WESTIR Limited analyses data from the Australian Census of Population and Housing for Greater Western Sydney. Check out WESTIR Limited’s Census topic papers for 2011 and 2016 in the sub-menu to the left.

ABOUT THE CENSUS 

The Census is run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) every five years. You can find out more information about the Census from its official website.

The Census, being a flagship activity of the ABS, has its own homepage. The homepage has easy access to a range of data products including:

• QuickStats – providing a simple set of summary statistics for an area.
• Community Profiles – including General and Expanded Community, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (Indigenous), Time Series and Working Population. These profiles are all downloadable in Excel format so that data can be used in other applications or documents.
• TableBuilder (Basic and Pro) – which enables more experienced Census users to generate their own customised cross-tabulations. WESTIR Limited has access to TableBuilder Pro to provide a more detailed analysis of Greater Western Sydney in its topic papers.
• Data Packs – which have detailed Census data for all levels and classifications of geography.

Other ABS links that may be of interest include How Australia Takes A Census and the Census Dictionary.

CENSUS RELEASES

The main release of Census data covers a wide range of topics, including information on small population groups in small geographical areas. Second release Census data is released a few months after the main release and includes employment, qualifications and population mobility. Other later Census-related releases include SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indicators for Areas), Estimating Homelessness and Journey to Work.

WESTIR Limited produces topic papers for Greater Western Sydney on all the major Census data releases. For more information on ABS data release dates, please see Census Products and Services.

GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES

Since 2011, the ABS has revamped the standard geographic areas for which it presents data. The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is quite different from previous standards, but administrative regions such as Local Government Areas (LGAs) are still regularly available from the Census.

WESTIR Limited’s Census topic papers cover the LGAs located in Greater Western Sydney. Some LGA boundaries have changed between 2011 and 2016 due to council amalgamations, notably Canterbury-Bankstown (the addition of Canterbury LGA) and Cumberland (parts of Auburn, Holroyd and Parramatta LGAs). This means five-year trend analysis for the region is still possible, but not always the case on an LGA level.

Since 2016, Greater Western Sydney has consisted of thirteen Local Government Areas (LGAs): Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, The Hills Shire (formerly called Baulkham Hills but boundaries have remained the same) and Wollondilly. In addition to Greater Western Sydney, WESTIR Limited is increasingly exploring Lithgow and Wingecarribee LGAs as these areas fall within the NSW Government service boundaries for the region.

WESTIR Limited’s topic papers explore the Census data on an LGA level and Greater Western Sydney regional level. Comparisons are also made with FACS Western Sydney and South Western Sydney districts, Greater Sydney, Rest of Sydney and NSW. Please see individual papers for more detailed definitions of these regions.

WESTIR Limited is always available to assist you with the Census data you require for your service delivery and planning. While our focus is Greater Western Sydney, we are also willing to undertake Census data analysis for people and organisations outside this region. Should you require any further assistance, please contact us on (02) 9635 7764 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..