Abbreviated as MDCP; referenced by 2 other explainers
Social marital status shows the relationship status of people aged 15 and over within their household on Census night.
These figures are Place Forecast estimates based on Census data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
There are three categories:
It looks at who lives with whom in the home on Census night, not a person's legal marital status. A de facto relationship means two people live together as a couple but are not legally married. Same-sex de facto couples have always been counted in this group, even in years before same-sex registered marriage was legal. To see the legal version, use the Registered marital status page. The two pages measure different things, so their totals will be different.
Shared-living set-ups that are not couples fall under Not married here. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship systems share care across many adults and homes. Many culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) homes do too. So this page can under-count partnered families in these communities.
This page only includes people aged 15 and over in occupied private dwellings whose household position can be classified. It does not include people in non-private dwellings, such as hospitals, aged-care homes, hostels or student housing. It also does not include group household residents or overseas visitors.
ABS does not publish a Not stated count for social marital status. Non-responses are classified into the published totals.
See the marker methodology for how these figures are built and its limits.
The ABS adjusts small counts to protect privacy. This can shift a number a little. It is called perturbation.
Treat small-area figures as patterns, not exact counts. Check them with the relevant community-controlled organisation. This follows Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles.