Glossary

Household that contains one or more people identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

People who have identified themselves or have been identified by a representative (for example, another household member, a parent or guardian), as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. Also referred to as First Nations or Indigenous.

A group of means-tested payments (which may include a living allowance and/or other supplementary benefits) for eligible First Nations students and apprentices who are in an approved course, Australian Apprenticeship or traineeship.

Include core activities (self-care, mobility, communication) and non-core activities of independent living (cognitive or emotional tasks, health care, reading or writing tasks, transport, household chores, property maintenance, meal preparation).

Data set that results from the information collected for the purposes of delivering a service or paying the provider of the service. This type of collection is usually complete (all in-scope events are collected), but it may not be fully suitable for population-level analysis because the data are collected primarily for an administrative purpose.

Income-support payment paid to older Australians who have reached the qualifying age and residency requirements, subject to income and asset tests. The qualifying age has changed over time and depends on a person’s date of birth. Between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2017, the age pension age was 65 years. From 1 July 2017, the qualifying age increased to 65 years and 6 months and increased by 6 months every 2 years to reach 67 years by 1 July 2023.

Age at which a person becomes eligible to receive Age Pension (subject to income, asset and residency requirements). The age has changed over time and depends on a person’s date of birth. Between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2017, the age pension age was 65 years. From 1 July 2017, the qualifying age increased to 65 years and 6 months, and increased by 6 months every 2 years to reach 67 years by 1 July 2023.

Relative number of people in each age group in a population.

Various assistance, personal care and nursing services aimed at older people. See also home support, home care and residential aged care.

Regulated care delivered in residential or community settings, including a person’s own home. Most formal care is subsidised through government programs.

The aged care workforce comprises a range of job roles including nursing staff, personal care workers, allied health professionals, ancillary care, management and administration positions and other roles.

Rate for which the influence of age is removed by converting the age structures of the different populations to the same ‘standard’ structure. This provides a more valid way to compare rates from populations with different age structures.

This OECD measure is of the average of annual concentrations of particulate matters less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) in the air.

Funds that provide a link between people who want to donate and organisations that can receive tax deductible donations (deductible gift recipients, or DGRs).

People who enter into a legal contract (training agreement or contract of training) with an employer, to serve a period of training to attain tradesperson status in a recognised trade.

Test to determine eligibility for government payments based on property or items an individual or their partner owns, or has an interest in.

Means-tested payment for full-time students and Australian apprentices aged 25 and over.

Sum of all the values in a set of values, divided by the number of values in that set. Often used as a representative value of that set.

Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the total annualised budget for participants’ active plans, divided by the number of active participants, rounded to the nearest thousand dollars. This represents the average of the annualised amounts in the participants’ active plans, and gives an indication of the relative amount of support that participants of different demographics receive. See also committed support.

Seasonally adjusted estimates of average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adult employees, excluding overtime and irregular bonuses. This measure reflects regular income and is the preferred measure for tracking wage growth, rather than income from all earnings, as short-term fluctuations in overtime can distort the underlying trend in wage growth and is commonly excluded to allow for more reliable comparisons of trends over time. Movements in average weekly earnings can be affected by changes in both wage rates and in the composition of employment.

Data on AWOTE are sourced from the Survey of Average Weekly Earnings.

A gift of property to a person or organisation in a Will. In common usage, the term bequest is used to include gifts of money.

A measure of the appropriateness of housing that is sensitive to both household size and composition. The CNOS specifies that:

• no more than 2 people shall share a bedroom
• parents or couples may share a bedroom
• children under 5, either of the same sex or opposite sex, may share a bedroom
• children under 18 of the same sex may share a bedroom
• a child aged 5–17 should not share a bedroom with a child aged under 5 of the opposite sex
• single adults aged 18 and over and any unpaired children require a separate bedroom.

Legal orders or arrangements that give child protection departments some responsibility for a child’s welfare. See also finalised guardianship or custody order, finalised third-party parental responsibility order, finalised supervisory order, interim and temporary order, and administrative arrangement

Person who cares for another person (often a relative or friend) and has the responsibility for making decisions about that person’s daily care. In the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, a carer is defined as a person who provides any informal assistance (help or supervision) to people with disability or older people, with assistance being ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least 6 months. See also informal carer and primary carer.

An income-tested fortnightly supplement for those who give additional daily care to a person with a disability, medical condition, or who is frail aged.

Means-tested income support payment for people providing constant care for a person with physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability, severe medical condition, or who is frail aged and, due to their caring role, are unable to support themselves through substantial paid employment.

Employed person who generally has no set or regular weekly hours, is not entitled to paid leave and has no notice period for ending employment. Casual workers may work full time or part time. See also full-time workers and part-time workers.

A study of every unit, everyone or everything, in a population. 

The Australian government service that delivers social security payments and services, administered by Services Australia for retirees, the unemployed, families, carers, parents, people with disability, First Nations people, and people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

An entity established for charitable purposes for the public benefit, as defined by the Charities Act 2013 (Cth). Often used as a synonym for voluntary or not-for-profit organisations, such as those that raise funds for or offer support to the disadvantaged in society.

A diverse group of diseases/conditions, such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis, which tend to be long lasting and persistent in their symptoms or development. Although these features also apply to some communicable diseases, the term is usually confined to non-communicable diseases.

All usual residents of Australia aged 15 and over, except members of the permanent Defence Force, certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments customarily excluded from Census and estimated population counts, overseas residents in Australia, and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed in Australia.

Under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), this is the cost of supports contained within an NDIS participant’s plan, approved to be provided to support a participant’s needs. This is sometimes annualised to allow for comparison of plans of different lengths. See also average annualised committed support.

An Australian Government-funded aged care program which provides entry-level support services such as domestic assistance for older people so that they can continue to live independently at home. Effective from 1 July 2015, the program integrates various services previously providing basic home support (including the Commonwealth Home and Community Care program, National Respite for Carers, Day Therapy Centres and Assistance with Care and Housing for the Aged).

is a non–taxable income supplement, paid fortnightly to eligible recipients. It is paid at 75 cents for every dollar above a minimum rental threshold until a maximum rate is reached. Minimum thresholds and maximum rates vary depending on the household or family situation. This includes the number of children (DSS 2019). Pensioners, allowees and those receiving more than the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A, who rent in the private rental market or community housing, may be eligible for Rent Assistance.

Diseases that are capable of being transmitted between individuals, including AIDS, HIV, hepatitis, malaria, meningitis, sexually transmitted infections, and vaccine-preventable diseases such as chickenpox and influenza.

A legal arrangement that requires a young person to be supervised by a youth justice agency within the community. Community-based supervision may be unsentenced or sentenced. Unsentenced community-based legal orders include supervised or conditional bail and home detention bail – sentenced community-based orders include probation and similar orders, suspended detention, and parole or supervised release.

Term used in discussions of disability, referring to the basic activities of daily living, namely self-care, mobility and communication.

Limitation where someone needs help with – or is having difficulty or uses aids and equipment for – self-care, mobility and/or communication. See also disability and severe or profound core activity limitation.

A supplement that was provided for new and existing recipients of select government payments, from 27 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, including JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Youth Allowance, Austudy, Widow Allowance, Partner Allowance, ABSTUDY living allowance, Farm Household Allowance and Special Benefit.

A disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus, a novel type of coronavirus which emerged in December 2019 and was classified as a global pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organization.

A person or position with delegation to exercise overall responsibility for a specific data collection, in accordance with legislation, policies, guidelines and any specific conditions for use applicable to that data collection. Subject to these requirements, a data custodian has the power to release data to other bodies or persons.

Bringing together (linking) information from 2 or more data sources believed to relate to the same entity, such as the same individual or the same institution. This linkage can provide more information about the entity. In certain cases it can provide a time sequence, helping to tell a story, show pathways and perhaps unravel cause and effect. The term is used synonymously with record linkage and data integration.

Earnings from employment in the preceding fortnight including wages, salaries, stipends, commissions or honoraria, bonuses, penalty rates and overtime.

An organisation that is a registered charity and has been endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a DGR. Financial donations to these charities can be tax-deductible. Some not-for-profit entities, such as some fire and emergency services, have DGR status and are not registered as charities.

A legal arrangement that requires a young person to be detained in a youth justice facility. This includes both sentenced and unsentenced detention.

Any factor that can increase the chances of ill health (risk factors) or good health (protective factors) in a population or individual. By convention, health services or other programs that aim to improve health are usually not included in this definition.

Children who scored between the 10th and 25th percentiles on one or more of the 5 domains of the Australian Early Development Census. The domains are physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognition skills, and communication skills and general knowledge.

Children who scored above the 25th percentile (top 75 per cent) of the national population on one or more of the 5 domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The domains are physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills, and communication skills and general knowledge.

The AEDC report a summary indicator, on track on all 5 domains, which is the number and proportion of children assessed as being developmentally on track on all 5 domains of the AEDC.

Children who scored in the 10th percentile on one or more of the 5 domains of the Australian Early Development Census. The domains are physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognition skills, and communication skills and general knowledge.

Umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions, all of which can interact with a person’s health condition(s) and environmental and/or individual factors to hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equitable basis with others. There are varying degrees of disability – from experiencing limitation in core activities (self-care, mobility, and/or communication) and/or restrictions in schooling or employment, to having no specific limitations or restrictions. Disability can be associated with genetic disorders, illnesses, accidents, ageing, injuries, or a combination of these factors.

The Disability Employment Services (DES) program supports people with disability to prepare them to find – and keep – a job (includes help with resumé preparation and interview skills, in-workplace support for employers, and workplace modifications). It is the main employment service for people with disability, injury and/or health condition. 

The DES program will be replaced by a new specialist disability employment program, called Inclusive Employment Australia. The new program is designed to help more people with disability, injury, and/or a health condition to prepare for and find sustainable employment.

Means-tested income support payment for people aged 16 and over but under the age pension age (at claim) who have reduced capacity to work because of their disability. This includes people who: 

• are permanently blind
• have a physical, intellectual or psychiatric condition resulting in functional impairment that makes them unable to work for 15 hours or more per week for the next 2 years 
• are unable, because of impairment, to undertake a training activity that would equip them for work within the next 2 years. 

People receiving DSP are encouraged to participate in employment where they have the capacity to gain the benefits of working, such as improved wellbeing. On reaching Age Pension age, people already receiving DSP may continue to receive it. 
 

A person aged at least 18 who is expected to be released from full-time prison custody during the data collection period, or due to be released within 4 weeks following the data collection period. People who were being transferred from one facility to another were not included as dischargees.

Income after taxes and other essential costs are deducted from total income. See also equivalised household income (disposable or gross).

Unconditional voluntary transfers of money, goods or services to community organisations, institutions, government entities, or individuals, in which the donating organisation is not expected to receive anything in return.

Defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ‘as ‘the highest grade completed within the most advanced level attended in the educational system of the country where the education was received’.

People aged 15 and over who, during the reference week of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey, worked for 1 hour or more for pay, profit, commission, or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm, or worked for 1 hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (contributing family workers). Includes employees who had a job but were not at work and were away from work for less than 4 weeks up to the end of the reference week, or away from work for more than 4 weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all those 4 weeks. Also includes those away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement, on strike or locked out, on workers’ compensation and expected to return to their job, or were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work. This definition applies to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey and may differ somewhat from definitions in other collections. Compare with unemployed. See also labour force.

The ABS Analytical Living Cost Indexes (ALCIs) account for the extent to which the impact of price change varies across different groups of households in the Australian population.

ALCIs are prepared for four types of Australian households. Households have been categorised based on the principal source of household income, derived from the 2015-16 Household Expenditure Survey (HES).

These include employee households, age pensioner households, other government transfer recipient households and self-funded retiree households.

The principal source of income for employee households consists of wages and salaries.

As an example, employee households allocate a higher proportion of their expenditure to Education and Insurance and financial services (which includes Interest charges) than the other household types. See Selected Living Cost Indexes, Australia methodology for more details.

One of commonly reported Disability Employment Services (DES) outcomes, the number of employment placements refers to the number of DES employment (and, in some cases, education) placements where a person with disability has been placed in a job appropriate to their work capacity. The reported numbers refer to claims rather than people, since one person can have multiple employment placements within a reporting period.

Number of employed persons expressed as a percentage of the civilian population in the same group. The denominator includes persons who are unemployed or not in the labour force. Also referred to as employment-to-population ratio.

Describes the number of employed people aged 15 and over as a proportion of the civilian population. Employed people includes those who have a job (for at least 1 hour during the reference period). This could be full time, part time, or away from work during the reference period. The employment rate refers to the ‘working age population’, those aged 15–64. This age restriction has been applied as it is important to account for the size of the population when monitoring longer term trends in employment rates, given the growth in the population aged 65 and over in recent decades.

Despite increases to the qualifying age for Age Pension in recent years (from 65.5 on 1 July 2017 to 67 on 1 July 2023), the ‘working age’ population is defined as those aged 15–64 for consistency with previous reporting and for comparability across the reporting period (1978 to 2023).

The Australian Government funds employment services so that people receiving income support have access to support that will help them find and keep a job. The kinds of services typically included in employment services programs include:

• services that help individuals during their job search, such as helping to find jobs or writing resumés
• training programs aimed at helping to improve the employability of people who are unemployed
• services that help unemployed individuals start their own business
• work experience programs that place unemployed people in work-like activities (such as Work for the Dole)

Registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a program of study. The enrolment is considered valid only if the student has undertaken enrolment procedures, met their fee obligations, and has engaged in learning activity regardless of mode of delivery.

Registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a program of study. The enrolment is considered valid only if the student has undertaken enrolment procedures, met their fee obligations, and has engaged in learning activity regardless of mode of delivery.

A person aged at least 18, entering full-time prison custody, either on remand (awaiting a trial or sentencing) or on a sentence. Prisoners who have been transferred from one prison to another are not included as entrants.

Adjustment made to total household income to facilitate comparison of income levels between households of differing size and composition. An indicator of the economic resources available to a standardised household. For a lone-person household, equal to income received. For a household comprising more than one person, an indicator of the household income that a lone-person household would require to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing as the household in question. Can be measured as gross (total) income, net (after tax) income, or disposable income (after taxes and other essential costs are deducted from total income).

The difference between the actual number, and the expected numbers, of deaths from all causes in a specific period. Expected deaths are deaths that would be anticipated under ‘normal’ conditions (for example, in the absence of the COVID-19 pandemic). Excess deaths are additional deaths above their normal or trend level.

Any violence between family members as well as current or former intimate partners. Can include acts of violence between a parent and a child. Family violence is the preferred term used to identify experiences of violence for First Nations people as it encompasses the broad range of extended family and kinship relationships in which violence may occur.

Income-tested government benefits to assist with the everyday costs of raising children.

A commonly used summary measure for the number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime. This provides an indication of the number of children a woman would have during her life if she experienced the age-specific fertility rates for that year over her entire lifetime.

Experience of financial stress refers to an inability to meet basic financial commitments because of a shortage of money, as derived from 7 financial stress factors. In the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, the self-completion questionnaire contains the following questions in each wave (except for wave 10): ‘Since January [survey year] did any of the following happen to you because of a shortage of money?’

a. Could not pay electricity, gas or telephone bills on time

b. Could not pay the mortgage or rent on time

c. Pawned or sold something

d. Went without meals

e. Was unable to heat home

f. Asked for financial help from friends or family

g. Asked for help from welfare/community organisations

Respondents are asked to indicate which of the 7 events had occurred. At least one factor must be experienced for a person to be classified as in financial stress.

In the HILDA Survey, the self-completion questionnaire contains the following 7 questions on financial stress factors in each wave (except for wave 10): “Since January [survey year] did any of the following happen to you because of a shortage of money?”

a. Could not pay electricity, gas or telephone bills on time

b. Could not pay the mortgage or rent on time

c. Pawned or sold something

d. Went without meals

e. Was unable to heat home

f. Asked for financial help from friends or family

g. Asked for help from welfare/community organisations

Respondents are asked to indicate which of the seven events had occurred.

Person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.

A household that contains one or more Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. See also other household.

People who have identified themselves or have been identified by a representative (for example, another household member, a parent or guardian), as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

An aged care stream that addresses people’s needs, in either a residential or home care setting, in ways other than the care provided through the mainstream residential and home care programs.

Flexible care programs include Multi-Purpose Services, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program and Innovative Pool. Some publications also include transition care and short-term restorative care under the term ‘‘flexible care’’.

Government payment received by an individual that is the full amount that may be received for that particular benefit type. Whether an individual is eligible for full- or part-payment is often determined based on whether the income they earn is below or above a certain threshold.

Employed people who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working fewer than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Survey. Compare with part-time worker.

a person who worked, or usually works 35 hours or more each week at the time of survey. This includes people who were employed in two or more part-time jobs and in total worked more than 35 hours.

The proportion of the total working age (15–64 years) population currently in full-time employment. The denominator includes persons who work in a less than full-time capacity, along with those who are unemployed or not in the labour force.

Employed people who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working fewer than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Survey. Compare with part-time worker.

Gambling/betting requires a player to risk losing something of value (usually money) for the chance of winning more. Gambling outcomes may depend on correctly predicting an uncertain outcome (such as a particular horse coming first in a race), or luck (such as a winning combination of symbols on a poker machine).

Adverse consequences which occur as a result of someone’s gambling. Gambling-related harm can be divided into key areas: financial harm, relationship disruption, emotional or psychological distress, decrements to health, cultural harm, reduced work or study performance and criminal activity.
These harms can further be considered as general harms (which occur at any time), crisis harms, which are associated with attempts to seek help, and legacy harms, which occur long after gambling has ceased. Gambling-related harm can be experienced by other gambler and others close to them (affected others).

The percentage point difference between women and men in the perception of safety in the community when walking alone a night.

Statistical measure of economic distribution, ranging from 0 to 1. Zero represents perfectly equal income distribution (all people have the same amount of money), while 1 represents perfectly unequal income distribution (one person has all available money).

Households in greatest need which is, at the time of allocation, either homeless or at risk of homelessness, in housing inappropriate to their needs, in housing placing them at risk or in housing with very high rental costs. These households are prioritised for placing in social housing.

Refers to the groups of gases that concentrate in the earth’s atmosphere and absorb infrared radiation, not allowing heat to escape to outer space and generating what is known as the natural greenhouse effect.

Statistic commonly used to indicate national income. The total market value of goods and services produced within a given period after deducting the cost of goods and services used in the process of production, but before deducting allowances for the consumption of fixed capital.

The ability of people to access, understand and apply information about health and the health care system, to make decisions that relate to their health.

Support and care services given to older people in their own homes. See also Home Care Packages Program.

An Australian Government-funded aged care program which provides support and care to older people in their own homes. Services are offered in packages of care, which can consist of personal care and domestic support, as well as clinical and allied health services. There are 4 levels of care to support those with basic (Level 1), low (Level 2), intermediate (Level 3) and high (Level 4) care needs.

Home Care Packages were started in 2013, combining 3 previous programmes: Community Aged Care Package, Extended Aged Care at Home and Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia. The Home Care Packages Program transitioned to the Support at Home program on 1 July 2025. This new program will replace both the Home Care Packages Program and the Short-Term Restorative Care Programme.

Household residing in a dwelling that at least one member of the household owns, with or without a mortgage.

Entry-level support for older people in their homes. See also Commonwealth Home Support Programme.

A person living in non-conventional accommodation, sleeping rough, or staying in short-term or emergency accommodation due to a lack of other options. See also homelessness.

There is no single definition of homelessness.

The Specialist Homelessness Services Collection defines a person as homeless if they are living in either:

• non-conventional accommodation or sleeping rough (such as living on the street)
• short-term or emergency accommodation due to a lack of other options (such as living temporarily with friends and relatives).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines homelessness, for the purposes of the Census of Population and Housing, as the lack of one or more of the elements that represent home. According to the ABS, when a person does not have suitable accommodation alternatives they are considered homeless if their current living arrangement:

• is in a dwelling that is inadequate
• has no tenure, or if their initial tenure is short and not extendable

does not allow them to have control of and access to space for social relations.

The nominal house price index divided by the nominal disposable income per head, using 2015 as the base year.

Households spending more than 30% of their disposable household income on housing costs. The PolicyMod data uses disposable income for estimating housing stress rather than gross income as it provides a more reasonable comparison, given the low/no tax rate for low-income households compared with higher tax rate for high-income households.

Describes whether a household rents or owns an occupied dwelling, or whether it is occupied under another arrangement.

Includes use of:

• any drug that is illegal to possess or use
• any legal drug used in an illegal manner, such as
  • a drug obtained on prescription, but given or sold to another person to use
  • glue or petrol which is sold legally, but is used in a manner that is not intended, such as inhaling fumes
  • stolen pharmaceuticals sold on the black market (such as pethidine)
• any drug used for ‘non-medical purposes’, which means drugs used
  • either alone or with other drugs to induce or enhance a drug experience
  • for performance enhancement (for example, athletic)
  • for cosmetic purposes (for example, body shaping).

Loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function.

Tests to determine eligibility for government payments based on income and assets. Refer to definitions of asset test and means tested.

Sub-category of benefits paid by the Australian Government which are regular payments that assist with the day-to-day costs of living.

For the purposes of income support payments and other benefits, the income threshold is the amount a person can earn before their payment is reduced.

One person or a group of related persons within a household, whose command over income is shared, or any person living in a non-private dwelling who is in receipt of personal income.

One of the set of Socio-economic Indexes for Areas for ranking the average socioeconomic conditions of the population in an area. Summarises attributes of the population such as low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment and jobs in unskilled occupations.

Whether a person has identified themselves, or has been identified by a representative (for example, their parent or guardian), as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

An adjustment factor is applied to dollar values reported in previous years to align them with the value of a reference year (for example, 2024). This accounts for the effect of inflation, which decreases the value of money over time.

Person who provides unpaid assistance or supervision to someone – usually family and friends – who needs help because of disability, physical or mental health condition, end-of-life health condition or old age, with assistance being ongoing, or likely to be ongoing, for at least 6 months.

In the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, informal assistance may include instances where small amounts of money, or payments for expenses incurred, are paid to the carer by the person that they care for, or where assistance is received from family or friends who are living in the same household, whether or not the carer is paid.

A person who provides unpaid help, in the form of time, skills or services outside a formal organisation or group, to non-household members. It can include providing assistance to a member outside of their household with errands, chores, transport, childcare or providing emotional support and personal care. It excludes support provided only to family members living outside the household.

A fortnightly wage subsidy introduced by the Australian Government in March 2020, designed to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic by helping to keep businesses trading and people employed. Eligible organisations had to pay their employees the full JobKeeper amount (after tax) – regardless of whether an employee had undertaken any work – after which the organisation received the JobKeeper Payment from the Australian Tax Office.

Means-tested income support payment for working-age Australians (aged over 22 but under the Age Pension qualifying age) who are looking for work, participating in approved activities that may increase their chances of finding a job, or earning under the income threshold. Receipt of this payment is typically subject to asset tests and mutual obligation requirements (such as looking for work or engaged in activities that will assist with finding work in the future). In March 2020 this payment replaced Newstart Allowance, consolidating it with several other payments (such as Sickness Allowance and Bereavement.

People employed or unemployed but actively looking for work during the reference week of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Survey. This definition applies to the ABS Labour Force Survey and may differ somewhat from the definitions in other collections. See also not in the labour force.

For any group, the labour force (employed or unemployed) expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged 15 and over in the same group.

A measure of how long a person is expected to live if the rest of their life follows the age and sex-specific mortality rates applicable to their respective year of birth. This is the expectation of the average years that a person lives at a specific age. In this report, ‘life expectancy’ refers to ‘life expectancy at birth’.

Bringing together (linking) information from two or more data sources believed to relate to the same entity, such as the same individual or the same institution. This linkage can provide more information about the entity. In certain cases it can provide a time sequence, helping to tell a story, show pathways and perhaps unravel cause and effect. The term is used synonymously with record linkage and data integration.

An index to account for different living expenses (prices) faced by different households and at different points of the income distribution.  As an example, rises in living costs were more substantial for higher income households in 2022 mostly due to mortgage cost increases impacting higher income households more so than lower income households who are more likely to rent.

Logistic regression is a statistical method used to analyse and predict outcomes based on independent variables. Unlike linear regression, which predicts continuous values, logistic regression is specifically designed for binary outcome variables. Therefore, the outcome variable falls into one of two categories (for example,  ‘yes’ or ‘no’).

A negative subjective appraisal of social relationships, arising when an individual perceives their social connections as insufficient in meeting their social needs.

Data source that collects data from the same sample of subjects multiple times over a given time.

Proportion of labour force that have been unemployed for 12 months or more.

The proportions refer to the duration a currently unemployed person has been looking for work, not the length of time they have been ‘unemployed’ or the total length of ‘spell’ of unemployment.

Low-risk gambling is characterised by the experience of a low level of problems with few or no identified negative consequences. Low-risk gamblers have scores of one or two on the Problem Gambling Severity Index.

Mainstream employment service programs include Workforce Australia Services, Workforce Australia Online and Transition to Work.

• Workforce Australia: is the Australian Government’s key mainstream program to support individuals to find and keep a job, change jobs or create their own job. It includes an online service and a network of providers to deliver personalised support. In July 2022, Workforce Australia replaced jobactive as the mainstream employment services program.
• Transition to Work: aims to assist 15–24-year-olds into work (including apprenticeships and traineeships) or education through practical intervention and work experience.

Average of a group of numbers. Calculated as the sum of all the values in a set of values, divided by the number of values in that set. Often used as a representative value of that set. See also average.

Most social security payments are means-tested; a formal process used to determine eligibility for full or part payment based on whether a person’s income from all sources (income, investments, assets) is below certain income thresholds.

Midpoint of a list of observations ranked from smallest to largest.

High or very high risk of mental distress based on risk categories derived from the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10).

K10 is a scale measuring non-specific psychological distress (ABS 2001).

Available in The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey for the years 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Range of cognitive, emotional and behavioural disorders that interfere with the lives and productivity of people. Mental health disorders are diagnosed using certain criteria. They include depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, personality disorders and psychoses.

As defined in the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Health Survey, and includes harmful use or dependence on alcohol and/or drugs, mood (affective) disorders, anxiety related disorders, problems of psychological development, organic mental disorders and other mental and behavioural conditions.

Also includes self-reported mental and behavioural conditions that are not based on any diagnostic screening tool. For more information, see Comparing ABS long-term health conditions data sources.

Moderate-risk gambling is characterised by the experience of a moderate level of problems from gambling, with some negative consequences, like spending more than you can afford, losing track of time or feeling guilty about your gambling. Moderate-risk gamblers have scores of 3 to 7 on the Problem Gambling Severity Index.

Services in regional, rural and remote areas, providing access to a mix of aged care, health, and community services.

Mutual obligations are designed to ensure that people receiving activity tested income support payments are actively looking for work and participating in activities that will assist them into employment. Mutual obligation requirements differ depending on the recipient’s age, assessed work capacity and whether they are the primary carer of a dependent child. Examples of mutual obligation requirements include accepting offers of suitable paid work, job search, attending appointments with employment services providers, and participating in approved education or training courses or programs.

The net gain or loss of population through immigration to, and emigration from, Australia. It is measured by counting people who stay in Australia for 12 months or more over a 16-month period. This includes individuals on both permanent and temporary visas, as well as returning and departing Australian citizens.

Means-tested income support payment for working-age Australians (aged over 22 but under the Age Pension qualifying age) who are looking for work, participating in approved activities that may increase their chances of finding a job, or earning under the income threshold. This payment was replaced by the JobSeeker Payment in March 2020.

Dollar values reported for a particular year, unadjusted for inflation.

People who indicated they are not of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Regions that include major cities, inner regional centres and outer regional areas, defined in accordance to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard and characterised by a measure of relative geographic access to services measured using Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+).

