In Greater Western Sydney Part 2

CENSUS 2016 TOPIC PAPER

Young people (12 to 24 years) in Greater Western Sydney

Part 2: Identity, Home and the Household

By Laura Butler, Social Research and Information Officer

WESTIR Ltd

April 2020

Photo via Pexels

This work is Copyright. Apart from use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part can be reproduced by any process without the written permission from the Executive Officer of WESTIR Ltd. All possible care has been taken in the preparation of the information contained in this publication. However, WESTIR Ltd expressly disclaims any liability for the accuracy and sufficiency of the information and under no circumstances shall be liable in negligence or otherwise in or arising out of the preparation or supply of any of the information. WESTIR Ltd is partly funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.

Suite 7, Level 2 154 Marsden Street [email protected] (02) 9635 7764 Parramatta, NSW 2150 PO Box 136 Parramatta 2124 WESTIR LTD ABN: 65 003 487 965 | ACN: 003 487 965 Acknowledgement of Country / Statement of Commitment We respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land which Western Sydney covers, the Dharug people of the Dharug Nation, and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge that Dharug people are the first people of the Western Sydney area and have striven to retain their culture, identity and special connection with country for more than two centuries of non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settlement. We recognise the valuable contribution made by Dharug people to the local community in working towards a future of mutual harmony and respect.

Contents List of Maps, Figures, and Tables ...... 3 Regions ...... 4 Abbreviations ...... 6 Key terms ...... 6 Introduction ...... 7 An overview of GWS youth ...... 8 Identity ...... 9 Age ...... 9 Gender ...... 11 Changes to recording sex and gender in the 2016 Census ...... 12 Estimating gender diversity ...... 13 Indigenous Status ...... 15 Indigenous languages ...... 15 Cultural and Linguistic Diversity ...... 17 Region and country of birth ...... 17 Parents place of birth ...... 23 Language spoken at home ...... 25 Language proficiency ...... 26 Ancestry ...... 29 Religion...... 32 Home ...... 36 Location ...... 36 Former place of residence ...... 36 Dwelling Structure ...... 39 Tenure Type ...... 41 Landlord Type ...... 42 Homelessness and Marginal Housing ...... 46 Types of homelessness and marginal housing ...... 47 Homelessness and gender ...... 48 The Household ...... 53 Household Relationships ...... 53 Out of Home Care ...... 53 Conclusion ...... 56

List of Maps, Figures, and Tables Maps Map 1: GWS LGAs 2016 ...... 5 Map 2: GWS youth, no religion 2016 ...... 34 Map 3: GWS youth, usual place of residence 2016 ...... 37

Figures Figure 1: Age, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 10 Figure 2: Gender, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 11 Figure 3: Place of birth, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 20 Figure 4: Place of birth of parents, GWS youth 2016 ...... 23 Figure 5: Proficiency in Spoken English, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 27 Figure 6: Religious affiliation, NSW youth 2006, 2011 and 2016 ...... 33 Figure 7: Religious affiliation, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 35 Figure 8: Dwelling structure, GWS youth 2016 ...... 39 Figure 9: Tenure types, GWS youth 2016...... 41 Figure 10: Landlord Type, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 43

Tables Table 1: Youth population and rate, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 8 Table 2: Gender rates, GWS and other regions 2016 ...... 11 Table 3: Gender diversity in NSW and Australia, all ages 2018 ...... 14 Table 4: Gender diversity in Australia, youth 2018 ...... 14 Table 5: Indigenous status, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 16 Table 6: Twenty most common countries of birth, GWS youth 2016 ...... 18 Table 7: Ten most common countries for birth, Australian youth 2016 ...... 18 Table 8: Place of birth, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 21 Table 9: Place of birth of parents, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 24 Table 10: Ten most common languages spoken at home, GWS youth 2016 ...... 25 Table 11: Proficiency in Spoken English, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (count and %) ...... 28 Table 12: Ancestry multi-response, ten most common, NSW youth by region 2016 ...... 29 Table 13: Ancestry multi-response, ten most common, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 30 Table 14: Religious affiliation, GWS all-ages and youth 2016 ...... 32 Table 15: Place of residence 1 year ago, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 38 Table 16: Place of residence 5 years ago, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 38 Table 17: Dwelling structure, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (%) ...... 40 Table 18: Tenure type, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (%) ...... 42 Table 19: Landlord type, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (count) ...... 44 Table 20: Landlord type, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (%) ...... 45 Table 21: Homelessness estimates, GWS youth by SA3 2016 ...... 46 Table 22: Homeless estimates, GWS youth by SA3 2016 ...... 50 Table 23: Homelessness estimate groups, GWS and NSW youth by sex 2016 ...... 51 Table 24: SHS clients, NSW youth by age and sex 2018 to 2019 ...... 52 Table 25: SHS clients, main reason for seeking assistance, Australian youth 2018 to 2019 .52 Table 26: Relationship in household, GWS youth by LGA 2016 ...... 54 Table 27: Children (0 to 17) in NSW OOHC, by placement type 2017 ...... 55 Table 28: Children (0 to 17) feeling safe and settled in NSW residential care, by gender 2015 and 2018 ...... 55

Regions All regions analysed in this paper are compiled from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) local government area (LGA) boundaries.

Greater Western Sydney (GWS) consists of the following 13 LGAs (see Map 1): • Blacktown • Blue Mountains • Camden • Campbelltown • Canterbury-Bankstown • Cumberland • Fairfield • Hawkesbury • Liverpool • Parramatta • Penrith • The Hills Shire • Wollondilly

GWS is also compared with data for Greater Sydney, Rest of Sydney, DCJ South Western Sydney District, DCJ Western Sydney District, and NSW:

• Greater Sydney and NSW are compiled from ABS boundaries. • Rest of Sydney is calculated by subtracting the totals of Greater Sydney with the totals of GWS. • DCJ Western Sydney District (DCJ WS District) is made up of Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Cumberland, Hawkesbury, Lithgow, Parramatta, Penrith and The Hills Shire LGAs. • DCJ South Western Sydney (DCJ SWS District) is made up of Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield, Liverpool, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly LGAs.

This paper also covers two additional LGAs, Lithgow and Wingecarribee, which are not included in GWS totals, but are included in DCJ WS and SWS District totals respectively.

Data is based on Place of Usual Residence, unless otherwise stated.

Map 1: GWS LGAs 2016

Abbreviations ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ACON AIDS Council of NSW AHURI Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute AIFS Australian Institute of Family Studies AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare CALD Culturally and Linguistically Diverse DCJ NSW Department of Communities and Justice (formerly Family and Community Services, or FACS) GWS Greater Western Sydney LGA Local Government Area LGBTIQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer NSW New South Wales OOHC Out of Home Care TEI Targeted Early Intervention SA Statistical Area WESTIR Western Sydney Regional Information and Research Service Limited

Key terms Cisgender: A person whose gender identity corresponds with their biological sex assigned at birth.1

Out of Home Care (OOHC): short- or long-term accommodation for young people aged 0 to 17 years who are unable to live with their parents.2

Marginal housing: Inadequate housing due to factors such as overcrowding, lack of appropriate facilities, or insecure tenure.

Youth or young person: A person aged between 12 and 24 (inclusive), unless otherwise stated.

1 Joanna McIntyre 2018, ‘Explainer: what does it mean to be ‘cisgender’’, The Conversation, 19 September, available at https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-it-mean-to-be-cisgender- 103159 2 AIFS https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/children-care. See also Family Matters 2016, ‘What is out- of-home care?’, 2 November, available at https://www.familymatters.org.au/what-is-out-of-home-care/. 6

Introduction

This paper is the second instalment of WESTIR’s 2020 series, Youth in Greater Western Sydney (GWS), and follows WESTIR’s previous exploration of GWS youth internal migration, or ‘youthification’.3 The paper presents a demographic portrait of people in GWS who were aged between 12 and 24 years at the time of the 2016 Australian Census. Drawing from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), as well as supplementary sources such as the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), the paper explores three key themes:

• Identity: Who are the young people of GWS and how do they identify? • Home: Where and how do young people in GWS live? • Household: What do the households of GWS youth look like?

Analyses of further themes, including Education, Employment, and Health, are forthcoming in the next instalments of WESTIR’s 2020 Youth in GWS series.

Youth is a critical and tumultuous life stage. Between the ages of 12 and 24 years, young people experience many significant events and life changes. These changes range from navigating the intellectual and social complexities of secondary school, to completing compulsory education and becoming adults with independent lives, homes, and families. Much like childhood, events and experiences in youth can significantly influence an individual’s future.

This paper, therefore, has two aims. It first seeks to present a demographic overview of the young people who live and work in GWS, based on the most recent data available. Secondly, considering the potential life-long influence of experiences in youth, this paper aims to identify the challenges and opportunities that can shape the capacity of young people in GWS to thrive into adulthood. Such challenges include discrimination, bullying, social exclusion, and homelessness.

It is envisioned that this paper will support services, facilities, and individuals in GWS to more fully understand the young people in their communities: who they are, where they live, and who they spend their time with. Further analyses and more localised findings regarding youth populations are available from WESTIR Ltd upon request.

3 WESTIR Ltd 2020, ‘‘Youthification’ and Greater Western Sydney: The Internal Migration of Young People’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/YGWS.pdfs 7

An overview of GWS youth In 2016, a total of 400,357 young people resided in GWS. As Table 1 shows, these young people represented 17.4% of the total GWS population. Interestingly, this proportion is higher than the youth rate in the Greater Sydney region (16.5%) and all of NSW (16.0%). The comparatively higher youth rate in GWS emphasises the importance of understanding the identities, homes, and households of the region’s young people.

In 2016, the greatest number of young people in GWS resided in the LGAs of Blacktown (59,612 people) and Canterbury-Bankstown (59,114 people). As a proportion of the total LGA population, the highest rates of young people were living in Fairfield (18.8%), Liverpool (18.8%), and Campbelltown (18.1%). It is also seen in Table 1 that the fewest young people, both in count and proportion, resided in Lithgow (2,989 people, 14.2%) and Wingecarribee (6,819 people, 14.2%). Lithgow and Wingecarribee are noted separately throughout this paper, as they are not conventionally seen as LGAs within GWS. However, including Lithgow and Wingecarribee is critical as they are respectively part of the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) Western Sydney (WS) and South Western Sydney (SWS) districts (see ‘Regions’, page 4).

Table 1: Youth population and rate, GWS youth by LGA 2016

LGA/Region Youth population Total population Youth rate % Blacktown 59,612 336,965 17.7 Blue Mountains 11,300 76,902 14.7 Camden 13,648 78,220 17.4 Campbelltown 28,428 157,007 18.1 Canterbury-Bankstown 59,114 346,300 17.1 Cumberland 36,801 216,077 17.0 Fairfield 37,451 198,816 18.8 Hawkesbury 11,590 64,591 17.9 Liverpool 38,423 204,330 18.8 Parramatta 32,973 226,153 14.6 Penrith 34,658 196,064 17.7 The Hills Shire 27,882 157,243 17.7 Wollondilly 8,463 48,520 17.4 Total GWS 400,357 2,307,182 17.4 Lithgow 2,989 21,090 14.2 Wingecarribee 6,819 47,878 14.2 DCJ SWS District 192,349 1,081,069 17.8 DCJ WS District 217,810 1,295,085 16.8 Greater Sydney 794,882 4,823,993 16.5 Total NSW 1,199,881 7,480,230 16.0 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note, Total NSW includes ‘No usual address (NSW)’ and ‘Migratory – Offshore – Shipping’.

Identity

Young people who live in GWS have immensely different identities. In this section, trends in the identities of GWS youth will be explored through the following variables: age, gender, cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD), and religious affiliation.

Age The ages incorporated in the life-stage of youth are highly diverse. As noted above, experiences in youth range from commencing and completing secondary schooling, to pursuing employment, further education, and independent families. With such diverse experiences arising in this life stage, it is important to begin this paper by reflecting on the array of ages that are included within the broad category of youth.

Across GWS LGAs, trends in youth populations differ greatly. For example, in 2016, LGAs such as Cumberland, Parramatta, and Canterbury-Bankstown were home to a greater number of adult youths (18 to 24 years) than teenage youths (12 to 17 years). As seen in Figure 1, the opposite was evident in LGAs such as the Blue Mountains, Wollondilly, the Hills Shire, and Wingecarribee, where teenagers (12 to 17 years) outnumbered adult youths (18 to 24 years).

As shown in Figure 1, the number of young people in LGAs such as Cumberland, Parramatta, and Canterbury-Bankstown appeared to rise after the age of approximately 17 years. In these LGAs, the larger population of adult youth suggests that people moved to these areas after completing secondary education or similar. It is possible that these young people moved from elsewhere in GWS, including the LGAs where youth populations appeared to decline with age. Indeed, previous research by WESTIR Ltd found that of the young people living in GWS in 2016, most also lived in GWS in 2011.4 The remaining young people contributing to this rise in population may have moved to GWS from elsewhere in Greater Sydney, NSW, Australia, or overseas.

4 WESTIR Ltd 2020, ‘‘Youthification’ and Greater Western Sydney: The Internal Migration of Young People’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/YGWS.pdf 9

Figure 1: Age, GWS youth by LGA 2016

5 Thousands

LGA

12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years 16 years 17 years 18 years 19 years 20 years 21 years 22 years 23 years 24 years

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Gender Gender distributions among youth populations were relatively consistent across GWS LGAs in 2016. Figure 2 shows that in all GWS LGAs except Wingecarribee, males slightly outnumbered females. This trend echoes gender distributions among the youth populations of NSW (48.9% female and 51.1% male) and Australia (also 48.9% female and 51.1% male), as seen in Table 2.

Figure 2: Gender, GWS youth by LGA 2016

25 Thousands 20

Female Male

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Table 2: Gender rates, GWS and other regions 2016

Total population (%) Youth population (%) Region Female Male Female Male GWS 50.3 49.7 48.4 51.6 DCJ SWS District 50.6 49.4 48.8 51.2 DCJ WS District 50.1 49.9 48.1 51.9 NSW 50.7 49.3 48.9 51.1 Australia 50.7 49.3 48.9 51.1 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

However, the trend of young males outnumbering young females in GWS contrasts gender rates in the total, all-ages population of GWS. For example, in the total population of GWS, the youth figures were almost reversed, with fewer males (49.7%) than females (50.3%). As seen in Table 2, similar was true in NSW and nationally (each 49.3% male and 50.7% female). The longer life expectancy of

women in Australia may account for the smaller prominence of men among such all- ages populations, in comparison to youth.5

Changes to recording sex and gender in the 2016 Census Beyond the two sexes of female and male discussed above, a new process for recording sex and gender was introduced in the 2016 Census. Prior to 2016, sex and gender were equated in Australian Censuses. The binary options of ‘Female’ and ‘Male’ were the only options available for participants to select.

However, 2016 saw the Australian Census more widely delivered online. Online delivery provided an opportunity for greater flexibility in conducting the Census. For example, in 2016, an additional online form was provided to participants who had opted-in prior to the Census. By opting-in, participants were able to select their gender from not two, but three options: ‘Female’, ‘Male’, and ‘Other (please specify)’.6 The inclusion of ‘Other’ reflects a shift away from viewing gender as a female/male binary, and suggests a growing awareness and recognition of gender diversity.7 A deeper discussion of the statistical complexities and social nuance of measuring gender diversity through the Census is available in WESTIR’s Census paper, LGBTIQ People in Western Sydney: Finding the Data.8

In using the opt-in form in 2016, approximately 1,260 individuals of all ages identified as gender diverse across Australia. Most commonly, participants identified as ‘Other, not further defined’ (25%), ‘Another gender’ (18%), or ‘Non-binary’ (17%).9 However, the ABS expect that responses to gender diversity were “substantially under- reported”.10 Regardless, the change to available responses to gender identification represents a positive step forward in developing more accurate statistical records of gender diversity in Australia.

As such, the opportunity remains to include gender identities beyond the female/male binary in future Censuses. A broader inclusion of diverse gender variables has been

5 ABS 2019, ‘Life expectancy at birth’, 30 October, available at https://bit.ly/2X2Cnfc. 6 ABS, Sex and Gender Diversity in the 2016 Census, available at https://bit.ly/2NL8Q4k 7 The importance of appreciating gender as a spectrum, rather than a binary, is outlined in articles such as Aileen Phillips 2016, ‘Australian Census to offer ‘other’ option for gender question’, SBS News, 24 July, available at https://bit.ly/2JnS9JT. See also Elizabeth Smith, Tiffany Jones, Roz Ward, Jennifer Dixon, Anne Mitchell, Lynne Hillier 2014, From Blues to Rainbows: Mental health and wellbeing of gender diverse and transgender young people in Australia, Melbourne: The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and Society, pages 15 to 18. 8 WESTIR Limited 2015, available at https://www.westir.org.au/images/lgbtiq.pdf 9 ABS, Sex and Gender Diversity in the 2016 Census, available at https://bit.ly/2NL8Q4k 10 ABS, Sex and Gender Diversity in the 2016 Census, available at https://bit.ly/2NL8Q4k 12

considered by the ABS for the next Australian Census in 2021.11 Importantly, seeking greater insight into gender identity would help to improve the understanding of gender diversity across Australia, as emphasised in WESTIR’s submission to the Census and Statistics Amendment (Statistical Information) Regulations consultation in December 2019.12 Insight into the demographics (such as age, CALD identity, and area of residence) of people who identify as non-binary, transgender, or intersex would benefit services and communities. For example, more detailed information may help to illuminate where, how, and with whom, services may be best placed to support gender diverse Australians, including gender diverse youth.13

For youth, measuring gender diversity in the Census is especially critical, as young people who are gender diverse face a greater risk of bullying and exclusion than their heterosexual and cisgender peers.14 A broader inclusion of gender diversity within the Census would present an opportunity to strengthen the visibility and recognition of gender diverse people within the community.

Estimating gender diversity With gender diversity likely under-reported in the 2016 Census, other sources provide some insight into gender diversity among youth in NSW. Of particular value is The 2018 Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey. Undertaken by ACON and the University of New South Wales’ Kirby Institute, this inaugural opt-in survey recorded a sample of 1,613 people nationally who identified as a trans woman, trans man, or non-binary person.15 Already, this number exceeds the count recorded in the 2016 Census (1,260 people), highlighting the gaps between lived experience and Census findings. Such gaps in measuring gender diversity require improvement if future Australian Censuses are to more accurately reflect Australia’s gender diversity for all people, including youth.

11 Paul Karp 2019, ‘ABS said census questions on gender and sexual orientation risked public backlash’, The Guardian, 3 December, available at https://bit.ly/2QZCapr. 12 For more information on the Census and Statistics Amendment (Statistical Information) Regulations 2019 and the consultation process, please see https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2019-41183 13 Brendan Churchill 2019, ‘We need to count LGBTI communities in the next census – here’s why’, The Conversation, 14 October, available at https://bit.ly/33ULjVE. 14 Cisgender refers to a person whose gender identity corresponds with their biological sex assigned at birth, see Elizabeth Smith, Tiffany Jones, Roz Ward, Jennifer Dixon, Anne Mitchell, Lynne Hillier 2014, From Blues to Rainbows: Mental health and wellbeing of gender diverse and transgender young people in Australia, Melbourne: The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health, and Society, page 17. See also WESTIR Limited 2015, ‘LGBTIQ People in Western Sydney: Finding the Data’ available at https://www.westir.org.au/images/lgbtiq.pdf. 15 Callander D, Wiggins J, Rosenberg S, Cornelisse VJ, Duck-Chong E, Holt M, Pony M, Vlahakis E, MacGibbon J, Cook T. 2019. The 2018 Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey: Report of Findings. Sydney, NSW: The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney. 13

Unfortunately, the results of the survey cannot be separated to outline the gender diversity of young people in GWS. As a substitute, reflections on two categories suggest what gender diversity may look like among GWS youth. These two categories are gender diversity in NSW (the smallest geographic area available in published survey results) and gender diversity among young people (16 to 29 years).

NSW In The 2018 Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey, 495 NSW participants of all ages identified as a trans woman, trans man, or gender diverse (see Table 3). Most frequently, NSW participants identified as ‘non-binary, assigned female at birth’ (36.6%). This was also true among participants nationally (39.2%).

Table 3: Gender diversity in NSW and Australia, all ages 2018 NSW Australia Gender identity Count % Count % Non-binary, assigned female at birth 181 36.6 632 39.2 Non-binary, assigned male at birth 74 14.9 231 14.3 Trans women 128 25.9 397 24.6 Trans men 112 22.6 353 21.9 Total 495 100.0 1,613 100.0 Source: The 2018 Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey: Report of Findings, Appendix A.

Youth Young people dominated the survey sample across Australia. Interestingly, over half of participants were aged between 16 and 29 years (57.5%, 927 people) (see Table 4). Most frequently, young participants identified as a non-binary person, assigned female at birth (420 people, 45.3% of young participants) or a trans man (229 people, 24.7% of young participants). The extent to which this accurately reflects gender diverse youth in Australia and GWS would be better illuminated if future Censuses were to offer similar options for people to describe their gender identity.

Table 4: Gender diversity in Australia, youth 2018 16 to 20 years 20 to 29 years Total (16 to 29) Gender identity Count % Count % Count % Non-binary, assigned female at birth 90 46.2 330 45.1 420 45.3 Non-binary, assigned male at birth 17 8.7 103 14.1 120 12.9 Trans women 22 11.3 136 18.6 158 17.0 Trans men 66 33.8 163 22.3 229 24.7 Total 195 100.0 732 100.0 927 100.0 Source: The 2018 Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey: Report of Findings, Appendix A. 14

Indigenous Status In the 2016 Census, 11,303 young GWS residents identified as either Aboriginal and/or, Torres Strait Islander, or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. These populations in GWS is explored in detail in WESTIR’s previously published 2016 Census paper, The Indigenous Population of Greater Western Sydney.16 However, WESTIR has yet to present the Indigenous status of young people in GWS.

Of all GWS LGAs in 2016, the largest number of young people who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander lived in Blacktown (2,654 people), followed by Penrith (2,153 people) and Campbelltown (1,647 people), as seen in Table 5. As a proportion of the local youth population in 2016, Table 5 also shows that the largest rates of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people resided in Penrith (6.2%), and Campbelltown (5.8%). In comparison, the proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people was smallest in the youth populations of Cumberland (0.8%), The Hills Shire (0.9%), Fairfield (1.0%) and Canterbury- Bankstown (1.0%).

Indigenous languages The 2016 Census found that approximately 44 young residents of GWS spoke an Australian Indigenous language at home. This equates to fewer than half a percent (0.4%) of young people in GWS who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. With such a small figure, 44 people is likely an estimate, as very small figures are adjusted by the ABS to avoid the release of data that may risk identifying individuals through additional demographics, such as location.

Among the all-ages population of GWS, an estimated 229 people spoke an Australian Indigenous language. This indicates that while speaking in-language is not necessarily commonplace in GWS, Australian Indigenous languages remain present in the region. Indeed, efforts to increase the prevalence of young people speaking Australian Indigenous languages are underway across GWS. For example, a recent project at the Blacktown Arts Centre, Wingaru Byalla-Bada, sought to “restore the highly endangered Dharug Buruberougal language by teaching it in an interactive, virtual environment”.17 Indigenous language resources are also available online.18

16 WESTIR Ltd. 2016, ‘Indigenous population of Greater Western Sydney’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/IPGWS.pdf 17 Blacktown Arts Centre 2017, ‘Wingaru Byalla-Bada: Indigenous Language Project’, 30 October, available at https://blacktownarts.com.au/wingaru-byalla-bada-announcement/ 18 See ABC Education 2016, ‘Best Indigenous-themed resources for Primary English on ABC Education’, 5 September, available at https://ab.co/2Uud1Ft; CITIES, ‘Dharug and Dharawal Resources’, available at http://dharug.dalang.com.au/filedown/FrontPage.html. Further discussion of Indigenous languages and the 2016 Census is available through the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. 15

Table 5: Indigenous status, GWS youth by LGA 2016 Both Aboriginal, Rate of Torres Aboriginal Torres Aboriginal Non- LGA/Region Aboriginal Strait and Torres Strait Not stated Total and/or Torres Indigenous Islander Strait Islander, or Strait Islander Islander both youth (%) Blacktown 54,395 2,533 76 45 2,654 2,566 59,612 4.5 Blue Mountains 10,388 474 8 0 482 425 11,300 4.3 Camden 12,571 526 3 0 529 546 13,648 3.9 Campbelltown 25,313 1,593 30 24 1,647 1,468 28,428 5.8 Canterbury-Bankstown 55,592 566 25 13 604 2,922 59,114 1.0 Cumberland 34,754 282 11 8 301 1,755 36,801 0.8 Fairfield 35,672 351 22 4 377 1,398 37,451 1.0 Hawkesbury 10,298 628 7 10 645 650 11,590 5.6 Liverpool 35,331 782 15 10 807 2,292 38,423 2.1 Parramatta 31,051 401 14 3 418 1,504 32,973 1.3 Penrith 30,813 2,099 34 20 2,153 1,699 34,658 6.2 The Hills Shire 26,935 251 6 3 260 692 27,882 0.9 Wollondilly 7,621 441 0 3 444 399 8,463 5.2 Total GWS 370,727 10,915 250 138 11,303 18,319 400,357 2.8 Lithgow 2,456 264 9 5 278 266 2,989 9.3 Wingecarribee 6,173 248 7 6 261 383 6,819 3.8 DCJ SWS District 178,273 4,507 106 61 4,674 9,405 192,349 2.4 DCJ WS District 201,082 6,916 155 89 7,160 9,555 217,810 3.3 Greater Sydney 736,196 17,786 438 304 18,528 40,166 794,882 2.3 Rest of NSW 341,071 35,328 696 731 36,755 25,164 402,991 9.1 Total NSW 1,078,798 53,286 1,140 1,041 55,467 65,619 1,199,881 4.6 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note, Total NSW includes ‘No usual address (NSW)’ and ‘Migratory – Offshore – Shipping’.

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity GWS is home to significant cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD), including among youth. In this paper, CALD is analysed through three variables: country of birth of person, country of birth of parents, and language spoken at home. As this analysis demonstrates, the cultural and linguistic identities of young people in GWS are immensely diverse. However, significant variety exists between LGAs.

Region and country of birth Country In 2016, most young GWS residents were born in in Australia (72.8%). The remainder were born overseas (at least 22.2%).19 These percentages are quite different to those within the all-ages population of GWS, of which 55.5% were born in Australia. Further analysis of CALD within the total GWS population is available in WESTIR’s previously published 2016 Census paper, Our Changing City: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in GWS.20

Examining countries specifically, young GWS residents who were born outside Australia were most frequently born in India (9,829 people), New Zealand (8,503 people) and mainland China (7,778 people). The twenty most common countries of birth for young GWS residents in 2016 are outlined in Table 6.

Interestingly, the common countries of birth for GWS youth differed from youth on a national scale. For example, as seen in Table 7, England was ranked as the fourth most common place of birth for young people across Australia (61,237 people). In GWS, England was ranked as the fourteenth most common place of birth of young people. This implies that either English-born youth are more likely to live elsewhere in Australia, or that GWS has been particularly attractive to families and young people born in countries such as India, China, and Iraq.

19 The proportion of young GWS residents born overseas may be higher, as this calculation excludes the category ‘Not stated’. 20 WESTIR Ltd 2016, ‘Our Changing City: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Greater Western Sydney’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/CALDOCC.pdf. 17

Table 6: Twenty most common countries of birth, GWS youth 2016

# Country of Birth Count 1 Australia 291,512 2 India 9,829 3 New Zealand 8,503 4 China 7,778 5 Iraq 6,104 6 Philippines 5,408 7 Vietnam 4,760 8 Pakistan 3,381 9 South Korea 2,653 10 Nepal 2,517 11 Afghanistan 2,517 12 Lebanon 2,091 13 Fiji 1,967 14 England 1,886 15 Bangladesh 1,729 16 Sri Lanka 1,678 17 Iran 1,607 18 South Africa 1,263 19 Hong Kong 1,261 20 Indonesia 1,136 - Not stated 19,910 Total 400,357 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: Column does not add to total. China excludes special administrative regions and Taiwan.

Table 7: Ten most common countries for birth, Australian youth 2016

# Country of birth Count 1 Australia 2,877,636 2 China 117,500 3 New Zealand 73,276 4 England 61,237 5 India 52,378 6 Philippines 31,804 7 South Africa 26,300 8 Malaysia 23,251 9 Vietnam 20,609 10 South Korea 17,037 - Not stated 217,532 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: China excludes special administrative regions and Taiwan.

Region On a regional scale, ‘Oceania and Antarctica’ was the birthplace of 76.1% of young GWS residents in 2016. This region includes Australia, New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia (excluding Hawaii) and Antarctica.21 After Oceania, the regions where GWS youth were most likely born were Southern and Central Asia (5.3%), South-East Asia (3.7%) and North Africa and the Middle East (3.7%).

However, immense differences were evident between LGAs. The proportion of young people born in Oceania was notably higher in LGAs located further from the Sydney CBD, on the South, West, and Northern periphery of GWS (see Table 8). This included Wollondilly, Hawkesbury, and the Blue Mountains. However, this finding should not be used to assume that a location further away from metropolitan Sydney is less likely to be the place of residence for young people born overseas. Indeed, as seen in Figure 3 and Table 8, at least 6.8% of young people who lived in Wingecarribee in 2016 were born outside of Oceania (461 people).

21 Antarctica, while part of the ‘Oceania and Antarctica’ region defined by the ABS, was not listed as the birthplace of any young person living in GWS in 2016. 19

Figure 3: Place of birth, GWS youth by LGA 2016

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

Oceania and Antarctica North-West Europe Southern and Eastern Europe North Africa and the Middle East South-East Asia North-East Asia Southern and Central Asia Americas Sub-Saharan Africa Supplementary codes Not stated

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Table 8: Place of birth, GWS youth by LGA 2016 Southern North Africa Southern Oceania and North-West South-East North-East LGA/Region and Eastern and the and Central Antarctica Europe Asia Asia Europe Middle East Asia Blacktown 44,101 431 256 1,760 3,041 682 5,087 Blue Mountains 10,287 177 26 13 156 94 45 Camden 12,323 202 54 70 109 50 118 Campbelltown 23,332 129 114 463 804 191 1,319 Canterbury-Bankstown 43,166 252 466 2,311 3,244 2,531 3,110 Cumberland 22,070 134 96 2,310 1,045 2,407 6,109 Fairfield 26,892 125 330 4,141 3,261 327 276 Hawkesbury 10,641 120 19 15 49 31 8 Liverpool 29,353 200 594 2,691 1,149 244 964 Parramatta 20,795 366 141 668 1,069 4,577 3,247 Penrith 30,301 280 101 411 550 183 681 The Hills Shire 22,438 776 101 330 642 1,038 824 Wollondilly 7,902 65 5 13 19 25 13 Total GWS 303,606 3,262 2,298 15,194 15,132 12,378 21,801 Lithgow 2,649 12 0 5 30 8 9 Wingecarribee 5,988 121 12 0 68 173 24 DCJ SWS District 148,965 1,091 1,576 9,688 8,653 3,538 5,829 DCJ WS District 163,278 2,293 734 5,511 6,575 9,024 16,007 Greater Sydney 577,661 16,068 5,518 17,721 29,778 57,193 32,318 Rest of NSW 358,950 4,031 614 1,181 3,493 3,726 2,339 Total NSW 937,706 20,298 6,158 18,921 33,318 61,062 34,706 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note, Total NSW includes ‘No usual address (NSW)’ and ‘Migratory – Offshore – Shipping’.

Table 8: Place of birth, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (continued) Total born Total born Sub-Saharan LGA/Region Americas Not stated Total outside outside Africa Oceania Oceania (%) Blacktown 404 992 2,864 59,618 12,668 21.2% Blue Mountains 76 25 402 11,301 612 5.4% Camden 74 115 537 13,652 792 5.8% Campbelltown 150 252 1,675 28,429 3,432 12.1% Canterbury-Bankstown 298 482 3,254 59,114 12,708 21.5% Cumberland 176 461 1,985 36,793 12,754 34.7% Fairfield 239 155 1,690 37,436 8,869 23.7% Hawkesbury 21 63 625 11,592 326 2.8% Liverpool 258 414 2,551 38,418 6,521 17.0% Parramatta 245 282 1,580 32,970 10,607 32.2% Penrith 108 272 1,780 34,667 2,586 7.5% The Hills Shire 501 552 686 27,888 4,772 17.1% Wollondilly 25 27 370 8,464 192 2.3% Total GWS 2,580 4,092 20,004 400,347 76,831 19.2% Lithgow 5 0 268 2,986 69 2.3% Wingecarribee 38 25 369 6,818 461 6.8% DCJ SWS District 1,084 1,475 10,453 192,349 32,979 17.1% DCJ WS District 1,539 2,651 10,188 217,810 44,384 20.9% Greater Sydney 8,808 7,622 42,200 794,882 175,199 22.0% Rest of NSW 1,560 2,091 25,011 402,991 19,079 4.7% Total NSW 10,418 9,724 67,558 1,199,881 194,826 16.2% Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: Total NSW includes ‘No usual address (NSW)’ and ‘Migratory – Offshore – Shipping’. Not stated includes supplementary codes. Total born outside Oceania is a minimum estimate due to the unknown place of birth of ‘not stated’ responses.

Parents place of birth A further indicator of CALD is the place of birth of a person’s parents. As seen in Figure 4, almost half (48.0%) of young people who lived in GWS in 2016 had parents who were both born overseas. Even more young people had at least one parent who was born overseas (62.2%). Fewer than a third of GWS youth (32.6%) were the children of parents both born in Australia.

Figure 4: Place of birth of parents, GWS youth 2016

Not stated - birthplace for either or both parents not stated, 5.3%

Both parents born overseas, 48.0%

Both parents born in Australia, 32.6%

Mother only born overseas, 5.8% Father only born overseas, 8.4% Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

However, this is not the story across GWS. In some LGAs such as Fairfield, young people were highly likely to have had both parents born overseas (75.4%). Elsewhere, such as in Lithgow and Wollondilly, having parents who were both born overseas was far less common (4.2% and 6.9% respectively, see Table 9).

Table 9: Place of birth of parents, GWS youth by LGA 2016 Not stated - Both parents born Father only born Mother only born Both parents born birthplace for either LGA/Region overseas overseas overseas in Australia or both parents not stated Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Blacktown 29,686 49.8 4,117 6.7 3,126 5.1 19,617 32.1 3,067 5.4 Blue Mountains 1,096 9.7 1,421 12.5 1,082 9.5 7,286 63.6 425 3.9 Camden 2,288 16.8 1,480 10.9 926 6.9 8,403 60.2 555 4.4 Campbelltown 10,896 38.3 2,484 8.5 1,896 6.7 11,480 40.3 1,672 5.9 Canterbury-Bankstown 35,303 59.7 6,036 9.3 3,369 5.2 11,052 17.5 3,350 5.8 Cumberland 25,590 69.5 2,947 6.9 1,611 3.9 4,672 11.8 1,990 5.6 Fairfield 27,963 74.7 1,989 5.0 1,367 3.4 4,334 11.4 1,786 4.8 Hawkesbury 795 6.9 1,084 9.3 862 7.6 8,183 69.6 667 6.0 Liverpool 21,057 54.8 3,258 8.1 2,059 5.1 9,517 24.1 2,533 6.7 Parramatta 19,141 58.1 2,066 5.9 1,785 5.1 8,073 23.3 1,908 6.3 Penrith 7,105 20.5 3,327 9.7 2,400 7.0 19,792 56.0 2,041 6.2 The Hills Shire 10,765 38.6 2,494 8.7 2,103 7.5 11,797 41.1 729 2.7 Wollondilly 533 6.3 762 9.2 591 7.4 6,188 71.7 389 4.7 Total GWS 192,228 48.0 33,469 8.0 23,159 5.6 130,391 31.5 21,106 5.5 Lithgow 125 4.2 148 5.1 142 4.7 2247 74.2 331 11.4 Wingecarribee 659 9.7 684 9.9 485 7.0 4602 67.3 391 5.5 DCJ SWS District 98,703 51.3 16,695 8.7 10,695 5.6 55,580 28.9 10,683 5.6 DCJ WS District 94,303 43.3 17,600 8.1 13,086 6.0 81,658 37.5 11,153 5.1 Greater Sydney 343,445 43.2 69,608 8.8 53,184 6.7 284,374 35.8 44,276 5.6 Rest of NSW 29,020 7.2 24,737 6.1 20,546 5.1 301,087 74.7 27,599 6.8 Total NSW 373,130 31.1 94,437 7.9 73,823 6.2 586,184 48.9 72,303 6.0 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note, Total NSW includes ‘No usual address (NSW)’ and ‘Migratory – Offshore – Shipping’.

Language spoken at home The Census variable ‘Language Spoken at Home’ reveals how many people speak a language other than English in their household. In 2016, 55.8% of young people in GWS spoke only English at home.

Of the young people who spoke another language, the most common languages spoken at home were Arabic (8.0% of GWS youth, or 31,908 people) and Vietnamese (4.4% of GWS youth, or 17,606 people). The fifteen most common languages spoken at home are listed in Table 10. As this reflects, when disregarding non-responses, at least 39.4% of young people in GWS spoke a language other than English at home.

Table 10: Ten most common languages spoken at home, GWS youth 2016

Language Count Per cent

1 English 223,313 55.8% 2 Arabic 31,908 8.0% 3 Vietnamese 17,606 4.4% 4 Mandarin 11,072 2.8% 5 Cantonese 10,788 2.7% 6 Hindi 6,598 1.6% 7 Urdu 4,382 1.1% 8 Korean 4,307 1.1% 9 Punjabi 3,833 1.0% 10 Tagalog 3,578 0.9% 11 Samoan 3,552 0.9% 12 Spanish 3,370 0.8% 13 Assyrian Neo-Aramaic 3,296 0.8% 14 Greek 3,293 0.8% 15 Bengali 2,847 0.7% - Not stated 19,239 4.8% Total 400,357 NA Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Further insight into language spoken at home can be found by examining LGAs specifically. For example, immense diversity is seen across GWS LGAs by the proportion of young people who only speak English at home. Across GWS, speaking only English at home is found in the highest rate in Wollondilly (92.1%), followed by the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury (91.1% each, see Table 11). The LGA where the lowest percentage of youth only spoke English was Fairfield (29.5%), reflecting the area’s strong CALD youth population. Fairfield’s high rate of linguistic diversity is also likely prompted by the large proportion of young people in Fairfield whose parents were both born overseas (see Table 9).

Language proficiency As well as language spoken at home, Census data indicates how linguistically diverse young people described their proficiency in English (see Table 11). Examining the place of residence for young people who either did not speak English at all, or did not speak English well, provides insight into potential gaps in support for learning English as a Second Language (ESL). This is particularly because limited English proficiency is a contributing factor to social isolation and loneliness. As discussed in WESTIR’s 2016 Census paper, Measuring Social Isolation in Greater Western Sydney, “people with limited English skills may experience difficulty accessing mainstream services, work opportunities and social networks due to their inability to communicate in the same language. This ‘linguistic isolation’ can also encourage cultural communities to self-segregate and make them more prone to discrimination as they appear ‘less Australian’ to more established residents in the community.” 22

In 2016, the LGAs with the highest proportion of youth who did not speak English at all were Fairfield (0.6%, 219 people) and Cumberland (0.6%, 203 people). The same LGAs were home to the highest rates of young people who spoke another language but did not speak English well (3.8% or 1,405 people in Fairfield, and 3.8% or 1,390 people in Cumberland).

The areas with the next highest rates of young people who either did not speak English well, or at all, were Canterbury-Bankstown (3.1% total) and Parramatta (2.7% total). By count in 2016, the highest number of young people who spoke another language, but did not speak English well, were seen in Canterbury-Bankstown (1,620 people), Cumberland (1,390 people), Fairfield (1,405 people), and Parramatta (816 people), as seen in Figure 5.

22 WESTIR 2020, ‘Measuring Social Isolation’ available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/msi.pdf; H Bleakley 2007, English Proficiency and Social Assimilation Among Immigrants: An Instrumental-Variables Approach, University of California, San Diego. 26

Figure 5: Proficiency in Spoken English, GWS youth by LGA 2016

50 Thousands

Speaks English only Speaks other language and speaks English: Very well Speaks other language and speaks English: Well Speaks other language and speaks English: Not well Speaks other language and speaks English: Not at all

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: Excludes ‘Not stated - both language and proficiency not stated’ and ‘Not stated – language stated, but English proficiency not stated’.

Table 11: Proficiency in Spoken English, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (count and %)

Speaks a language other than English and speaks English: Not stated Language Speaks English Both language stated, but not only Very well Well Not well Not at all and English Total LGA/Region English proficiency proficiency

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count Blacktown 36,958 62.0 17,145 28.8 2,266 3.8 458 0.8 89 0.1 2,548 4.3 151 0.3 59,612 Blue Mountains 10,292 91.1 450 4.0 141 1.2 17 0.2 10 0.1 390 3.5 3 0.0 11,300 Camden 11,755 86.1 1,219 8.9 122 0.9 40 0.3 10 0.1 487 3.6 13 0.1 13,648 Campbelltown 19,519 68.7 6,506 22.9 702 2.5 168 0.6 36 0.1 1,425 5.0 76 0.3 28,428 Canterbury- 21,393 36.2 28,015 47.4 4,738 8.0 1,620 2.7 208 0.4 2,888 4.9 261 0.4 59,114 Bankstown Cumberland 11,305 30.7 17,788 48.3 4,283 11.6 1,390 3.8 203 0.6 1,673 4.5 160 0.4 36,801 Fairfield 11,041 29.5 19,630 52.4 3,659 9.8 1,405 3.8 219 0.6 1,315 3.5 186 0.5 37,451 Hawkesbury 10,559 91.1 352 3.0 58 0.5 14 0.1 5 0.0 603 5.2 0 0.0 11,590 Liverpool 18,315 47.7 15,492 40.3 1,562 4.1 615 1.6 111 0.3 2,195 5.7 131 0.3 38,423 Parramatta 15,359 46.6 11,623 35.3 3,294 10.0 816 2.5 71 0.2 1,725 5.2 84 0.3 32,973 Penrith 28,369 81.9 3,791 10.9 473 1.4 118 0.3 28 0.1 1,830 5.3 46 0.1 34,658 The Hills Shire 20,660 74.1 5,906 21.2 485 1.7 154 0.6 26 0.1 624 2.2 30 0.1 27,882 Wollondilly 7,792 92.1 253 3.0 35 0.4 7 0.1 3 0.0 366 4.3 7 0.1 8,463 Total GWS 223,313 55.8 128,168 32.0 21,821 5.5 6,823 1.7 1,008 0.3 18,074 4.5 1,144 0.3 400,357 Lithgow 2,608 87.3 49 1.6 18 0.6 3 0.1 0 0.0 307 10.3 3 0.1 2,989 Wingecarribee 6,050 88.7 215 3.2 104 1.5 79 1.2 7 0.1 354 5.2 5 0.1 6,819 DCJ SWS 95,867 49.8 71,332 37.1 10,925 5.7 3,937 2.0 586 0.3 9,030 4.7 669 0.3 192,349 District DCJ WS District 136,104 62.5 57,097 26.2 11,025 5.1 2,976 1.4 430 0.2 9,706 4.5 482 0.2 217,810 Greater Sydney 479,913 60.4 198,082 24.9 58,779 7.4 15,689 2.0 1,528 0.2 39,094 4.9 1,800 0.2 794,882 Rest of NSW 358,146 88.9 13,596 3.4 4,550 1.1 1,692 0.4 284 0.1 24,511 6.1 215 0.1 402,991 Total NSW 839,209 69.9 211,882 17.7 63,497 5.3 17,450 1.5 1,815 0.2 64,017 5.3 2,012 0.2 1,199,881 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Ancestry Of further interest for CALD in GWS is Ancestry. As a person can have a wide range of ancestral backgrounds, within the Census, a person can provide up to two ancestries. These are then used to produce the ‘Ancestry multi-response’. While this means that total counts of ancestry do not match population numbers, it provides a good indication of ancestries that are prominent in GWS. In GWS in 2016, the ten most common ancestries, as part of the ‘ancestry multi-response’, are outlined below (see Table 12).

Table 12: Ancestry multi-response, ten most common, NSW youth by region 2016 GWS Greater Sydney NSW # Ancestry Count Ancestry Count Ancestry Count 1 Australian 107,179 Australian 231,422 Australian 441,203 2 English 79,446 English 185,243 English 339,546 3 Chinese 33,016 Chinese 99,139 Chinese 105,001 4 Lebanese 26,125 Irish 57,054 Irish 99,414 5 Irish 20,970 Scottish 38,019 Scottish 72,231 6 Vietnamese 19,265 Italian 34,447 Italian 46,409 7 Indian 18,093 Lebanese 33,271 Lebanese 34,492 8 Italian 16,252 Indian 25,921 German 31,240 9 Scottish 14,828 Vietnamese 23,474 Indian 28,145 10 Filipino 13,852 Filipino 18,833 Vietnamese 24,384 - Not stated 22,735 Not stated 46,304 Not stated 74,830 - Not applicable 273,677 Not applicable 522,208 Not applicable 769,054 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: ‘Not applicable’ includes responses where only one ancestry was provided.

As seen in Table 13, much diversity in ancestral background exists across GWS LGAs. In all LGAs except Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, and Parramatta, young people most frequently identified as having an Australian ancestry. A Lebanese ancestry was most common among youth in Canterbury- Bankstown and Cumberland. A Vietnamese ancestry was most common in Fairfield, and a Chinese ancestry most common in Parramatta. Only in Lithgow was an Australian Indigenous ancestry among the top ten ancestry most frequently identified by young residents.

Across all GWS LGAs, only two ancestries consistently featured in the top ten most common ancestry: Australian and English. While almost the same can be said of an Italian ancestry, Italian was not among the top ten most common ancestries of Cumberland. It is also curious to note that a Chinese ancestry was ranked in the top ten most common ancestries of all GWS LGAs, excluding Wollondilly and Lithgow.

Table 13: Ancestry multi-response, ten most common, GWS youth by LGA 2016 Blacktown Blue Mountains Camden # Ancestry Count Ancestry Count Ancestry Count 1 Australian 16,639 Australian 5,883 Australian 6,109 2 English 12,547 English 4,769 English 4,819 3 Filipino 6,082 Irish 1,553 Irish 1,282 4 Indian 5,378 Scottish 1,097 Scottish 1,020 5 Irish 3,094 German 510 Italian 1,019 6 Scottish 2,245 Italian 358 German 396 7 Chinese 2,141 Chinese 218 Maltese 357 8 Samoan 1,607 Dutch 211 Chinese 258 9 Italian 1,546 New Zealander 165 Indian 245 10 Maltese 1,308 Maltese 138 Lebanese 223 Campbelltown Canterbury-Bankstown Cumberland # Ancestry Count Ancestry Count Ancestry Count 1 Australian 9,645 Lebanese 10,983 Lebanese 6,057 2 English 7,290 Australian 9,801 Australian 4,957 3 Irish 1,838 Chinese 6,823 Chinese 4,453 4 Scottish 1,453 English 6,406 English 3,366 5 Indian 1,356 Vietnamese 5,786 Indian 2,168 6 Samoan 1,272 Greek 3,364 Afghan 1,587 7 Filipino 1,223 Italian 2,218 Turkish 1,488 8 Chinese 938 Irish 1,713 Nepalese 1,220 9 Italian 844 Indian 1,225 Filipino 970 10 German 746 Pakistani 1,113 Vietnamese 929 Fairfield Hawkesbury Liverpool # Ancestry Count Ancestry Count Ancestry Count 1 Vietnamese 8,898 Australian 6,070 Australian 7,665 2 Chinese 5,206 English 4,514 English 5,370 3 Australian 4,307 Irish 1,143 Italian 2,674 4 English 3,122 Scottish 834 Lebanese 2,660 5 Assyrian 2,500 Maltese 626 Vietnamese 2,381 6 Italian 1,992 Italian 420 Indian 2,253 7 Khmer (Cambodian) 1,857 German 353 Chinese 1,860 8 Iraqi 1,698 Dutch 230 Iraqi 1,460 9 Chaldean 1,439 New Zealander 150 Irish 1,182 10 Lebanese 1,388 Chinese 120 Filipino 1,108 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: Excludes ‘Not applicable’ and ‘Not stated’.

