Greater Western Sydney: First Look at the 2021 Census Data

Drawing on data from the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census, this report presents an overview of mental health conditions within Greater Western Sydney.

Targeted Earlier Intervention (TEI) is the current New South Wales (NSW) Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) contractual stream governing the delivery of family and community services state-wide. The TEI stream ‘offers voluntary support to children, young people, families and communities, where the evidence suggests it will have the most impact, early in life and early in need’. At the time of writing this report, the Draft TEI Program Specifications for 2025 have been released. Contracts will conclude on the 30th of June 2025 and are currently in the process of recommissioning for 2025. The TEI priority groups included in the Draft TEI Program Specifications were Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities; 0-5 year olds; children and young people at risk of disengagement from school, family and community; young parents with known vulnerabilities or who are experiencing a number of hardships; and children and young people affected by a mental health condition/s. This paper aims to provide a summary of recent data relevant to TEI priority groups in Greater Western Sydney (GWS), GWS DCJ Districts, and GWS LGAs. Findings from this report are based on the analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2021 Census of Population and Housing (Census).