Review of 2021 Census Topics

The University of Adelaide

Our Association believes there is growing user interest and need for additional data in relation to the ownership and use of second residences, particularly in relation to people who regularly stay in a second residence due to work commitments, people who maintain a second residence for holiday purposes, and students who stay in a second residence due to educational requirements. Local government authorities require this data to assist in planning local infrastructure and services such as water, sewerage treatment, waste collection, drainage and other local services to meet the demand associated with peak populations.

The topic has a direct bearing on the allocation of resources and long-term planning of community infrastructure and services in settlements throughout Australia, particularly those in coastal areas. Population growth in Australia’s coastal areas is consistently among the highest in the nation. The current absence of accurate data on peak populations in these areas creates difficulty for State agencies and local governments in planning the provision of adequate infrastructure and services to meet community needs. State agencies and local governments would be able to plan services to meet community needs with greater certainty if reliable data on population peaks in coastal areas were available.

The lack of accurate data on peak populations also places communities in coastal areas at a financial disadvantage because it means the allocation of funds through programs such as Financial Assistance Grants is based in part on permanent populations drawn from the Census data rather than on actual peak populations. The permanent populations in these areas, as indicated below, are often substantially lower than peak populations.

A major research project undertaken by the late Professor Graeme Hugo and a research team at The University of Adelaide in 2013 (Hugo G and Harris K, (2013) 'Time and tide; moving towards an understanding of temporal population changes in coastal Australia', Adelaide) showed there is a significant, discernible difference between the permanent population in coastal ‘sea change’ areas, as determined by the Census, which is conducted mid-week in winter, and the peak populations in these areas at other times of the year, when non-resident owners of properties in the area and larger numbers of tourists are more likely to be present. As indicated at page 14 of the final report of the research project:

'At the aggregate level, 95.7 per cent of non-resident holiday home owners were not at their sea change LGA on the night of the 2011 Census. The Report developed a methodology to identify non-resident properties that would have been rented out on Census night, and whose tenants should therefore have been counted in the Census. Allowing for this, the survey indicated that at the aggregate level two thirds of non-resident properties would have been unoccupied on the night of the Census'.

The following table indicates the number of persons who use the services and facilities in nine coastal councils that participated as case study areas in The University of Adelaide research project, who were not present on the night of the 2011 Census. It also indicates the percentage of the permanent population in each area that these additional ‘missing’ persons represent.

LGA/Combined Est. Population of unoccupied dwelling and tourists/Combined Est. Population as a percentage of population in 2011 Census

Busselton 8,429 27.8%
Byron 5,254 18.0%
Cairns 28,655 18.3%
East Gippsland 8,595 20.4%
Eurobodalla 11,296 31.6%
Mandurah 11,971 17.1%
Mornington Peninsula 30,391 21.0%
Shoalhaven 22,721 24.5%
Surf Coast 8,848 34.2%

Adequately meeting community needs for basic infrastructure and services is a critical function of local government. The lack of accurate data on peak populations is a major barrier to accurately assessing the current or projected level of demand for infrastructure and services in coastal communities, where there is a significant fluctuation between population levels at different times of the year.

As indicated in the report by the research team at The University of Adelaide the proposed new Census topic on second residences is critical to local councils to ensure that they receive an adequate allocation of resources through programs such as Financial Assistance Grants and to enable them to undertake long-term planning of community infrastructure and services. The data sought through the proposed additional Census topic is proposed to be collected from the whole Australian population.

Data on ownership of second residences and the location of such dwellings is known to people filling out the Census form and would be readily captured on the form. Collecting such data does not represent an invasion of privacy.

The topic is not likely to be considered intrusive, offensive or controversial by respondents.

It is not anticipated that the additional topic will present any difficulties in relation to coding the information. The data sought is the location of a second residence owned by the person filling out the Census form and the number of days per year it is used by the property owner.

There would be a continuing need for the collection of data on ownership of second residences to enable councils to undertake long-term planning of community infrastructure and services in coastal areas and to ensure that the councils receive an adequate allocation of resources through programs such as Financial Assistance Grants.

Some councils in coastal areas currently prepare their own estimates of peak populations in their area based on various indicators, including increase in local retail turnover on selected items during weekend and holiday periods, increased volumes of sewage through local treatment works and increased water use. There is no alternative data source, however, which provides consistent, reliable data on non-resident populations that could be applied to all LGAs.

Please find attached a copy of the final report of the study into temporary populations conducted by The University of Adelaide research team which is referred to earlier. The title of the report is 'Time and tide: moving towards an understanding of temporal population changes in coastal Australia,' by Hugo G and Harris K (2013) Adelaide.