Table 13: Ancestry multi-response, ten most common, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (count) (continued) Parramatta Penrith The Hills Shire # Ancestry Count Ancestry Count Ancestry Count 1 Chinese 7,562 Australian 15,220 Australian 9,241 2 Australian 6,891 English 11,435 English 7,366 3 English 5,375 Irish 3,083 Chinese 2,798 4 Indian 2,720 Scottish 2,156 Irish 2,296 5 Korean 2,031 Maltese 1,468 Italian 1,637 6 Irish 1,704 Italian 1,403 Scottish 1,534 7 Lebanese 1,604 Filipino 1,048 Indian 1,520 8 Scottish 1,112 German 1,005 Lebanese 764 9 Italian 984 Indian 780 German 709 10 Filipino 765 Chinese 563 Filipino 692 Wollondilly Lithgow Wingecarribee # Ancestry Count Ancestry Count Ancestry Count 1 Australian 4,754 Australian 1,596 Australian 3,586 2 English 3,067 English 1,111 English 2,705 3 Irish 867 Irish 304 Irish 758 4 Scottish 603 Scottish 246 Scottish 624 5 Italian 440 German 73 German 237 6 Maltese 303 Italian 58 Chinese 214 7 German 256 Australian Aboriginal 26 Italian 207 8 Dutch 102 New Zealander 19 Dutch 90 9 Lebanese 89 Filipino 19 New Zealander 84 10 Croatian 89 Dutch 18 Greek 56 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: Excludes ‘Not applicable’ and ‘Not stated’.

Religion Most young GWS residents had some form of religious affiliation, according to the 2016 Census (at least 72.3%). As seen in Table 14, Christianity was the most common religion among young people in GWS at this time (51.5%). The next most common religious affiliations among young GWS residents were ‘Secular Beliefs, Other Spiritual Beliefs and No Religious Affiliation’ (20.2%) and Islam (10.7%).

These same three religious affiliations (Christianity, secular, and Islam) were also the most common types of religious affiliation among the all-ages population of GWS. 23 This is seen in Table 14, and suggests that in GWS, age is not likely to be a large influence on a person’s religious identity.

Table 14: Religious affiliation, GWS all-ages and youth 2016

Total population Youth population Religious Affiliation Count % Count % Secular Beliefs, Other Spiritual Beliefs, and No Religious 412,889 17.9% 80,935 20.2% Affiliation Islam 210,687 9.1% 42,871 10.7% Buddhism 110,561 4.8% 17,393 4.3% Christianity 1,233,153 53.4% 206,248 51.5% Hinduism 113,460 4.9% 15,043 3.8% Judaism 1,230 0.1% 109 0.0% Other Religions 38,213 1.7% 6,241 1.6% Inadequately described 6,897 0.3% 1,418 0.4% Not stated 180,089 7.8% 30,099 7.5% Total 2,307,182 100.0% 400,357 100.0% Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Responses to religious affiliation has seen notable changes in recent Australian Censuses, as shown in Figure 6.24 For example, between 2006 and 2016, the number of young NSW residents who identified as Christian decreased by over 25,380 people. This represents approximately 11.0% fewer Christian youth in 2016 than lived in GWS in 2006. In the same period, the number of young people who identified as Secular or Not Religious almost doubled, rising 93.5% from 41,818 people in 2006 to 80,935 people in 2016. The number of young people identifying as Hindu also rose significantly, by 79.9% (from 8,362 people in 2006 to 15,043 people in 2016).

23 Religion in GWS is further analysed in WESTIR’s 2016 Census Paper: WESTIR Ltd 2016, ‘Religious affiliation in Greater Western Sydney’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/ReligionGWS.pdf 24 See Andrew Singleton, Anna Halafoff, Gary D Bouma, Mary Lou Rasmussan 2018, ‘New research shows Australian teens have complex views on religion and spirituality’, The Conversation, 18 September, available at https://bit.ly/2WTdwKO; Lydia Feng 2018, ‘Faith no more: Why young Australians are rejecting religion’, SBS News, 17 May, available at https://bit.ly/33YAcuO. 32

Figure 6: Religious affiliation, NSW youth 2006, 2011 and 2016

250

200 Thousands

150

100

2006 2011 2016

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2006, 2011, 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence. Please note: Due to changes in category names, the comparative categories visualised for the 2006 and 2011 Censuses are (a) ‘No Religion’, and (b) ‘Supplementary codes’.

The state-wide trend towards secularism was evident among GWS youth in 2016. Firstly, as shown in Table 14, the number of young people who identified as having ‘Secular Beliefs and Other Spiritual Beliefs and No Religious Affiliation’ was only outnumbered by those identifying as having Christian beliefs. Interestingly, as a proportion of the population in 2016, young people were more likely to identify as secular (20.2%) than the total all-ages population of GWS (17.9% secular).

Considering the increasing number of young people who identify as non-religious, Map 2 demonstrates where the greatest number of non-religious young people lived in 2016. These locations include areas such as the lower Blue Mountains (Blaxland– Warrimoo–Lapstone, and Springwood–Winmalee), Hawkesbury (Kurrajong Heights– Ebenezer) and areas north and east of Penrith (Castlereagh–Cranebrook, and Lethbridge Park–Tregear). Among GWS LGAs, Figure 7 shows that the Blue Mountains was home to the highest proportion among GWS of young people who identified as having no religion. For the full datasets on religious affiliation among GWS youth, please contact WESTIR Limited.

Map 2: GWS youth, no religion 2016

Figure 7: Religious affiliation, GWS youth by LGA 2016

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism Other Religions Secular Beliefs and Other Spiritual Beliefs and No Religious Affiliation Inadequately described Not stated

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Home

For young people living in GWS, definitions and experiences of home are highly diverse. In this section, WESTIR explores trends in the housing of GWS youth, regarding location, dwelling structure, tenure type, landlord type, and homelessness. Location Young people live in communities and neighbourhoods across all areas of GWS, with some areas home to comparatively higher numbers of youth. In 2016, as seen in Map 3, higher numbers of young people resided in areas of recent housing developments (i.e. Kellyville, the Ponds, Badgerys Creek) and around military bases (Holsworthy). Areas where many young people reside may be attractive due to factors such as cost of living, sense of community, and ease of access to relevant infrastructure such as schools and universities. Young people were also found in high numbers in areas of, or near, correctional facilities, such as Silverwater in the LGA of Parramatta (see Map 3).

Former place of residence The Census provides opportunities for people to identify where they lived one year prior and five years prior, highlighting patterns in migration. Helpfully, this also suggests the mobility of young GWS residents and their families. Though similar internal migration trends are explored in WESTIR’s previously published paper, ‘Youthification’ and Greater Western Sydney: The Internal Migration of Young People, the age range under investigation is somewhat different in this paper.25 As such, the following two tables (Table 15 and Table 16) reflect the former places of residence of people in GWS who were aged between 12 and 24 years in 2016.

In 2016, most young people living in GWS were not new to the area. Of local young residents, approximately nine in ten had also lived in GWS one year earlier (89.1%). Four in five young people had lived in GWS five years earlier (80.6%). Such high proportions of young people who remained living in GWS suggests a degree of stability among where young people live. However, these figures reflect GWS as a region. As such, they disguise movements that may have occurred between LGAs, or between suburbs within an LGA. Furthermore, these figures also do not reveal the number of young people who may have moved away from GWS and returned prior to the 2016 Census. Consequently, these figures are best interpreted as indicative, rather than definitive evidence of housing stability.

25 WESTIR Ltd 2020, ‘‘Youthification’ and Greater Western Sydney: The Internal Migration of Young People’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/YGWS.pdf

Map 3: GWS youth, usual place of residence 2016

Table 15: Place of residence 1 year ago, GWS youth by LGA 2016

Resided in GWS in 2015 Resided elsewhere in 2015 LGA 2016 Count % Count % Blacktown 53,865 90.4% 5,756 9.7% Blue Mountains 10,315 91.3% 988 8.7% Camden 12,561 92.0% 1,087 8.0% Campbelltown 25,456 89.5% 2,973 10.5% Canterbury-Bankstown 51,621 87.3% 7,499 12.7% Cumberland 31,610 85.9% 5,193 14.1% Fairfield 34,312 91.6% 3,135 8.4% Hawkesbury 10,491 90.5% 1,101 9.5% Liverpool 34,421 89.6% 3,999 10.4% Parramatta 27,117 82.2% 5,852 17.7% Penrith 31,285 90.3% 3,373 9.7% The Hills Shire 25,820 92.6% 2,067 7.4% Wollondilly 7,767 91.8% 695 8.2% Total GWS 356,644 89.1% 43,712 10.9% Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Table 16: Place of residence 5 years ago, GWS youth by LGA 2016

Resided in GWS in 2011 Resided elsewhere in 2011 LGA 2016 Count % Count % Blacktown 49,460 83.0% 10,149 17.0% Blue Mountains 9,848 87.2% 1,455 12.9% Camden 11,993 87.9% 1,656 12.1% Campbelltown 23,858 83.9% 4,574 16.1% Canterbury-Bankstown 45,063 76.2% 14,050 23.8% Cumberland 26,648 72.4% 10,152 27.6% Fairfield 31,006 82.8% 6,449 17.2% Hawkesbury 10,045 86.7% 1,544 13.3% Liverpool 31,969 83.2% 6,453 16.8% Parramatta 22,022 66.8% 10,949 33.2% Penrith 29,758 85.9% 4,897 14.1% The Hills Shire 23,629 84.7% 4,253 15.3% Wollondilly 7,447 88.0% 1,013 12.0% Total GWS 322,749 80.6% 77,606 19.4% Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Usual Residence.

Regardless, interesting variations in the former place of residence of young people emerged between LGAs in the 2016 Census. This is most evident when examining GWS youth through their identified place of residence five years prior to the 2016 Census (see Table 16). For example, the rate at which young residents lived outside GWS five year earlier varied from a mere 12.0% in Wollondilly (1,013 people), to almost a third of young residents in Parramatta (33.2%, or 10,949 people), as seen in Table 16.

Dwelling Structure In the Census, a dwelling structure is recorded by individuals located at that dwelling on Census night. As such, the dwelling is not necessarily the person’s place of residence. Instead, they may be travellers, house sitters, or the friends or family of residents.

On Census night in 2016, the dwelling structure where most young people in GWS were located was a separate house (77.9%, see Figure 8). However, this varied greatly across GWS LGAs. For example, in Wollondilly and Camden, almost all young people were located in separate houses (96.6% and 95.6% respectively). As shown in Table 17, rates of residing in a separate house were far lower in Parramatta (56.6%), Cumberland (64.7%) and Canterbury-Bankstown (65.3%) LGAs.

In lieu of living within a separate house and considering the housing demands raised by Greater Sydney’s growing population, apartment living is becoming more common. Across GWS, the Census recorded the highest rates of young people located in apartments in Parramatta (23.8%), Cumberland (19.6%) and Canterbury- Bankstown (17.5%).

Figure 8: Dwelling structure, GWS youth 2016

Other (e.g. caravan, cabin, Not stated, 0.3% houseboat, improvised home), 0.4% NA, 1.3%

Flat or apartment, 8.9%

Semi detached, row or terrace house, townhouse, 11.3%

Separate house, 77.9%

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration.

Table 17: Dwelling structure, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (%) Semi- detached, Separate Flat or Not LGA/Region row or Other * NA house apartment* stated terrace house* Blacktown 82.2 14.2 2.5 0.3 0.3 0.5 Blue Mountains 92.5 2.2 1.0 0.2 0.2 3.8 Camden 95.6 3.1 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.9 Campbelltown 84.5 11.8 2.1 0.2 0.1 1.4 Canterbury-Bankstown 65.3 15.8 17.5 0.6 0.3 0.5 Cumberland 64.7 14.2 19.6 0.8 0.4 0.3 Fairfield 78.5 12.7 7.8 0.6 0.3 0.1 Hawkesbury 89.0 6.1 1.0 0.4 0.5 3.0 Liverpool 83.0 7.7 7.5 0.1 0.2 1.5 Parramatta 56.6 13.8 23.8 0.3 0.3 5.2 Penrith 86.3 8.0 3.5 0.2 0.3 1.8 The Hills Shire 88.6 8.0 2.6 0.1 0.2 0.5 Wollondilly 96.6 1.2 0.4 0.6 0.3 1.1 Total GWS 77.9 11.3 8.9 0.4 0.3 1.3 Lithgow 86.6 3.6 1.0 5.1 0.5 3.1 Wingecarribee 89.0 2.6 1.0 0.5 0.3 6.6 DCJ SWS District 88.0 6.3 2.4 0.5 0.4 2.4 DCJ WS District 77.7 11.2 8.7 0.4 0.3 1.7 Greater Sydney 73.8 13.0 11.1 0.4 0.3 1.4 Rest of NSW 66.7 11.0 17.7 0.5 0.3 3.7 NSW 83.7 5.7 4.3 0.8 0.5 5.0 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration. *Please note: ‘Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse’ combines the variables regarding semi-detached houses with one storey and with two or more storeys. ‘Flat or apartment’ combines the variables regarding flats or apartments in a one or two storey block, three-storey block, four or more storey block, or attached to a house. ‘Other’ includes caravan, cabin, houseboat, improvised home, tent, sleeping out, and house or flat attached to a shop or office.

Tenure Type Tenure type describes the conditions under which a dwelling is held, such as full ownership, part ownership, and rental. On Census night in 2016, young people in GWS were most frequently located in dwellings that were owned with a mortgage (43.1%) or rented (31.7%). Only 17.1% of dwellings in which GWS youth were counted were owned outright, as shown in Figure 9 and Table 18.

Of the young people recorded in the 2016 Census, outright home ownership was highest in Fairfield (22.6%). The LGAs where young people were least likely to have completed the 2016 Census from a dwelling that was owned outright were Blacktown (12.6%) and Campbelltown (12.8%).

The areas where the dwelling of the young person was most frequently owned with a mortgage were Wollondilly (60.9%), Camden (56.6%), and the Hills Shire (55.2%). Meanwhile, rates of renting were highest among youth living in Cumberland (40.5%), Parramatta (35.9%) and Blacktown (34.7%). Interestingly, these same LGAs were home to the largest rates of young people who were residing in apartments.

Figure 9: Tenure types, GWS youth 2016

Not stated, 5.8% Other tenure type, Not applicable, 1.3% 0.3% Owned outright, 17.1% Being occupied rent- free, 0.5%

Being occupied under a life tenure scheme, 0.1%

Rented, 31.7%

Owned with a Being purchased mortgage, 43.1% under a shared equity scheme, 0.1%

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration.

Table 18: Tenure type, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (%)

Owned Being Other Owned Not LGA/Region with a Rented occupied tenure NA outright stated mortgage rent-free type Blacktown 12.6 45.8 34.7 0.4 0.2 5.6 0.5 Blue Mountains 18.6 53.2 19.9 0.3 0.3 3.8 3.8 Camden 14.2 56.6 23.4 0.4 0.2 4.3 0.9 Campbelltown 12.8 43.8 35.0 0.3 0.3 6.2 1.4 Canterbury- 19.9 36.7 34.8 0.6 0.4 6.8 0.5 Bankstown Cumberland 16.7 34.1 40.5 0.8 0.4 7.1 0.3 Fairfield 22.6 35.7 34.8 0.6 0.4 5.4 0.1 Hawkesbury 18.0 49.7 22.4 0.8 0.3 5.8 3.0 Liverpool 16.9 45.1 28.5 0.5 0.3 7.0 1.5 Parramatta 17.4 35.0 35.9 0.7 0.3 5.2 5.2 Penrith 13.9 46.8 30.8 0.4 0.3 5.9 1.8 The Hills Shire 22.5 55.2 18.0 0.4 0.3 3.1 0.5 Wollondilly 17.8 60.9 14.9 0.5 0.2 4.7 1.1 Total GWS 17.1 43.1 31.7 0.5 0.3 5.8 1.3 Lithgow 17.0 41.8 27.0 0.8 0.3 9.6 3.1 Wingecarribee 16.4 46.8 22.9 1.1 0.4 5.6 6.6 DCJ SWS 18.2 42.0 31.5 0.5 0.3 6.2 1.0 District DCJ WS District 16.2 44.0 31.6 0.5 0.3 5.5 1.7 Greater Sydney 17.9 39.3 32.2 0.6 0.3 5.8 3.7 Rest of NSW 15.3 39.8 32.0 1.0 0.3 6.4 5.0 NSW 17.0 39.5 32.1 0.1 0.3 6.0 4.2 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration. Please note: Rows do not add to 100%, as two tenure types are excluded due to small counts: ‘purchased under a shared equity scheme’, and ‘being occupied under a life tenure scheme’. For the full dataset on tenure type in GWS, please contact WESTIR Limited.

Landlord Type Knowing the type of landlord of a residence helps in understanding whom young people and their households are answerable to with regard to their living situation. For example, in 2016, Campbelltown (10.7%) and Blacktown (7.4%) were home to the highest proportion of residents who lived in public housing, where the landlord was a state or territory owned housing authority (see Figure 10, plus Table 19 and Table 20). The highest number of young people living in public housing called Blacktown home (4,430 people).

Figure 10: Landlord Type, GWS youth by LGA 2016

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

Real estate agent State or territory housing authority Person not in the same household-parent/other relative Person not in the same household-other person Residential park (includes caravan parks and marinas) Employer-Government (includes Defence Housing Authority) Employer-other employer Housing co-operative/community/church group Not stated

Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration. Please note: Excludes ‘Not applicable’.

Table 19: Landlord type, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (count)

Person Resi- Employer: not in the Person dential Govern- Housing co- State or same not in the Real park ment Employer operative/ territory house- same Not LGA/Region estate (includes (includes other community Not applicable housing hold- househol stated agent caravan Defence employer /church authority parent/ d-other parks and Housing group other person marinas) Authority) relative Blacktown 12,954 4,430 793 1,754 9 59 415 332 212 38,874 Blue Mountains 1,535 144 192 338 0 7 49 33 19 9,160 Camden 2,548 182 145 252 4 20 43 7 32 10,374 Campbelltown 5,668 3,061 385 625 0 33 137 110 78 18,491 Canterbury-Bankstown 13,157 3,175 734 2,586 6 21 797 371 306 38,513 Cumberland 10,423 1,514 502 1,763 0 28 661 224 183 21,818 Fairfield 8,339 2,095 515 1,378 3 6 594 179 183 24,293 Hawkesbury 1,751 306 182 251 7 60 40 38 46 8,897 Liverpool 7,218 1,892 382 893 4 198 312 169 131 27,480 Parramatta 8,778 1,094 373 1,546 0 131 263 196 90 21,626 Penrith 7,794 1,167 567 889 0 43 152 171 102 23,996 The Hills Shire 4,049 71 161 540 6 53 46 148 69 22,886 Wollondilly 895 47 110 153 11 9 30 24 12 7,136 Total GWS 85,109 19,178 5,041 12,968 50 668 3,539 2,002 1,463 273,544 Lithgow 448 148 80 100 0 3 22 11 10 2,140 Wingecarribee 999 161 93 237 0 0 48 48 33 5,154 DCJ SWS District 38,821 10,611 2,353 6,123 31 287 1,963 915 780 131,428 DCJ WS District 47,748 8,868 2,851 7,173 28 386 1,635 1,156 733 149,398 Greater Sydney 181,451 25,634 10,277 34,203 276 1,217 6,807 4,267 2,892 547,755 Rest of NSW 81,183 14,754 9,109 19,215 577 1,334 4,342 2,578 2,149 274,317 Total NSW 262,636 40,389 19,389 53,414 858 2,553 11,148 6,846 5,041 822,402 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration. f

Table 20: Landlord type, GWS youth by LGA 2016 (%)

Person not Residential Employer: Housing Person not State or in the park Government co- Real in the same Employer: territory same (includes (includes operative/ Not Not LGA/Region estate household- other housing household, caravan Defence community stated applicable agent parent/other employer authority other parks and Housing /church relative person marinas) Authority) group Blacktown 21.7 7.4 1.3 2.9 0.0 0.1 0.7 0.6 0.4 65.0 Blue Mountains 13.4 1.3 1.7 2.9 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.2 79.8 Camden 18.7 1.3 1.1 1.9 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.2 76.3 Campbelltown 19.8 10.7 1.3 2.2 0.0 0.1 0.5 0.4 0.3 64.7 Canterbury- 22.1 5.3 1.2 4.3 0.0 0.0 1.3 0.6 0.5 64.5 Bankstown Cumberland 28.1 4.1 1.4 4.8 0.0 0.1 1.8 0.6 0.5 58.8 Fairfield 22.2 5.6 1.4 3.7 0.0 0.0 1.6 0.5 0.5 64.6 Hawkesbury 15.1 2.6 1.6 2.2 0.1 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.4 76.8 Liverpool 18.7 4.9 1.0 2.3 0.0 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.3 71.0 Parramatta 25.7 3.2 1.1 4.5 0.0 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.3 63.4 Penrith 22.3 3.3 1.6 2.5 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.3 68.8 The Hills Shire 14.4 0.3 0.6 1.9 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.2 81.6 Wollondilly 10.6 0.6 1.3 1.8 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.1 84.8 Total GWS 20.9 4.7 1.3 3.2 0.0 0.2 0.9 0.5 0.4 67.9 Wingecarribee 14.7 2.4 1.4 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.5 76.0 Lithgow 15.1 5.0 2.7 3.4 0.0 0.1 0.7 0.4 0.3 72.2 DCJ SWS District 20.1 5.5 1.2 3.2 0.0 0.1 1.0 0.5 0.4 68.0 DCJ WS District 21.7 4.0 1.3 3.3 0.0 0.2 0.7 0.5 0.3 67.9 Greater Sydney 22.3 3.1 1.3 4.2 0.0 0.1 0.8 0.5 0.4 67.2 Rest of NSW 19.8 3.6 2.2 4.7 0.1 0.3 1.1 0.6 0.5 67.0 Total NSW 21.4 3.3 1.6 4.4 0.1 0.2 0.9 0.6 0.4 67.2 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration. Please note: Bold figures denote highest proportion per column.

Homelessness and Marginal Housing Homelessness is experienced by thousands of young people across Australia. According to the ABS Homelessness Estimates, 27,683 young people were homeless across Australia in 2016. Of these young people, 13.4% (or 3,710 people, see Table 21) were estimated to have been homeless in GWS. This was despite GWS’s youth population representing only 10.5% of Australia’s young people in 2016, indicating a comparatively high rate of youth homelessness in GWS.

Table 21: Homelessness estimates, GWS youth by SA3 2016 Marginally Total Homeless Not Applicable SA3/Region housed youth Count % Count % Count % Count Auburn 454 2.9 652 4.2 14,400 92.8 15,511 Bankstown 269 0.9 538 1.8 29,477 97.3 30,285 Baulkham Hills 79 0.3 126 0.5 25,104 99.2 25,313 Blacktown 204 0.9 282 1.3 21,643 97.8 22,123 Blacktown - North 29 0.2 105 0.7 15,549 99.1 15,685 Blue Mountains 23 0.2 23 0.2 11,158 99.5 11,209 Blue Mountains - South 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 100.0 3 Bringelly - Green 123 0.6 197 1.0 19,859 98.4 20,179 Valley Camden 13 0.1 24 0.2 11,071 99.7 11,109 Campbelltown 264 0.9 252 0.9 28,293 98.2 28,809 Canterbury 322 1.5 583 2.6 21,254 95.9 22,156 Carlingford 43 0.4 29 0.3 10,603 99.4 10,671 Dural - Wisemans Ferry 20 0.4 22 0.5 4,827 99.3 4,862 Fairfield 521 1.5 753 2.2 33,735 96.4 35,011 Hawkesbury 21 0.5 18 0.4 4,301 99.1 4,341 Liverpool 154 0.7 236 1.1 20,287 98.1 20,678 Merrylands - Guildford 442 1.7 698 2.6 25,331 95.7 26,474 Mount Druitt 182 0.8 383 1.7 21,398 97.4 21,961 Parramatta 231 1.2 284 1.5 18,432 97.3 18,951 Penrith 166 0.7 102 0.4 24,062 98.9 24,323 Richmond - Windsor 55 0.8 47 0.7 6,648 98.6 6,744 Rouse Hill - McGraths 0 0.0 19 0.3 6,079 99.6 6,104 Hill St Marys 93 0.9 111 1.1 9,724 97.9 9,928 Wollondilly 6 0.1 24 0.3 6,961 99.6 6,991 Total GWS (SA3s) 3,710 0.9 5,511 1.4 390,190 97.7 399,415 Greater Sydney 7,258 0.9 9,286 1.2 779,044 97.9 795,588 Rest of NSW 1,780 0.4 1,692 0.4 401,739 99.1 405,211 Total NSW 9,039 0.8 10,972 0.9 1,181,071 98.3 1,201,083 Australia 27,683 0.7 27,879 0.7 3,757,937 98.5 3,813,497 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Estimating Homelessness. SA3.

As seen in Table 21, the GWS LGA with the highest estimated number of young people experiencing homelessness in 2016 was Fairfield (521 people). Regarding

homelessness, Fairfield here refers to Fairfield Statistical Area 3 (SA3). This is because homelessness estimates are undertaken by the ABS on a SA, rather than LGA, level. Another SA3 of significance was Auburn, where the largest proportion of local young residents were estimated to be homeless in 2016 (2.9% of Auburn youth, or 454 people).

In addition to homelessness, the ABS estimated how many people lived in marginal housing. Marginal housing is accommodation with inadequate facilities, overcrowding, or insecure tenure.26 People living in marginal housing are considered to be at a higher risk of experiencing homelessness. In NSW, 10,972 young people were estimated to be marginally housed in 2016. The ABS estimate that in 2016, over half (50.2%, or 5,511 people) of young people who were marginally housed in NSW were living in GWS. This was despite the fact that young people living in GWS represented only 33.3% of NSW youth. Like homelessness, this indicates a comparatively high rate of young people living in marginal housing in GWS.

Types of homelessness and marginal housing Experiences of homelessness or marginal housing are far from uniform. To reflect this, the ABS utilises nine ‘operational groups’ to categorise estimates of homelessness and marginal housing. Six operational groups are utilised to estimate homelessness. The categories include people who are experiencing ‘primary homelessness’, such as rough sleeping, as well as those experiencing ‘secondary homelessness’, such as staying temporarily with another household (see below).27 The three remaining operational groups are used to estimate marginal housing. The operational groups utilised by the ABS are also listed in Table 22 and Table 23 on pages 49 to 51.

Homelessness Marginal housing 1. Persons living in improvised 7. Persons living other crowded dwellings, tents, or sleeping out dwellings 2. Persons in supported 8. Persons in other improvised accommodation for the homeless dwellings 3. Persons staying temporarily with 9. Persons who are marginally housed other households in caravan parks 4. Persons living in boarding houses 5. Persons in other temporary lodgings 6. Persons living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings

26 ABS 2018, ‘Census of Population and Housing: Estimating homelessness, 2016’, available at https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/2049.0 27 Homelessness NSW, ‘Facts about homelessness’, available at https://www.homelessnessnsw.org.au/resources/facts-about-homelessness

Within the operational groups for homelessness and marginal housing, estimates from the ABS indicate that in GWS, the greatest number of young people who lived in severely crowded dwellings were located in the SA3s of Fairfield (429 people) and Auburn (411 people) (see Table 22). These are the same areas with the highest numbers of homeless young people.

Young people living in other crowded dwellings were found most frequently in Fairfield (741 people) and Merrylands-Guildford (693 people). Campbelltown was the location of the largest estimated number of young people living in supported accommodation for the homeless (104 people) and staying temporarily with other households (38 people) (see Table 23). Further information on rates of homelessness in GWS can be found in WESTIR’s previously published 2016 Census papers, Estimating Homelessness in Greater Western Sydney and Homelessness Among At-Risk Groups in Greater Western Sydney.28

Homelessness and gender In some aspects, homelessness has a gendered dynamic. Trends in gender are especially evident among some types and rates of homelessness. For example, in GWS in 2016, a larger number of young men were estimated to have been homeless (2,046 people) than young women (1,667 people). Table 23 shows that the prominence of men experiencing homelessness echoes both national youth homelessness rates and homelessness rates among the all-ages population of GWS.

According to the 2016 ABS homelessness estimates, young men were especially overrepresented in boarding houses and ‘severely’ crowded dwellings.29 A dwelling is ‘severely’ crowded when the accommodation would require at least an additional four bedrooms to be adequate for occupants, assuming Western sleeping standards.30 Compared to young women, young men were also estimated to be more likely to reside in marginal housing, such as living in other crowded dwellings (3,019 young men and 2,375 young women).

For young women, estimates of homelessness exceeded those of young men in one category: supported accommodation for the homeless. Supported accommodation can include homelessness shelters, youth refuges and hostels, and other forms of (largely) short-term, emergency accommodation.

28 WESTIR Ltd 2018, ‘Estimating homelessness in Greater Western Sydney’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/EHGWS2016.pdf; WESTIR Ltd 2016, ‘Homelessness among at-risk groups in Greater Western Sydney’, available at https://www.westir.org.au/new/images/haag.pdf. 29 See ABS, ‘Overcrowding’, Census of Population and Housing: Estimating Homelessness 2016, https://bit.ly/3bBo6KI. 30 AHURI 2019, ‘When is a dwelling considered ‘crowded’ and ‘severely crowded’?’, AHURI Brief, available at https://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/when-is-a-dwelling-considered-crowded-and- severely-crowded

Table 22: Homelessness and marginal housing estimates, GWS youth by SA3 2016

People living in… 1. Impro- vised 2. Supported 3. 6. 4. 5. Other Total SA3/Region dwellings, accommodation Temporarily 'Severely' Boarding temporary homeless tents, or for the with other crowded houses lodgings sleeping homeless households dwellings out Auburn 0 5 7 29 0 411 454 Bankstown 0 19 13 5 3 230 269 Baulkham 0 6 12 0 0 59 79 Hills Blacktown 8 53 15 0 0 132 204 Blacktown - 3 3 3 4 0 18 29 North Blue 0 10 11 6 0 0 23 Mountains Blue Mountains - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 South Bringelly - 3 20 3 0 0 96 123 Green Valley Camden 0 0 9 0 0 11 13 Campbelltown 3 104 38 0 0 123 264 Canterbury 0 23 9 9 0 278 322 Carlingford 0 16 0 0 0 23 43 Dural - Wisemans 0 0 7 0 0 16 20 Ferry Fairfield 3 67 18 3 0 429 521 Hawkesbury 0 0 4 0 0 21 21 Liverpool 0 63 17 0 0 74 154 Merrylands - 0 39 17 16 0 365 442 Guildford Mount Druitt 9 21 26 3 0 123 182 Parramatta 0 43 11 19 0 161 231 Penrith 0 66 17 8 0 63 166 Richmond - 0 17 7 0 0 26 55 Windsor Rouse Hill - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 McGraths Hill St Marys 0 15 10 0 0 69 93 Wollondilly 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 Total GWS 33 596 253 102 3 2,731 3,710 (SA3s) Greater 84 1,022 518 759 6 4,869 7,258 Sydney Rest of NSW 123 541 390 168 17 542 1,780 Total NSW 204 1,563 913 930 23 5,411 9,039 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Estimating Homelessness. Please note: Rows do not necessarily equate to listed totals, as totals were calculated separately via Census TableBuilder. Due to small numbers, greater reliance should be placed on total counts.

Table 22: Homelessness and marginal housing estimates, GWS youth by SA3 2016 (continued)

People living in… 9. Total Total Not SA3/Region 7. Other 8. Other Marginally marginally youth Applicable crowded improvised housed in housed population dwellings dwellings caravan parks Auburn 648 3 0 652 14,400 15,511 Bankstown 538 0 0 538 29,477 30,285 Baulkham Hills 130 0 0 126 25,104 25,313 Blacktown 274 3 0 282 21,643 22,123 Blacktown - 100 0 9 105 15,549 15,685 North Blue Mountains 23 0 0 23 11,158 11,209 Blue Mountains - 0 0 0 0 3 3 South Bringelly - Green 193 7 0 197 19,859 20,179 Valley Camden 21 7 0 24 11,071 11,109 Campbelltown 249 4 0 252 28,293 28,809 Canterbury 583 0 0 583 21,254 22,156 Carlingford 29 0 0 29 10,603 10,671 Dural - Wisemans 16 8 0 22 4,827 4,862 Ferry Fairfield 741 14 3 753 33,735 35,011 Hawkesbury 17 7 0 18 4,301 4,341 Liverpool 234 3 0 236 20,287 20,678 Merrylands - 693 6 0 698 25,331 26,474 Guildford Mount Druitt 373 8 0 383 21,398 21,961 Parramatta 284 0 0 284 18,432 18,951 Penrith 87 10 9 102 24,062 24,323 Richmond - 47 0 0 47 6,648 6,744 Windsor Rouse Hill - 16 0 3 19 6,079 6,104 McGraths Hill St Marys 102 3 0 111 9,724 9,928 Wollondilly 13 7 0 24 6,961 6,991 Total GWS 5,399 89 24 5,511 390,190 399,415 (SA3s) Greater Sydney 9,139 102 45 9,286 779,044 795,588 Rest of NSW 1,411 125 154 1,692 401,739 405,211 Total NSW 10,547 231 195 10,972 1,181,071 1,201,083 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Estimating Homelessness. Please note: Rows do not necessarily equate to listed totals, as totals were calculated separately via Census TableBuilder. Due to small numbers, greater reliance should be placed on total counts.

Table 23: Homelessness estimate groups, GWS and NSW youth by sex 2016

Homelessness group, persons: Male Female Total Living in improvised dwellings, tents, or sleeping out 15 14 33 In supported accommodation for the homeless 253 344 596 Staying temporarily with other households 139 117 253 Living in boarding houses 92 9 102 In other temporary lodgings 0 5 3 Living in 'severely' crowded dwellings 1,550 1,183 2,731 GWS total homeless 2,046 1,667 3,710 Living in other crowded dwellings 3,019 2,375 5,399 In other improvised dwellings 51 42 89 Who are marginally housed in caravan parks 8 9 24 GWS Total marginally housed 3,082 2,423 5,511 GWS Total homeless or marginally housed 5,131 4,091 9,222 GWS Not applicable 201,124 189,065 390,190 GWS Total youth population 206,257 193,154 399,415 NSW Total homeless 4,935 4,107 9,039 NSW Total marginally housed 6,002 4,973 10,972 GWS Total homeless (all ages) 8,158 5,803 13,958 GWS Total marginally housed (all ages) 9,915 8,271 18,187 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Estimating Homelessness. Please note: Rows do not necessarily equate to listed totals, as totals were calculated separately via Census TableBuilder. Due to small numbers, greater reliance should be placed on total counts.

