CENSUS 2016 TOPIC PAPER Indigenous population of Greater Western Sydney By Amy Lawton, Social Research and Information Officer, WESTIR Ltd 2016 © WESTIR Limited A.B.N 65 003 487 965 A.C.N. 003 487 965 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 Family and Community Services. 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 Indigenous population of Greater Western Sydney, 2016 By Amy Lawton, Social Research and Information Officer, WESTIR Limited Acknowledgment 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 were the first people of the Western Sydney area and have strived 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. Table of contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 Aim of the paper .................................................................................................................... 3 Regions and terms used in this report ................................................................................... 3 A note about GWS boundary changes .................................................................................. 3 Snapshot: Indigenous population of Greater Western Sydney ............................................... 5 Population .......................................................................................................................... 5 Age .................................................................................................................................... 7 Schooling ........................................................................................................................... 7 Higher education ................................................................................................................ 9 Employment and volunteering ...........................................................................................10 Income ..............................................................................................................................14 Family household composition ..........................................................................................15 Dwelling characteristics ....................................................................................................16 Language ..........................................................................................................................20 Need for assistance ..........................................................................................................22 Conclusions ..........................................................................................................................25 References ...........................................................................................................................27 Appendix A: Time series tables, Indigenous population, GWS, 2006 – 2016 ........................28 Introduction The path to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people in the Australian Census has been long and complicated. Before 1967, the question about Indigenous status was mainly used to exclude ATSI people from official population statistics as required by the Constitution at that time. This changed when the Holt government called the 1967 referendum to make two notable changes to the wording of the Australian Constitution – to recognise ATSI people so the government could pass laws relating to them, and to include ATSI people in official population statistics. Since the 1971 Census, the Indigenous status question has been used to understand ATSI sociodemographic outcomes and observe how their situations are changing over time. It is also used to inform policymaking such as many 1 Closing the Gap targets which are monitored using Census data (Biddle & Markham 2017; Capuano 2017). The 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census showed that 649,171 people in Australia identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, equating to 2.8% of the national population. This was up from 2.5% of the national population in 2011. Over 60% of Australia’s ATSI population lived in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. The median age for an ATSI person in Australia was 23 years, up from 21 years in 2011. ATSI people had a much younger profile than the non-Indigenous population, with more than half (53%) aged under 25 years in 2016. The proportion of ATSI young people (20 – 24 years) who completed Year 12 or equivalent increased from 37% in 2011 to 47% in 2016. ATSI people in 2016 were more likely to live in family households and were half as likely than their non- Indigenous counterparts to report an equivalised household income of $1,000 or more (20% Indigenous compared to 41% non-Indigenous). For more information, please see the ABS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population 2016 Census Data Summary. There are about 29 Aboriginal clan groups of the Sydney metropolitan area, with most generally acknowledging that the Dharug people occupy the inland area from Parramatta to the Blue Mountains within the Greater Western Sydney (GWS) area (See Figure 1). The larger clan grouping of Dharug people consisted of smaller clans or bands, including Burramattagal (Parramatta), Bidjigal (Castle Hill), Toogagal (Toongabbie), Cabrogal (Cabramatta), Boorooberongal (Richmond), Cannemegal (Prospect), Gomerigal-tongara (South Creek), Muringong (Camden), Cattai (Windsor), Kurrajong (Kurrajong), Boo-bain-ora (Wentworthville) and Mulgoa (Penrith) (Heiss & Gibson 2013). Figure 1: The Aboriginal nations of Greater Sydney Please note: This map indicates only the general location of larger groupings of people, which may include smaller groupings such as clans, dialects or individual languages in a group. Boundaries are not intended to be exact. Not suitable for use in native title and other land claims. For more detailed information about the groups of people in a particular region, contact the relevant land councils. (Source: Horton 1996) 2 Regionally, GWS is an area of growing national importance and has one of the fastest growing populations in Australia. It is also a region of increasing cultural and linguistic diversity, with a significant ATSI population. Aim of the paper The aim of this paper is to explore the demographic characteristics of the ATSI population in GWS, based on the ABS 2016 Census data. Regions and terms used in this report GWS is made up of the following 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs): • Blacktown • Hawkesbury • Blue Mountains • Liverpool • Camden • Parramatta • Campbelltown • Penrith • Canterbury – Bankstown • The Hills Shire • Cumberland • Wollondilly • Fairfield This paper also covers two additional LGAs, Lithgow and Wingecarribee, but are not included in GWS totals. GWS is also compared with data for Greater Sydney, Rest of Sydney, FACS Western Sydney District, FACS South Western Sydney District and New South Wales (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. • FACS Western Sydney District (FACS WS District) is made up of Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Cumberland, Hawkesbury, Lithgow, Parramatta, Penrith and The Hills Shire LGAs. • FACS South Western Sydney (FACS SWS District) is made up of Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury – Bankstown, Fairfield, Liverpool, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly LGAs. The term Indigenous is used in this paper to classify those who identified as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin. Those who are non-Indigenous did not identify with any of the origins above. In addition, the term Indigenous household describes any household that had at least one person of any age as a resident at the time of the Census who identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. Overall, these terms have been chosen for ease when comparing Census data between Indigenous and non-Indigenous households and populations. All data tables are based on place of usual residence, unless otherwise stated. A note about GWS boundary changes Changes in the GWS boundary have occurred over time due to LGA amalgamations in the eastern part of the region in 2016. Time series analysis on Indigenous population change in GWS from 2006 – 2016 can easily be undertaken as this data is available (with updated LGA boundaries)