86-723: The Torres Strait Island Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland , Australia, covering part of the Torres Strait Islands . It was created in March 2008 out of 15 autonomous Island Councils during a period of statewide local government reform. It has offices in each of its 15 communities, and satellite services in Thursday Island and in Cairns (which are outside of the region). In
172-588: A unitary authority , but the Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to the whole of the ACT as an unincorporated area. The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection. Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of
258-719: A Green Paper being produced. The State Government subsequently took over the process, and in April 2007, a White Paper entitled "Community Government in the Torres Strait: the way forward" was released, recommending both governance and structural changes to ensure the sustainability of governance in the region. The White Paper expressed concerns about workload and capacity to meet community needs, deficiencies in corporate governance and accountability and other challenges and issues. The Local Government Reform report in July 2007 recommended
344-594: A census was held simultaneously in each of the colonies. This was part of a census of the British Empire . The questions posed in the colonies were not uniform and Henry Heylyn Hayter , who conducted the Victorian census, found that this caused difficulties in dealing with Australia-wide data. The population of Australia counted in the census was 2,231,531. At the time, the Northern Territory
430-591: A geographic or historical interpretation. The council board members are generally known as councillors , and the head councillor is called the mayor . As of August 2016, there were 547 local councils in Australia. Despite the single tier of local governance in Australia, there are a number of extensive regions with relatively low populations that are not a part of any established LGA. Powers of local governments in these unincorporated areas may be exercised by special-purpose governing bodies established outside of
516-545: A larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia. In 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A 2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils. Local government powers are determined by state governments, and states have primary responsibility for funding and exclusive responsibility for supervision of local councils. Local government
602-577: A letter. Contrary to previous years where censuses were both delivered and retrieved from households by dedicated census employees, in 2016 most of the paperwork relating to the census was delivered from and to the ABS by Australia Post . The 2016 census was met by two controversies. The first was that the retention of names and addresses increased to up to 4 years, from 18 months in the 2006 and 2011 censuses, leading to concerns about privacy and data security. As such, some Australian Senate crossbenchers (from
688-593: A provision (section 127), which said: "In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, Aboriginal [persons ...] shall not be counted." In 1967, a referendum was held which approved two amendments to the Australian constitution relating to Indigenous Australians. The second of the two amendments deleted section 127 from the Constitution. It
774-403: A shift from 'services to property' towards 'services to people'. Community expectations of local government in Australia have risen in the 21st century partly as a result of wider participation in decision-making and transparent management practices. Recent years have seen some State governments devolving additional powers onto LGAs. In Queensland and Western Australia LGAs have been granted
860-505: Is based on the geographic area in which a group originated or developed; and the similarity of cultural and ethnic groups in terms of social and cultural characteristics. The classification is specific to Australian needs and was developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The classification is based on the self-perceived group identification approach, using a self assessed response to a direct question. This approach measures
946-470: Is mentioned in the annotated Australian constitution, as a department of the State Governments, and they are mentioned in the constitutions of each of the six states. Under the Constitution, the federal government cannot provide funding directly to local governments; a 1974 referendum sought to amend the Constitution to authorise the federal government to directly fund local governments, but it
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#17327652693491032-447: Is part of a local government area. Unincorporated areas are often in remote locations, cover vast areas, or have very small populations. Queensland and Tasmania are entirely partitioned into LGAs and have no unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has no municipalities. The ACT government is responsible for both state-level and local-level matters. In some countries, such an arrangement would be referred to as
1118-504: Is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state/territory it belongs to. The functions and practices of local councils are mostly centered around managing public services and land uses at the community level, and are similar throughout Australia, but can vary to some degree between jurisdictions. State departments oversee the activities of local councils and may intervene in their affairs when needed, subject to relevant legislation. For more details in each state and territory, see