Statistics regarding the number of young people presenting to Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) offer further insight into youth homelessness. For example, AIHW figures indicate that 25.6% of all SHS clients nationally were aged between 15 and 24 years (18,837 people) in the 2018-2019 period. Indeed, the AIHW state that “younger clients (15-24 years) were more likely to seek help [from an SHS] than clients aged 25 and over”.31 Of these young SHS clients, 60.6% were female (see Table 24). This suggests that the use of SHS is not only affected by age, but by gender.

Young people seek assistance from an SHS provider for diverse and complex reasons. Nationally, the main reasons young people sought assistance from a SHS provider were housing crises, experiences of domestic or family violence, and living in inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions (see Table 25). These causes highlight the critical importance of investing in services that support young people, particularly in finding secure, long-term and affordable housing, as well as maintaining safe, healthy relationships.

31 AIHW 2019, ‘People in short-term or emergency accommodation: A profile of Specialist Homelessness Services clients’, AIHW, available at https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness- services/people-short-term-or-emergency-accommodation-shs/contents/summary.

Table 24: SHS clients, NSW youth by age and sex 2018 to 2019

Males Females Total clients Age group % of age % of age Count Count Count group group 10 to 14 years 2,721 48.9% 2,842 51.1% 5,563 15 to 17 years 2,838 42.2% 3,884 57.8% 6,722 18 to 24 years 4,588 37.9% 7,527 62.1% 12,115 Total 10 to 24 years 10,147 41.6% 14,253 58.4% 24,400 Total 15 to 24 years 7,426 39.4% 11,411 60.6% 18,837 Source: AIHW Specialist homelessness services 2018-2019 data tables, Table CLIENTS.1, available at https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/shs-annual-report-18-19/data

Table 25: SHS clients, main reason for seeking assistance, Australian youth 2018 to 2019

# Main reason for seeking assistance Count % 1 Housing crisis 8,103 19.0 2 Family and domestic violence 6,762 15.9 3 Inadequate or inappropriate dwelling conditions 4,967 11.7 4 Relationship/family breakdown 4,956 11.6 5 Financial difficulties 3,385 8.0 6 Housing affordability stress 2,807 6.6 7 Other 2,253 5.3 8 Previous accommodation ended 2,240 5.3 9 Time out from family/other situation 1,295 3.0 10 Lack of family and/or community support 1,090 2.6 Source: AIHW Specialist homelessness service 2018-2019 data tables, Table YOUNG.5, available at https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/shs-annual-report-18-19/data

The Household

Other members of the household are critical in shaping the development and life experiences of young people. Whether natural, adopted, or chosen family, this section investigates the relationships present among the households of GWS youth, including young people in Out of Home Care (OOHC) in NSW.

Household Relationships While it is important to understand the demographics of parents, as explored previously in this paper regarding CALD (see pages 24 and 25), young people in GWS do not always live with their parents. Looking at relationships in the household on Census night sheds further light on whom young people in GWS spent their time with in 2016.

In homes across GWS on Census night, young people were most likely to be in a home where they were the natural or adopted child (76,983 people aged between 12 and 14 years) and the natural or adopted dependent student (128,034 people aged between 15 and 24 years. This is shown in Table 26, over the page.

Out of Home Care Out of Home Care (OOHC) is short or long term accommodation for young people aged 0 to 17 years who are unable to live with their parents.32 OOHC may involve arrangements where the young person lives in foster care, kinship care, independent living, residential care or residing in family group homes.

Due to the highly sensitive nature of OOHC records, the limitations of location- specific OOHC data means that the best image of OOHC in GWS is found through state-based data. For example, as of 30 June 2017, there were 17,879 children aged between 0 and 17 years in OOHC in NSW. As shown in Table 27, most of these young people were in kinship care or care with relatives (51.4%) or foster care (44.1%).

32 AIFS https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/children-care. See also Family Matters 2016, ‘What is out- of-home care?’, 2 November, available at https://www.familymatters.org.au/what-is-out-of-home-care/.

Table 26: Relationship in household, GWS youth by LGA 2016

Relationship 12-14yos 15-19yos 20-24yos Total Opposite-sex couple 0 1,164 19,313 20,469 Partner Same-sex couple 0 25 302 327 Parent Lone parent 0 423 2,715 3137 Natural or adopted 76,983 0 0 76,983 Child child under 15 Step-child under 15 5,202 0 0 5,202 Natural or adopted 0 97,413 30,627 128,038 dependent student Dependent student 0 7,047 1,723 8,770 Dependent step child student Dependent student 0 214 9 229 foster child Dependent student 0 1,038 310 1,340 grandchild Non-dependent natural, 0 23,042 57,471 80,520 or adopted child Non-dependent step 0 2,794 5,089 7,884 Non- child dependent Non-dependent foster 0 44 38 80 child Non-dependent 0 645 1,075 1,722 grandchild Brother/sister 0 2,132 5,601 7,732 Cousin 0 245 887 1,128 Related Uncle/aunt 0 8 11 23 Nephew/niece 0 1,511 2,112 3,626 Other related individual 0 155 318 471 Unrelated individual Unrelated living in family 0 2,302 6,755 9,053 household Group household 0 1,349 8,905 10,254 member Lone person 0 569 2,892 3,460 Visitor from within Other 1010 2,624 5,260 8,895 Australia Other non-classifiable 2,966 5,008 5,750 13,722 relationship Not applicable 363 1,548 3,118 5,034 Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2016, Counting Persons, Place of Enumeration.

Table 27: Children (0 to 17) in NSW OOHC, by placement type 2017

Type of placement Proportion Foster care 44.1% Relatives/kinship care 51.4%

Total home-based care 95.5%

Family group homes 0.1% Independent living 0.4% Other/unknown 0.6% Source: AIFS Children in Care: CFCA Resource Sheet, September 2018.30

In 2018, a survey of OOHC was conducted in NSW. The survey captured the experiences of 322 children and young people in OOHC. Selected findings are outlined below from DCJ’s report, published in 2019: The Views of Children and Young People in Out-Of-Home Care in NSW: Results from the 2018 NSW Out-Of- Home Care and Residential Care Surveys. For example, in 2018, it was found that young people aged between 15 and 17 years in residential care were significantly more likely to report feeling safe and settled (74.7%) compared to 2015 figures (68.2%, see Table 28). Similar was seen among young females aged between 8 and 17 years, of which 81.4% felt safe and settled in 2018, compared to 60.8% in 2015.

This increase in feeling safe and secure in residential care is a marked improvement. However, it is crucial to note that the percentage remaining, 18.6%, represents at least 8 young females who did not feel safe or settled in their residential care arrangement (see Table 28). Likewise, despite 78.4% of young men feeling safe and secure in residential care in NSW in 2018, the remaining 21.6% (at least 21 young men) did not. This finding is only a small extract of the 2019 DCJ report. However, it is a critical reminder that despite some observed improvements, significant opportunity remains to enhance the experiences and outcomes of young people in OOHC in NSW.

Table 28: Children (0 to 17) feeling safe and settled in NSW residential care, by gender 2015 and 2018 Female Male Total Age range 2015 2018 2015 2018 2015 2018 12 to 14 years - - - - 76.9% 77.8% 15 to 17 years - - - - 68.2% 74.7%* 8 to 17 years 60.8%^ 81.4%^ 79.1% 78.4% - - Total - 44 - 99 - 143 Source: 2018 NSW Residential Survey dataset and 2015 NSW OOHC Survey report, NSW FACS.33

33 FACS Insights, Analysis and Research, 2019, The Views of Children and Young People in Out-Of- Home Care in NSW: Results from the 2018 NSW Out-Of-Home Care and Residential Care Surveys, available at https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/download?file=765874, pages 8 and 12.

Conclusion

This paper has discussed key demographic characteristics of young people in GWS in 2016, using data from the 2016 Australian Census and other reports. In developing a portrait of GWS youth, this paper has highlighted the diverse identities, homes, and households of young people in GWS. The key findings of this paper are summarised below.

Age • As a rate of the total, all-ages population, young people were more prominent in GWS than in Greater Sydney and all of NSW. • Adult youths (18 to 24 years) outnumbered teenage youths (12 to 17 years) across GWS, especially in the LGAs of Canterbury- Bankstown, Cumberland, and Parramatta.

Gender • Young women living in GWS outnumbered young men. This echoed gender proportions among young people in NSW and nationwide. However, it differed from gender rates in the all- ages populations of GWS, NSW, and Australia, where men outnumbered women. • According to a 2018 national survey by ACON, 927 young people (16 to 29 years) identified as gender diverse. This emphasises the need to broaden the scope of future Australian Censuses and incorporate gender identities beyond the female/male binary.

Indigenous • In 2016, 11,303 young GWS residents identified as either status Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. • An estimated 44 young GWS residents spoke an Australian Indigenous language at home.

CALD • Young people in GWS are highly diverse. Over a quarter (27.2%) of GWS residents in 2016 were born overseas. • The majority of GWS youth (63.1%) had at least one parent who was born overseas. • At least 39.4% of GWS youth spoke a language other than English at home. Of these, most spoke English very well. • The highest number of young people who spoke English either not well, or not at all, resided in Fairfield and Cumberland. • The most common ancestries among GWS youth in 2016 were Australian, English, Chinese, and Lebanese. Ancestries differed greatly between LGAs.

Religion • Most young people in GWS had a religious affiliation. • Approximately one in five young GWS residents identified as being secular, not religious, or having other religious beliefs. This proportion was larger than the proportion of secular or non- religious people of all-ages in GWS. • Since the 2006 Census, the proportion of young people identifying as secular or non-religious has increased, while rates of youth identifying as Christian have fallen.

Location • Across Greater Sydney, especially high numbers of young people resided in areas of recent housing developments, such as Kellyville, the Ponds, and Badgerys Creek, and around military bases such as Holsworthy. • Of GWS youth in 2016, almost one in ten had lived in GWS one year prior. One in five had lived in GWS five years prior.

Dwelling • When young people were recorded in GWS in the 2016 Structure Census, most were located in a separate house, especially in Wollondilly and Camden. • The highest rates of young people located in apartments were recorded in Parramatta, Cumberland, and Canterbury- Bankstown.

Tenure Type • When young people were recorded in GWS in the 2016 Census, most were located in a home that was owned with a mortgage. • Renting was the second most common tenure type where young people were recorded in GWS. Among LGAs, rates of renting were highest in Cumberland. • Of the dwellings where GWS youth were recorded in the 2016 Census, fewer than one in five dwellings were owned outright. The highest rate of young people being counted in a dwelling that was owned outright was seen in Fairfield. • On the night of the 2016 Census, enormous variety between GWS LGAs was seen in the rates at which young people were recorded in a dwelling owned with a mortgage (from 34.1% in Cumberland, to 60.9% in Wollondilly).

Landlord Type • For GWS youth who were recorded in the 2016 Census in a rented dwelling, real estate agents were the most common landlord. • Of all GWS LGAs, Blacktown observed the highest number of young people counted in a dwelling where the landlord was the state housing authority.

Homelessness • An estimated 3,710 young people in GWS were homeless in 2016. An additional 5,511 were marginally housed. • More young men were homeless than young women. • Young homeless men were especially prominent in severely crowded dwellings, other crowded dwellings, boarding houses, or temporary accommodation in other households. • More young women than young men were housed in supported accommodation for the homeless. • According to estimates, the areas where the greatest number of young people were homeless or marginally housed were the SA3s of Fairfield, Merrylands-Guildford, and Auburn.

Household • When young people were counted in the 2016 Census, they Relationships had many fellow household members. Most frequently, the young person was a dependent child or dependent student.

OOHC • In 2017, 17,879 young people (0 to 17 years) were in OOHC in NSW. Of these, 95.5% were in home-based care, such as foster care and kinship care. • Significant space remains to improve the experiences and outcomes of young people in OOHC.

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