Household type explained Place Forecast Feature

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Household type shows who lives together in a household. It sorts an area's households into six groups.

The figures come from Census data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

ABS does not publish a separate Not stated count for household type; non-responses are folded into the published household totals.

The six groups are:

  • Couples with children: a couple living with their children. Adult children at home are counted as children too.
  • Couples without children: a couple with no dependent children at home. This includes empty-nesters and couples whose adult children live elsewhere.
  • One parent families: one parent living with their children. A grandparent who is the main carer is counted as the parent here.
  • Other families: related adults who are not a couple and not a parent with a child. For example, two adult siblings.
  • Lone person households: one person living alone.
  • Group households: unrelated adults sharing a household.

Two ABS groups are not shown here. They are Visitor only households, and Other non-classifiable households. They are not in the public tables we use. Together they are usually a small share.

When a household has more than one family, the Census puts it in the group that fits the main family. A household with grandparents, parents, and children is counted as Couples with children. Same-sex parents, blended families, step-families, and de facto parents all sit in the family groups above. The six groups follow ABS classification. They do not follow how people see their own family. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship systems share care across many adults and homes. So do many culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) homes. The six ABS groups miss both.

The total counts only occupied private dwellings. It does not count empty homes. It also does not count hotels, aged-care homes, hostels, or shared housing. Areas with many people in non-private homes may have more people than the household count shows.

Place Forecast splits each SA1 figure down to mesh blocks and sums them back to the area you see. The downscaling glossary explains the method and its limits.

Each household-type group at the LGA level matches the ABS figure. This is LGA anchoring.

For service choices about one community, read small-area figures as patterns, not exact counts. Check them with community organisations before drawing strong claims.

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