1204-640: Is the City of Brisbane , the most populous LGA in the country, which administers a significant part of the Brisbane metropolitan area . In most cases, when a city's population statistics are used, it is the statistical division population rather than the local government area. The following table provides a summary of local government areas by states and territories by local government area types as of December 2023: The Australian Classification of Local Governments (ACLG) categorises local governing authorities using
1290-536: Is the largest and most significant statistical event in Australia and is run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Every person must complete the census, although some personal questions are not compulsory. The penalty for failing to complete the census after being directed to by the Australian Statistician is one federal penalty unit , or A$ 220 . The Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 and Census and Statistics Act 1905 authorise
1376-1060: The 2021 census , the Torres Strait Island Region had a population of 4,124 people. The Region is effectively colocated with the Shire of Torres , which administers the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula and a number of islands including Thursday Island , Horn Island and Prince of Wales Island . The local government jurisdiction was created on 15 March 2008 from 15 previous entities—the Island Councils of Badu (Mulgrave Is.), Boigu (Talbot Is.), Dauan (Mt. Cornwallis Is.), Erub (Darnley Is.), Kirirri (Hammond Is.), Iama (Yam Is.), Arkai (Kubin Community at Mua Is.), Mabuiag (Jervis Is.), Masig (Yorke Is.), Mer (Murray Is.), Poruma (Coconut Is.), Saibai , Wug (St. Pauls Community at Mua Is.), Ugar (Stephen Is.), and Warraber (Sue Is.). Its first election
1462-664: The Australian Statistical Geography Standard ( ASGS ). The ASGS was released in 2011, replacing the former Australian Standard Geographical Classification . The Standard is reviewed and updated every five years to align with the census. The ABS also releases data divided into areas not managed by the Bureau, such as postcodes (managed by Australia Post ) and Local Government Areas (managed by state and territory governments). The Census and Statistics Act 1905 and Privacy Act 1988 prohibit
1548-470: The Greens , Nick Xenophon Team and Jacqui Lambie Network ) said they would not complete those specific sections of the census, despite the fines associated with incorrect completion of the census. The second was that many Australians could not complete the census online on the designated day. While a paper census form was also available on request, for 2016 the ABS was aiming for two-thirds online. However,
1634-664: The Local Government Act does not mandate adopting a designation, some local government areas are legally known simply as "council", such as Port Macquarie-Hastings Council , Inner West Council and Federation Council . Some rural areas in South Australia are known as "district council", and all the LGAs in Tasmania that were previously municipalities have been renamed "council". Almost all local councils have
1720-573: The Northern Territory to 8.9% in Western Australia . The peak lodgement was between 8pm and 9pm on census night, when more than 72,000 online forms were received. The eCensus remained available throughout the entire census period. During the 24-hour period of 8 August (census night), eCensus delivered more than 12.5 million page views and at 8:47 pm, more than 55,000 households were logged on simultaneously. IBM assisted with
1806-721: The Outback Communities Authority . Victoria has a number of unincorporated areas which are not part of any LGA: Western Australia has two unincorporated areas: 2011 Australian census The Census in Australia , officially the Census of Population and Housing , is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic data from all people in Australia on census night, including overseas visitors and residents of Australian external territories , only excluding foreign diplomats. The census
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#17327652693491892-667: The Pastoral Unincorporated Area in South Australia . Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory . The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), however, considers
1978-805: The Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin , Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula , Alyangula on Groote Eylandt , and Yulara in Central Australia . In South Australia , 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency,
2064-652: The United States , there is only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between counties and cities . The Australian local government is generally run by a council , and its territory of public administration is referred to generically by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the local government area or LGA , each of which encompasses multiple suburbs or localities (roughly equivalent to neighborhoods) often of different postcodes ; however, stylised terms such as "city", " borough ", " region " and " shire " also have
2150-537: The states and territories , and in turn beneath the federal government . Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia , and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state/territory government recognises local government in its own respective constitution . Unlike the two-tier local government system in Canada or
2236-579: The 1911 census took a long time to be released, with delays increased by World War I . The Australian population was counted in the census as 4,455,005, exclusive of Aboriginal persons of more than 50 percent Aboriginal descent. In the 1911 census, many collectors used horses. A drought in Western Australia meant that some collectors were unable to find feed for their horses. Flooding and bogs stranded some collectors in Queensland. In 1911
2322-540: The 30 August 2002, Erub (Darnley Island) became the second Indignenous Knowledge Centre (IKC) to open in the Torres Strait. The IKC was established in a partnership between the Erub Island Council and State Library of Queensland. Erub Island Council was amalgamated into the newly created Torres Strait Island Regional Council (TSIRC) in 2008. The IKC has been operational and enjoyed by the community for
2408-547: The ABS from releasing any personally identifiable census data to any government, private or individual entity. In 1979, the Australian Law Reform Commission released Privacy and the Census , a report detailing legislative privacy measures related to the census. One of the key elements under question was the inclusion of names and addresses in census data. It was found that excluding names reduced
2494-435: The ABS has destroyed census forms or other census-related personal information after the census data processing period, roughly 18 months after the census. Following a public consultation process before the 2016 census, it was found that Australians expected the ABS to hold their information for as long as there is a benefit to the community, and should be destroyed as soon as that need no longer exists. Following this process,
2580-401: The ABS has revised the retention period to four years after census, instead of 18 months. Concurrently, the ABS also improved their anonymisation techniques and limits access to addresses and anonymised names to when only necessary. Since 2001, the ABS and National Archives of Australia have given respondents the option to have their complete census data, including name and address, stored in
2666-449: The ABS to collect, store, and share anonymised data. The first Australian census was held on 2 April 1911, but census data had been previously collected by individual states. The most recent census was held on 10 August 2021, with the data planned to be released starting from mid-2022. The next census will be held in early August 2026. The census, like all ABS data, is collected and published in geographical divisions as defined by
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2752-445: The ABS", with his expectation that "heads will roll" once a review was complete. Leader of the opposition Bill Shorten said that the 2016 census had been the "worst-run ... in the history of Australia". The ABS blamed service provider IBM for the failure in the online census, saying that IBM had advised on the preparedness and resilience to DDoS attacks and had not offered any further protections that could be employed. On 31 August,
2838-607: The Census Time Capsule. The capsule is stored securely at the National Archives for 99 years after each census and is released publicly at the end of that period. The first capsule opening will be on 7 August 2100. Indigenous Australians in contact with the colonists were enumerated at many of the colonial censuses. When the Federation of Australia occurred in 1901, the new Constitution contained
2924-479: The Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics interpreted section 127 as meaning that they may enumerate Aboriginal persons but that they must be excluded from published tabulations of population. Aboriginal persons living in settled areas were counted to a greater or lesser extent in all censuses before 1967. George Handley Knibbs , the first Commonwealth Statistician , obtained a legal opinion at
3010-405: The Constitution , the "race" question was re-designed for the 1971 census and methods for remote area collection examined to improve identification of Indigenous Australian groups. There were 12,755,638 people counted. The 1976 census was the largest undertaken to date, with 53 questions. Due to budgetary restraints, the ABS was not able to complete normal processing of the data and a 50% sample
3096-592: The Queensland Government considered merging the Shire with the other islands and communities, but felt that having one council subject to three different types of legislation would be inefficient. Because of the unique structure of the DOGIT areas, where a community owned the land and the council represented the community owners, concerns were raised by the councils about ownership potentially transferring to
3182-481: The Queensland Police to provide for community police officers—hence extending well beyond the normal functions of local government. The Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004 extended to community councils many of the provisions and benefits of the Local Government Act 1993 normally enjoyed by shire councils. In 2006, the councils were involved in a consultation process which resulted in
3268-466: The accuracy of the data; individuals were more likely to leave questions blank. Not collecting this data would also impair the ability of the ABS to ensure that all participants have responded. The ABS protects personal information primarily through anonymisation of data. Personal information is stored separately from other census data, and separately from each other. Names are mutated into anonymised codes, which are then used to link data. Historically,
3354-500: The ancestries most closely identified with and to consider ancestry back as far as three generations. Respondents had the option of reporting more than one ancestry but only the first two ancestries they reported were coded for the census. The results for 2001 were coded using the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG). This classification of cultural and ethnic groups