Educational attainments other than those of pre-primary, primary and secondary education. Include qualifications at these levels: Post-graduate degree, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate, Bachelor degree, Advanced Diploma and Diploma, and Certificates I, II, III and IV. Non-school qualifications may be attained concurrently with school qualifications. Also called post-school qualification.

People not employed and not looking for work or about to begin work (unemployed). Includes retirees, students and people taking care of children or other family members among others. See also labour force.

People who are not currently employed and do not want to work or are permanently unable to work.

Organisations whose primary objective is something other than the generation of profit. Not-for-profit or community organisations range from sporting clubs and hobby groups to community centres, neighbourhood houses, traditional charities, health promotion organisations, aged care homes, disability support groups, etc.

Odds represent the ratio of the probability that an event occurs to the probability that it does not occur.

Generally defined as all people (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous) aged 65 and over, plus Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 50–64.

An organisation of 38 countries, including Australia, that collaborate to develop, evaluate, and promote policies that will improve economic and social wellbeing through sustainable economic growth.

A household in which nobody identified as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. May include people for whom information on Indigenous status was not available.

Overnight care for children aged under 18 for which there is ongoing case management and financial payment (including where a financial payment has been offered but has been declined by the carer). See also family group homes, foster care, relative/kinship care, independent living, other out-of-home care,and residential care

Situation in a dwelling when one or more additional bedrooms are required to adequately house its inhabitants, according to the Canadian National Occupancy Standard. Compare with underutilisation.

A household in which at least one member owns the dwelling in which they reside, either with or without a housing mortgage on that dwelling.

Means-tested income support payment for partnered parents until their youngest child turns 6.

Means-tested income support payment for single parents where the youngest child is aged under 14. Single parents must satisfy part-time mutual obligation requirements of 30 hours per fortnight once their youngest child turns 6 (unless exempt see partial capacity to work). Note a policy change in September 2023 increased the qualifying age of youngest child from 8 to 14 years.

Means-tested income support payment for principal carers in recognition of the impact that caring for young children can have on a parent’s capacity to undertake full-time employment. See also Parenting Payment Single and Parenting Payment Partnered.

A person with a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment has a partial capacity to work if the impairment prevents them from working at least 30 hours per week at the relevant minimum wage or above, independently of a program of support, within the next 2 years. Work capacity is assessed for activity-tested payments, such as JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment Single and Youth Allowance (other) Payment.

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health defines participation in terms of involvement in life situations, from basic learning and applying knowledge, through general tasks and demands, to domestic life, relationships, education and employment, and community life.

An allowance that provides income support for older partners of income support recipients who face barriers to finding employment because of their previous limited participation in the workforce. Partner Allowance has been closed to new entrants since 20 September 2003.

Government payment received by an individual that is not the full amount that may be received for that particular benefit type. Whether an individual is eligible for full or part payment is often determined based on whether the income they earn is below or above a certain threshold.

People who worked, or usually work, less than 35 hours a week at the time of survey or census.

The proportion of the total working age (15–64 years) population currently in part-time employment. The denominator includes persons who work in a full-time capacity, along with those who are unemployed or not in the labour force.

Employed person who usually worked fewer than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and did so during the reference week of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Survey or was not at work in the reference week. This definition applies to the ABS Labour Force Survey and may differ somewhat from definitions in other collections. Compare with full-time worker. See also employed.

The giving of money, time, information, goods and services, influence and voice to improve the wellbeing of humanity and the community.

The Australian National University’s (ANU) microsimulation model that effectively creates a new ABS Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) for each year beyond the base year (in this case 2019–20 SIH).
 
The results are only a simulation of income change. The simulation updates incomes using the best publicly available data, such as wages and employment, and also updates to social security and personal income taxation policy. The simulated data cannot be expected to accurately cover all changes in the economy and do not directly model behavioural change that may flow from policy change.

People who are not currently employed and want to work.

 Services licensed and/or funded by state or territory governments to deliver structured educational program services at a particular location. Comprises a structured educational program provided by a qualified teacher in various settings, usually aimed at children in the year before they start formal schooling. Programs can be delivered by a preschool or a centre-based day care service.

The number or proportion (of cases, instances, and so forth) in a population at a given time. For example, in relation to cancer, refers to the number of people alive who had been diagnosed with cancer in a prescribed period (for example 1, 5, 10 or 26 years). 

Subgroup of informal carers who provide the majority of help or supervision that a person requires with core activities.

Place administered and operated by a justice department, where individuals are detained while under the supervision of the relevant justice department on a pre-sentence or sentenced detention episode.

 A person (aged 18 and over) held in custody whose confinement is the responsibility of a correctional services agency. Includes sentenced prisoners and prisoners held in custody awaiting trial or sentencing (remandees).

Does not include youth offenders, persons in psychiatric custody, police cell detainees, those in periodic detention, asylum seekers or Australians held in overseas prisons.

A Canadian screening tool for use in community settings (Ferris and Wynne 2001). It has been adapted for use in Australia and is commonly used in Australian studies to assess problem gambling prevalence and also as a self-assessment tool (take the quiz).

Problem gambling is characterised by difficulties in limiting money and/or time on gambling, which leads to adverse consequences for the person gambling and often others in the community. Problem gamblers have scores of 8 or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index. In this topic summary problem gambling has been labelled as ‘high-risk gambling’.

Rates of currency conversion that try to equalise the purchasing power of different currencies, by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries.

Age at which a person becomes eligible to receive Age Pension (subject to income, asset and residency requirements).

The age has changed over time and depends on a person’s date of birth. Between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2017, the age pension age was 65 years. From 1 July 2017, the qualifying age increased to 65 years and 6 months, and increased by 6 months every 2 years to reach 67 years by 1 July 2023.

Group derived by ranking a population according to specified criteria (for example, income) and dividing it into 5 equal parts. Can also mean the cut-points that make these divisions – that is, the 20th, 40th, 60th and 80th percentiles – but the first use is the more common one. Commonly used to describe socioeconomic groups based on socioeconomic position. Also used to describe income groups.

Each income quintile represents 20% of the population, with quintile 1 representing the lowest income group and quintile 5 representing the highest income group.

One number (numerator) divided by another (denominator), to indicate relative presence of the numerator. The numerator is commonly the number of events in a specified, time, or a population of interest. The denominator is the population ‘’at risk’‘ of the event, or the population that the population of interest is compared to. Rates are generally multiplied by a large number, such as 1,000 or 100,000, to create whole numbers.

Real wages refer to wages that have been adjusted for inflation (for example, using the Consumer Price Index). Accounting for inflation when reporting on trends in wages is important to determine if wage increases are actually improving workers’ ability to afford goods and services or just keeping up with rising costs. Inflation may cause individuals to be worse off if nominal wages growth does not keep pace with inflation.

Any person who received care and support, either in their own home or in a residential aged care facility.

Regions that include remote and very remote areas, defined in accordance to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard and characterised by a measure of relative geographic access to services measured using Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+).

Classification that divides each state and territory into several regions based on their relative accessibility to goods and services (such as general practitioners, hospitals and specialist care) as measured by road distance. These regions are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia and defined as Remoteness Areas by the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (before 2011) or the Australian Statistical Geographical Standard (from 2011 onwards) in each Census year.

The number of babies a female would need to have over her reproductive life span to replace herself and her partner. 

Requirements for a person to be a citizen or hold certain visas in order to be eligible for particular government benefits.

A service where older people who can no longer live independently receive accommodation, personal care, and access to nursing and healthcare services in a supervised environment, such as an Australian Government-approved aged care home. Services include accommodation (bedding and other furnishings, meals, laundry, social activities), personal care (bathing, showering, toileting, dressing, eating, moving about), and nursing and allied health services if required. Residential aged care can be provided on a permanent basis, or a short-term basis for respite or emergency support.

Facilities that provide Australian Government-funded residential aged care either on a permanent or short-term (respite) basis to people. The service must meet specified standards in the quality of the built environment, care and staffing levels in accordance with the Aged Care Act 1997. Some people refer to these services as ‘nursing homes’.

An alternative care arrangement for dependent people living in the community, giving people – or their carers – a short break from their usual care arrangements. Friends, family, or the community may provide informal respite. Formal respite services are provided by residential aged care facilities and by the Commonwealth Home Support Programme.

People who have previously worked for 2 weeks or more, have retired from work, or from looking for work, or are not intending to look for, or take up, work. This definition applies to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey and may differ somewhat from definitions in other collections.

Any factor that represents a greater risk of a health disorder or other unwanted condition or event. Some risk factors are regarded as causes of disease, other are not necessarily so.

Number of actual full-time equivalent student days attended by full-time students as a percentage of the total number of possible student attendance days attended over the period.

 Subgroup of informal carers who provide care with at least one of the core activities, for at least one hour per week, however they do not provide the most care (i.e. they are not the primary carer).

Limitation where a person always (profound) or sometimes (severe) needs help with one or more core activities (self-care, mobility and/or communication), has difficulty understanding or being understood by family or friends, or can communicate more easily using sign language or other non-spoken forms of communication.

Dwelling that requires four or more extra bedrooms to accommodate the usual residents of that dwelling, according to the Canadian National Occupancy Standard. This definition applies to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census and may differ somewhat from definitions in other collections. See also overcrowding.

Sexual act carried out against a person’s will through the use of physical force, intimidation or coercion, including any attempts to do this. Includes rape, attempted rape, aggravated sexual assault (assault with a weapon), indecent assault, and penetration by objects, forced sexual activity that did not end in penetration and attempts to force a person into sexual activity. These acts are an offence under state and territory criminal law.

Rental housing funded or partly funded by government and owned or managed by the Australian Government or a community organisation and let to eligible persons. See also social housing programs.

Australian Government programs to fund, or partly fund, rental housing, where the housing is owned or managed by the government or a community organisation. 
Australia has four main social housing programs:
•    public rental housing
•    state owned or managed Indigenous housing
•    mainstream community housing
•    Indigenous community housing

State of having minimal contact with others; the absence of social interactions.

The social security system and payments aim to encourage self-reliance and provide for a minimum acceptable standard of living, with payments targeted to people who do not have the means to support themselves. Payments are administered by Services Australia to those unable to work, those pursuing post-school learning, families with the cost of raising dependent children, and rental costs.

A rank of relative socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage by geographic area based on data from the Census. Measured using the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021) Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA).

An income support payment for people who are not eligible for other income support payments and experiencing financial hardship due to reasons beyond their control, such as not meeting age or residency requirements of payments.

Services provided under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as well as a range of other government services for people with disability so they can access the support and services they need for an enhanced quality of life and to participate as valued members of the community.

Assistance provided by a specialist homelessness agency to a client aimed at responding to or preventing homelessness. Includes accommodation provision, assistance to sustain housing, domestic/family violence services, mental health services, family/relationship assistance, disability services, drug/alcohol counselling, legal/financial services, immigration/cultural services, other specialist services and general assistance and support.

Number of actual full-time equivalent student days attended by full-time students as a percentage of the total number of student attendance days attended over the period.

Range of Centrelink payments available to support people who are studying or undertaking an apprenticeship. It is focused on means-tested income support payments, including Youth Allowance (student or apprentices), ABSTUDY (Living Allowance) and Austudy (for those aged 25 and over). Student payments are subject to other eligibility criteria, including personal, parental and partner income tests.

