Social marital status comparison of Rural - East of Fwy small area forecast

Social marital status comparison explained

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 groups:

• Married in a registered marriage: a person living with their spouse from a registered marriage.
• Married in a de facto marriage: a person living with a partner, but not in a registered marriage.
• Not married: a person who is not living with a spouse or de facto partner.

It looks at who lives with whom in the home on Census night. It does not look at 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. That holds true even in years before same-sex registered marriage was legal. For the legal version, use the Registered marital status page. The two pages measure different things, so their totals will differ.

This page only includes people aged 15 and over in private homes that are lived in, whose household position can be coded. It leaves out people in non-private dwellings, such as hospitals, aged-care homes, hostels, or student housing. It also leaves out group household residents and people here on a visit from another country.

The ABS does not publish a Not stated count for social marital status. Blank answers are added to the published totals.

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:

• Shared-living arrangements that are not couples are counted as Not married here. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship, and in many culturally and linguistically diverse households, care is shared across many adults and homes. So this page can undercount partnered families in those communities.
• Read each status 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.