriginal population as a percentage of the total usual resident population, 2016. The data is by Primary Health Network (PHN) 2017 geographic boundaries based on the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). There are 31 PHNs set up by the Australian Government. Each network is controlled by a board of medical professionals and advised by a clinical council and community advisory committee. The boundaries of the PHNs closely align with the Local Hospital Networks where possible. For more information please see the data source notes on the data. Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2016. AURIN has spatially enabled the original data. Data that was not shown/not applicable/not published/not available for the specific area ('#', '..', '^', 'np, 'n.a.', 'n.y.a.' in original PHIDU data) was removed.It has been replaced by by Blank cells. For other keys and abbreviations refer to PHIDU Keys.

This dataset, released August 2017, contains Aboriginal population as a percentage of the total usual resident population by 5 year age groups: 0-4 years to 65+ years, 2016. The data is by Population Health Area (PHA) 2016 geographic boundaries based on the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Population Health Areas, developed by PHIDU, are comprised of a combination of whole SA2s and multiple (aggregates of) SA2s, where the SA2 is an area in the ABS structure. For more information please see the data source notes on the data. Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2016. AURIN has spatially enabled the original data. Data that was not shown/not applicable/not published/not available for the specific area ('#', '..', '^', 'np, 'n.a.', 'n.y.a.' in original PHIDU data) was removed.It has been replaced by by Blank cells. For other keys and abbreviations refer to PHIDU Keys.

This dataset, released in December 2017, contains the male Aboriginal usual resident population by 5 year age groups: 0-4 years to 65+ years, 2016. The data is by Primary Health Network (PHN) 2017 geographic boundaries based on the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). There are 31 PHNs set up by the Australian Government. Each network is controlled by a board of medical professionals and advised by a clinical council and community advisory committee. The boundaries of the PHNs closely align with the Local Hospital Networks where possible. For more information please see the data source notes on the data. Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2016. AURIN has spatially enabled the original data. Data that was not shown/not applicable/not published/not available for the specific area ('#', '..', '^', 'np, 'n.a.', 'n.y.a.' in original PHIDU data) was removed.It has been replaced by by Blank cells. For other keys and abbreviations refer to PHIDU Keys.

This dataset, released December 2017, contains the female Aboriginal usual resident population by 5 year age groups: 0-4 years to 65+ years, 2016. The data is by Primary Health Network (PHN) 2017 …Show full descriptionThis dataset, released December 2017, contains the female Aboriginal usual resident population by 5 year age groups: 0-4 years to 65+ years, 2016. The data is by Primary Health Network (PHN) 2017 geographic boundaries based on the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). There are 31 PHNs set up by the Australian Government. Each network is controlled by a board of medical professionals and advised by a clinical council and community advisory committee. The boundaries of the PHNs closely align with the Local Hospital Networks where possible. For more information please see the data source notes on the data. Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2016. Please note: AURIN has spatially enabled the original data. "*" - Indicates statistically significant, at the 95% confidence level. "**" - Indicates statistically significant, at the 99% confidence level. "~" - Indicates modelled estimates have Relative Root Mean Square Errors (RRMSEs) from 0.25 to 0.50 and should be used with caution. "~~" - Indicates modelled estimates have RRMSEs greater than 0.50 but less than 1 and are considered too unreliable for general use. '?' - Indicates modelled estimates are considered too unreliable. Blank cell - Indicates data was not shown/not applicable/not published/not available for the specific area ('#', '..', '^', 'np, 'n.a.', 'n.y.a.' in original PHIDU data). Copyright attribution: Torrens University Australia - Public Health Information Development Unit, (2018): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 AU)

In the 2022 financial year, First Nations arts and culture received a total of *** million Australian dollars investment from the Australia Council for the Arts. This was around 100,000 Australian dollars less than what was granted in the previous year, however, first nations projects were also funded through other arts funding categories.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

There is great diversity within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and this is perhaps most apparent in the artforms practiced by each individual clan group. Art is a means for Indigenous people to record, share, and express spiritual stories, and an important connection to culture. The importance and cultural value of Indigenous art is also recognized by non-Indigenous Australians and it continues to gain popularity internationally. As a means of further supporting and developing indigenous arts in Australia, dedicated funding opportunities are available to Indigenous artists and Indigenous run projects. 

Indigenous languages

When British settlers colonized Australia in 1788 there were over ******* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Australia. They represented around *** tribes and over *** individual languages spoken, each with their own oral histories, culture, and belief systems. Today, only around *** are still spoken and the majority are critically endangered. Indigenous languages Djambarrpuyngu, Pitjantjatjara, and Walpiri are among the those with the largest number of speakers, although, none of them have more than ***** speakers each. According to results of the National Indigenous Languages Survey only ** Indigenous languages are still actively passed on to children. However, some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are actively relearning the languages of their ancestors and use of Indigenous languages remains relatively strong in remote areas.

SA3 based data for Age By Indigenous Status By Sex, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of persons in single year age brackets up to 24 years of age …Show full descriptionSA3 based data for Age By Indigenous Status By Sex, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of persons in single year age brackets up to 24 years of age and 5 year age brackets up to 65 years and over. I03 is broken up into three sections (I03a to I03c), this section covers ‘ Age years 0 Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Males’ - ‘ Age years 14 Indigenous status not stated Females’. The data is by SA3 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

This dataset presents the footprint of the number of occasions of service for Indigenous Australians with eye health professionals, per 1,000 population, under the Visiting Optometrists Scheme (VOS). The data spans the financial year of 2016-2017 and is aggregated to 2015 Department of Health Primary Health Network (PHN) areas, based on the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The data is sourced from an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) analysis of unpublished Department of Health data. For further information about this dataset, visit the data source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Indigenous Eye Health Measures 2017 Data Tables. Please note: AURIN has spatially enabled the original data using the Department of Health - PHN Areas.

This dataset, released in December 2017, contains the female Aboriginal usual resident population by 5 year age groups: 0-4 years to 65+ years, 2016. The data is by Primary Health Network (PHN) 2017 geographic boundaries based on the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). There are 31 PHNs set up by the Australian Government. Each network is controlled by a board of medical professionals and advised by a clinical council and community advisory committee. The boundaries of the PHNs closely align with the Local Hospital Networks where possible. For more information please see the data source notes on the data. Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, August 2016. AURIN has spatially enabled the original data. Data that was not shown/not applicable/not published/not available for the specific area ('#', '..', '^', 'np, 'n.a.', 'n.y.a.' in original PHIDU data) was removed.It has been replaced by by Blank cells. For other keys and abbreviations refer to PHIDU Keys.

SA2 based data for Selected Person Characteristics by Indigenous Status by Sex, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of persons. The dataset includes …Show full descriptionSA2 based data for Selected Person Characteristics by Indigenous Status by Sex, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of persons. The dataset includes the following characteristics: age bracket, location on census night, language spoken at home, English proficiency, Religion, age bracket of those attending an educational institution, highest year level of schooling complete and type of usual residence. I01 is also broken up into 3 sections (I01a – I01c), this section contains 'Total persons Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Males’ - 'Visitor from Different SA2 in Northern Territory Indigenous status not stated Females’. The data is by SA2 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

SA3 based data for Total Personal Income (Weekly) by Sex for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Persons, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons aged 15 years and over. The data is by SA3 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to …Show full descriptionSA3 based data for Total Personal Income (Weekly) by Sex for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Persons, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons aged 15 years and over. The data is by SA3 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

GCCSA based data for Total Personal Income (Weekly) by Sex for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Persons, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count …Show full descriptionGCCSA based data for Total Personal Income (Weekly) by Sex for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Persons, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander persons aged 15 years and over. The data is by GCCSA 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

LGA based data for Age By Indigenous Status By Sex, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of persons in single year age brackets up to 24 years of age …Show full descriptionLGA based data for Age By Indigenous Status By Sex, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Profile (ATSIP), 2016 Census. Count of persons in single year age brackets up to 24 years of age and 5 year age brackets up to 65 years and over. I03 is broken up into three sections (I03a and I03c), this section covers ‘Age years 40-44 years Non-Indigenous Females’ - ‘Total Total Persons’. The data is by LGA 2016 boundaries. Periodicity: 5-Yearly. Note: There are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals. For more information visit the data source: http://www.abs.gov.au/census. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2017): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/16/2021. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia (CC BY 2.5 AU)

This dataset presents the footprint of the percentage of adults who saw three or more health professionals for the same condition in the preceding 12 months. The data spans the years of 2014-2017 and is aggregated to 2015 Department of Health Primary Health Network (PHN) areas, based on the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

The data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2016-17 Patient Experience Survey, collected between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017. It also includes data from previous Patient Experience Surveys conducted in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16. The Patient Experience Survey is conducted annually by the ABS and collects information from a representative sample of the Australian population. The Patient Experience Survey is one of several components of the Multipurpose Household Survey, as a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey. The Patient Experience Survey collects data on persons aged 15 years and over, who are referred to as adults for this data collection.

For further information about this dataset, visit the data source:Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Patient experiences in Australia Data Tables.

Please note:

• AURIN has spatially enabled the original data using the Department of Health - PHN Areas.

• Percentages are calculated based on counts that have been randomly adjusted by the ABS to avoid the release of confidential data.

• As an indication of the accuracy of estimates, 95% confidence intervals were produced. These were calculated by the ABS using standard error estimates of the proportion.

• Some of the patient experience measures for 2016-17 have age-standardised rates presented. Age-standardised rates are hypothetical rates that would have been observed if the populations studied had the same age distribution as the standard population.

• Crude rates are provided for all years. They should be used for understanding the patterns of actual service use or level of experience in a particular PHN.

• The Patient Experience Survey excludes persons aged less than 15 years, persons living in non-private dwellings and the Indigenous Community Strata (encompassing discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities).

• Data for Northern Territory should be interpreted with caution as the Patient Experience Survey excluded the Indigenous Community Strata, which comprises around 25% of the estimated resident population of the Northern Territory living in private dwellings.

• NP - Not available for publication. The estimate is considered to be unreliable. Values assigned to NP in the original data have been set to null.

This dataset presents the footprint of the rate of hospitalisations for eye procedures per 1,000 Indigenous population by client location. The location of the client is based on their place of usual residence. The data spans the financial years between 2014-2016 and is aggregated to 2015 Department of Health Primary Health Network (PHN) areas, based on the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The data is sourced from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) - National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD), which is a compilation of episode-level records from admitted patient care data collection systems in Australian hospitals in each state and territory. The NHMD is based on data provided to the AIHW by state and territory health authorities for the National minimum data set (NMDS) for Admitted patient care. For further information about this dataset, visit the data source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Indigenous Eye Health Measures 2017 Data Tables. Please note:

Abstract

This dataset was supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and is presented here as originally supplied. Metadata was not provided and has been compiled by the Bioregional Assessment Programme based on the known details at the time of acquisition

This dataset was sourced from the ABS website: www.abs.gov.au. It did not include comprehensive metadata.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Catalogue Number 2006.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Working Population Profile, 2011 Second Release

This dataset contains the ABS 2011 Working Population profile for 6 LGA's (Local Government Areas) in the Cooper subregion. These include Barcoo, Bulloo, Quilpie, Diamantina, Longreach Regional and Unincorporated SA.

The ABS dataset series is described as follows:

The Community Profile Series contains six separate profiles providing information on key Census characteristics relating to persons, families and dwellings and covering most topics on the Census form. The profiles are excellent tools for researching, planning and analysing small and large geographic areas. They enable comparisons to be made between different geographic areas. The available profiles for the 2011 Census are: Basic Community Profile (BCP), Place of Enumeration Profile (PEP), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (Indigenous) Profile (IP), Time Series Profile (TSP), Expanded Community Profile (XCP) and the Working Population Profile (WPP).

The Working Population Profile (WPP) contains 23 tables of key Census characteristics of employed persons. The data are based on where people work. The profile includes data on hours worked, industry of employment, occupation, qualifications and method of travel to work etc.

Dataset History

The Working Population Profile spreadsheets within this dataset were downloaded from: http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/map.

Each LGA spreadsheet was searched for, and downloaded separately.

Dataset Citation

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013) ABS Cooper Local Government Areas (LGA) Working Population Profile 2011 Census. Bioregional Assessment Source Dataset. Viewed 07 February 2017, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/65261aa9-38b8-4031-b10d-4170929f1477.