Same-sex couple family explained Place Forecast Feature

Abbreviated as SSCF; referenced by 3 other explainers

Same-sex couples shows couple families by the sex of both partners.

These figures are Place Forecast estimates based on Census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The three couple-family types are:

• Female same-sex couple family: two females living together as a couple. They may or may not have children.
• Male same-sex couple family: two males living together as a couple. They may or may not have children.
• Opposite-sex couple family: two people of different sexes living together as a couple. They may or may not have children.

Same-sex marriages have been counted alongside other registered marriages since 9 December 2017. The 2021 Census was the first to count them on the same basis as opposite-sex marriages. Same-sex de facto couples have always been counted as couple families.

The total counts couple families by place of enumeration on Census night. That is where each family slept, not where they usually live. The marital status pages use usual residence instead. The total leaves out one-parent families, other family types, lone people, and group households.

The ABS does not publish a Not stated count for couple type at this scale. Blank answers are added to the published couple-family totals.

A zero here does not mean no same-sex couples live in the area. In small rural and remote LGAs, both the female and male same-sex groups can be published as zero.

Reading this data fairly

These figures show how people answered Census questions. Here are the equity caveats to keep in mind. They keep the numbers fair:

• The Census records sex as female or male only, and codes each couple from those two values. So trans, non-binary, and intersex people are not shown separately. Saying more about sex and gender would need a different data source.
• The couple bond is only part of family life. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship, and in many culturally and linguistically diverse households, care is shared across many adults and homes.
• Read each couple type as a count of how people answered. It is not a measure of need or a judgement.

See the marker methodology for how these figures are calculated and their limitations.