Category Archives: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Labor’s 11th-hour decision on LGBTQ+ census questions prompted weekend scramble, documents reveal

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Australian Bureau of Statistics officers cancelled media briefings and social media promotion after Albanese government’s last-minute decision

The Albanese government’s last-minute rejection of proposed questions on sexuality and gender diversity in the upcoming 2026 census sent bureaucrats into a weekend scramble, new documents show.

In the late hours of Friday 23 August and Saturday 24 August, officials at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) agreed to cancel a scheduled media briefing on Monday 26 August and the rollout of its “large-scale” test census to 50,000 households from Tuesday 27 August as a result of the 11th-hour decision.

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There were 99 men for every 100 women in 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says

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Darwin was the youngest city and had the highest disparity between numbers of men and women

Darwin had the youngest population of Australian state and territory capital cities in 2023, while Adelaide had the oldest, according to new population data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The statistics show that cities tend to be younger hubs than the regions, while mining, military bases, universities and prisons heavily influence the demographic picture in some areas.

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‘Impossible’ to make policy for LGBTQ+ community without extra census questions, crossbenchers say

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Crossbench MPs demand explanation for government’s decision to drop proposed ABS questions about sexuality, gender diversity from census

Crossbench MPs are seeking an urgent explanation from the Albanese government about why it dumped new topics on sexuality and gender diversity from the next census – a decision that left the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras “deeply concerned and disappointed”.

The move, confirmed by the assistant minister for the Treasury, Andrew Leigh, on Sunday, comes more than a year after the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued its statement of regret over the distress felt by the LGBTQ+ community as a result of being left out of the census.

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One in 20 Australian mortgage holders are spending more than they earn

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Reserve Bank says households are generally weathering the record run of interest rate rises but 5% of owner occupiers are in a dire financial position

About one in 20 mortgage holders are spending more than they earn because of higher interest rates and cost-of-living increases but that share should halve by the end of 2025, the Reserve Bank said in its latest financial stability review.

The semi-annual report, released on Friday, was generally upbeat about the financial health of households and businesses, finding “nearly all borrowers continue to service their debts on schedule” even though conditions are likely to remain challenging for many this year.

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Knock down a few, build one: in NSW that counts as a gain for councils’ housing targets

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Exclusive: Metrics reflect gross addition to supply, even as unit blocks in affluent Sydney suburbs are being replaced by luxury single properties

Luxury homes built on the site of former unit blocks in Sydney are counting towards council targets for new dwellings, even where they have reduced the available housing stock by displacing multiple properties.

A swathe of interwar apartment buildings in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and inner city face the wrecking ball, to be replaced with modern residences, as Guardian Australia revealed on Wednesday.

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Inflation retreated in May to 5.6%, easing fears RBA will again raise interest rates

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Consumer price index fell in May from 6.5% in April showing further signs that the worst of inflation may be over

Australia’s monthly inflation rate retreated in May, easing fears the Reserve Bank will hoist its key interest rate again at next Tuesday’s board meeting.

The headline consumer price index increase last month was 5.6%, the lowest since April 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists had expected the measure to drop from April’s 6.8% level to 6.1%.

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Australia’s annual inflation eases to 7.4% in January following record run of interest rate hikes

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Lower than expected inflation rate suggests worst of the price increases may be over

Australia’s annual inflation rate in January eased, implying the worst of the price increases may be over as the economy absorbs a record run of interest rate hikes.

The consumer price index for the month was 7.4%, compared with 8.4% for December alone, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists had been predicting the January CPI would be 8.1%.

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Australia’s unemployment rate remains at 3.4% in November as 64,000 new jobs added

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The national jobless rate remains at a near 50-year-low as rebounding economy faces labor shortages from lack of migration

Australia’s jobless rate remained steady in November even as the economy added about 2,000 jobs a day, underscoring the tight conditions in the labour market.

The unemployment rate last month was 3.4% with employers taking on 64,000 extra positions, more than half of them full time, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. Economists from the ANZ and CBA forecast the rate would remain at October’s 3.4% rate with a net increase of about 15-20,000 jobs.

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How Australian data on Covid deaths was misinterpreted by rightwing media

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The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released data on Covid deaths. For many, the information highlights the unequal way this pandemic has affected some communities. For some radio hosts and columnists, however, it represents something different – proof lockdowns and other interventions were an “overreaction” or the result of a “scare campaign”.

Guardian Australia’s data and interactive editor Nick Evershed breaks down what the data shows, how it has been misinterpreted by rightwing media, and how this has helped feed conspiracy theories

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Australia’s fertility rate falls to record low in 2020

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Registered births fell by 3.7% in 2020, with the total fertility rate at an all-time low of 1.58 babies per woman

Australia’s fertility rate continues to plummet, with registered births dropping below 300,000 for the first time in 14 years.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed there were 294,369 registered births in 2020, a decrease of 3.7% from 2019. The previous year’s decline was 3%.

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Australian house prices down in every capital city except Adelaide and Hobart

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ABS data shows capital city prices fell 2.4% in December quarter and 5.1% over 2018

Home prices across Australia’s capital cities fell by 2.4% in the three months to December, trimming the total value of the country’s dwellings to $6.7tn.

Prices fell 5.1% across the whole of 2018, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Residential Property Price Index, released on Tuesday.

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