Substantiations of notifications received during the current reporting year refer to child protection notifications made to relevant authorities between 1 July and 30 June of the relevant financial year, which were investigated and the investigation was finalised by 31 August, and where it was concluded that there was reasonable cause to believe that the child had been, was being, or was likely to be, abused, neglected or otherwise harmed.

Substantiation does not necessarily require sufficient evidence for a successful prosecution and does not imply that treatment or case management was provided. Substantiations may also include cases where there is no suitable caregiver, such as children who have been abandoned or whose parents are deceased.

Money set aside over a person’s lifetime to provide for their retirement. Can be accessed when a person reaches eligible age (between 55 and 60, depending on year of birth) and retires, or when they turn 65. Access can be through pension payments or a lump sum.

Data set that results from sampling individual units from the population. No sample will ever be fully representative of the population, but if carefully designed and implemented, samples will be highly representative for drawing conclusions about characteristics of the whole population.

An income support payment can be suspended due to changes in circumstances that affect eligibility or if a recipient does not meet their mutual obligation or participation requirements. 

One of commonly reported Disability Employment Services (DES) outcomes, the number of sustained employment outcomes refers to the number of DES placements that were kept (sustained) for a period of at least 13, 26, or 52 weeks (referred to as 13-, 26-, and 52-week outcomes). The reported numbers refer to claims rather than people, since one person can achieve multiple sustained employment outcomes within a reporting period.

Circumstances in which a household resides in a dwelling that is owned outright or with a mortgage, rented privately, or part of a social housing program or some other tenure type.

 In Australia, tertiary education can be broadly categorised as higher education or vocational education and training (VET). Higher education is generally delivered in a university setting, leading to a Bachelor, Masters or Doctoral degree. VET focuses on delivering skills and knowledge for a specific industry, leading to Certificate and Diploma qualifications. It is delivered by registered training organisations such as technical and further education institutions.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) defines a trend series as a seasonally adjusted series that has been further adjusted to remove irregular effects and 'smooth' out the series to show the overall 'trend' of the data over time.

The ABS considers that trend estimates provide a more reliable guide to the underlying direction of the data, and are more suitable than either the seasonally adjusted or original estimates for most business decisions and policy advice (see Labour Force, Australia methodology).

Employed persons aged 15 and over who want, and are available for, more hours of work than they have. Comprises: people employed part time who want to work more hours and are available to start work with more hours, either in the reference week or in the 4 weeks after the survey; or persons employed full time who worked part-time hours in the reference week (fewer than 35 hours) for economic reasons (including being stood down or insufficient work being available). This definition applies to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey and may differ somewhat from definitions in other collections. 

Number of underemployed workers expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Describes the proportion of the population aged 15 and over in the labour force who are underemployed. Underemployed is defined as those who are either:

• employed part time who want to work more hours and are available to start working more hours within the next 4 weeks or
• employed full time but worked fewer than 35 hours during the survey reference week for economic reasons (including being stood down or insufficient work being available).

A situation where a dwelling contains one or more bedrooms surplus to the needs of the household occupying it, according to the Canadian National Occupancy Standard.

People aged 15 and over who were not employed during the reference week of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey, and had actively looked for work in the previous 4 weeks and were available for work in the reference week, or were waiting to start a new job within 4 weeks of the end of the reference period and could have started had it been available. This definition applies to the Labour Force Survey and may differ somewhat from definitions in other collections. Compare with employed.

Benefits or payments available to working-age people (aged 16 and over but under the Age Pension qualifying age) looking for work or earning under the income threshold, including Youth Allowance (other), JobSeeker Payment and Newstart Allowance (ceased 20 March 2020). Individuals receiving these payments are required to be looking for work or be engaged in activities that will help them find work in the future (such as volunteering or training) – these are known as mutual obligation requirements.

Number of unemployed people, expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Describes the proportion of the population aged 15 and over in the labour force who are unemployed. Unemployed is defined as those not employed in the survey reference week who had either:

• actively looked for work in the last 4 weeks and were available for work in the reference week or
• been waiting to start a new job within the last 4 weeks and could have started had it been available.

Bachelor degree or post-graduate qualification at a university.

VET focuses on delivering skills and knowledge for a specific industry, leading to Certificate and Diploma qualifications. It is delivered by registered training organisations such as technical and further education institutions.

A person who willingly provides unpaid help, in the form of time, service or skills, to an organisation or group excluding work done overseas.

The Wage Price Index (WPI) measures changes in the price of labour (that is, wage rates). This measure is compiled using hourly rates of pay for a sample of employee jobs and is therefore not affected by compositional shifts in employment.

The WPI presented on this page refers to the Total Hourly Rates of Pay excluding Bonuses Index, including overtime and irregular payments. The WPI covers total hourly rates of pay and is therefore unaffected by the quality and quantity of work performed.

Please refer to the ABS Wage Price Index, Australia methodology for more details.

All legal forms of gambling on racing, sporting events and other approved events (for example, elections). Wagering includes all the racing and sports betting activities.

Widow Allowance provides income support for older working age women who lose the support of a partner and face barriers to finding employment because of limited participation. Access to Widow Allowance is restricted with new grants only being made available to women who were born on or before 1 July 1955.

Generally refers to people aged 15–64 years.

Means-tested income support payment for young people aged 16–21 who are looking for work, temporarily unable to work, or undertaking approved activities. Qualifying for this payment is subject to a parental income test unless the young person is considered independent.

Means-tested income support payment for full-time students and Australian Apprentices aged 16–24.

youth justice system: The set of processes and practices for managing children and young people who have committed, or allegedly committed, an offence.

 An income support payment can be reduced to $0 if the recipient remains qualified for the payment (including meeting the employment qualifications) but their ordinary income exceeds certain thresholds. Income includes their own and their partner’s income. Nil rate is another term to describe zero rate.