3440-411: The census asked about deaf-mutism . This question was also asked in the next two censuses of 1921 and 1933. Deaf-mutism was found to be very high among 10- to 14-year-olds, with the same pattern existing in the 1921 census among 20- to 24-year-olds. The statisticians report on the 1921 census noted that it was "a reasonable assumption therefore that the abnormal number of deaf-mutes . . . was the result of
3526-515: The census figures of 1911, 1921 and 1933. He found a peak in the level of deaf-mutism in the age cohort born in 1898 and 1899 and that this matched with a known outbreak of rubella in those years. "This was the first time in the world that the link between rubella and congenital problems with unborn children was firmly established." Australia's population counted in April 1921 was 5,435,700, exclusive of Aboriginal persons of more than 50 percent Aboriginal descent. The Statistician independently estimated
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3612-466: The census was the rhyming slogan "Get online on August 9". Across many regions, paper forms were no longer delivered by default to homes, and households that wished to complete a paper census had to order such forms via an automated hotline. Letters were sent to each dwelling with unique code numbers that people would need to either login to the census website or order a paper form if they preferred. By census night, many households had still not received such
3698-459: The census were released in June 2012 on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website. The cost of the 2011 census was A$ 440 million. The census occurred on 9 August 2016. For the first time, the ABS the census was by default filled out online, claiming it expected more than 65% of Australians would be completing the census online. Reflecting this new preference, the tagline of the ad campaign for
3784-411: The census. Three punched cards were used to store individual, dwelling, and family information. The cards were processed using an electric sorting machine prior to final totalling with an electric tabulator machine, devised by Herman Hollerith . The census was subsequently conducted in 1933, 1947, 1954, and every five years from 1961 onwards. Following the 1967 referendum removing section 127 from
3870-628: The creation of the Torres Strait Island council as well as the Northern Peninsula Area council to attempt to address these issues. The Queensland Government responded by proposing the Local Government and Other Legislation (Indigenous Regional Councils) Amendment Bill 2007 to bring the two new councils into line with the recommendations of both reports. During statewide local government reform in 2007–08,
3956-642: The development of the eCensus, having provided similar infrastructure and technology for the Canadian census earlier that year. The 2011 census was held on the night of 9 August, using both paper and electronic "eCensus" forms. Minimal changes were made from the 2006 census due to financial constraints on the ABS during development. The 2011 census was the largest logistical peacetime operation ever undertaken in Australia, employing over 43,000 field staff to ensure approximately 14.2 million forms were delivered to 9.8 million households. The first results of
4042-404: The entire ACT as an " unincorporated " local government area, even though it is technically a state-level administrative region . Although all essentially identical in functions and jurisdictions, Australian local governments have a variety of different titles. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of
4128-430: The extensive epidemic of infectious diseases which occurred soon after many in those age groups were born". Rubella was not known to be a possible contributor. During World War II , the ophthalmologist Norman McAllister Gregg began to investigate the connection between birth defects and the infection of mothers early in their pregnancy. In 1951, prompted by Gregg's work, Australian statistician Oliver Lancaster examined
4214-528: The extent to which individuals associate with particular cultural or ethnic groups. Australia's first census was held in November 1828 in New South Wales , a British colony at the time. Previous government statistical reports had been taken from "musters" where white immigrants were brought together for counting. In 1828, the white population was 36,598: 20,870 settlers and 15,728 convicts. 23.8% of
4300-504: The first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from
4386-448: The first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78. South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in
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#17327652693494472-509: The first year of Federation, 1901, was again collected by each state separately. When planning for the 1901 census it was clear that federation was soon to occur, and a uniform census schedule was adopted. The first national census was developed by the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. The census occurred at midnight between 2 and 3 April 1911. Tabulation was carried out almost entirely by hand; over 4 million cards were sorted and physically counted for each tabulation. Results from
4558-415: The following: The Australian Capital Territory is not divided into local government areas, so it is regarded as a single "unincorporated" local government area during censusing . Unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. Aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia
4644-410: The former entities and elects one councillor, with a mayor being elected by the entire region. At the 2008 election, the following councillors were elected: The Torres Strait Island Regional Council operate a public library at Poruma and Indigenous Knowledge Centres at Badu Island , Boigu Island , Dauan Island , Erub Island , Hammond Island , Iama Island , Kubin , Mabuiag , and Warraber . On
4730-501: The government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations . New South Wales has three unincorporated areas: In the Northern Territory , 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in
4816-577: The local legislation, as with Victoria 's alpine resorts ; or directly administered by state/territory governments, such as the entirety of the Australian Capital Territory . The administrative area covered by local government councils in Australia ranges from as small as 1.5 km (0.58 sq mi) for the Shire of Peppermint Grove in the Perth metropolitan region , to as big as 624,339 km (241,059 sq mi) for
4902-494: The mayor is elected by the board of fellow councillors . The powers of mayors vary as well; for example, mayors in Queensland have broad executive functions, whereas mayors in New South Wales are essentially ceremonial figureheads who can only exercise power at the discretion of the council. Most of the capital city LGAs administer only the central business districts and nearby central suburbs . A notable exception
4988-567: The names of LGAs, and today the stylised titles of " town ", " borough ", " municipality ", " district ", " region ", "community government", " Aboriginal council/shire" and "island" are used in addition. The word "municipality" occurs in some states with differing meanings: in New South Wales it is typically used for older urban areas, and the word is used for some rural towns in South Australia . Larger towns and small metropolitan exurban centres in Queensland and Western Australia simply use
5074-630: The new entities and diluting their title over it. Some councils responded by creating a private company with all community members as shareholders, and transferring the ownership to the company. This was opposed by the State Government who threatened to take legal action against the communities. Following the elections, the Department of Local Government provided $ 675,000 to the Regional Council to assist with expenses relating to
5160-497: The number of Aboriginal persons, both those of more than 50 percent Aboriginal descent and those of 50 percent or more non-Aboriginal descent, by obtaining figures from police and protectors of Aboriginal persons throughout the country. One of the significant findings of the 1921 census was the low rate of males to females in the 20–30 age group, showing the impact of World War I on the population. The 1921 census introduced automatic machine tabulation equipment, hired from England for
5246-649: The number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils. The main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy . An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced
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#17327652693495332-426: The online census website shut down at about 7:30 pm AEST on the night it was to be completed. According to the ABS, throughout 9 August the census website received four denial-of-service attacks . At 7:30 pm, when the site was being heavily used, a software failure meant that the ABS was unable to keep blocking the denial-of-service attacks, leading to the failure of a router. As a result, the ABS decided to close down
5418-619: The part of local governments. There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia , though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936. The first official local government in Australia
5504-519: The past 20 years. The IKC has participated in many projects including, Culture Love , a school holiday arts program delivered by TSIRC, State Library and Arts Queensland. 9°52′S 142°35′E / 9.867°S 142.583°E / -9.867; 142.583 Local government in Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Local government is the third level of government in Australia , administered with limited autonomy under
5590-412: The population were born in the colony and 24.5% were women. There were 25,248 Protestants and 11,236 Catholics. Indigenous Australians were not counted. Of the 36,598 people, 638 were living in what is now Queensland . There were also 18,128 people in Tasmania . In the mid-19th century the colonial statisticians encouraged compatibility between the colonies in their respective censuses, and in 1881
5676-818: The population, the population density and the proportion of the population that is classified as being urban for the council. The classification, at the two-digit level, is: All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia. The councils' chief responsibility in
5762-506: The post-amalgamation transfer process. In the 2011 census , the Torrest Strait Island Region had a population of 4,248 people. In the 2016 census , the Torres Strait Island Region had a population of 4,514 people, including the following sub-populations: In the 2021 census , the Torres Strait Island Region had a population of 4,124 people. The council consists of 15 divisions, each of which represents one of
5848-414: The power to independently enact their own local subsidiary legislation , in contrast to the previous system of by-laws . Councils also have organised their own representative structures such as Local Government Associations and Regional Organisations of Councils . Doctrines of New Public Management have shaped state government legislation towards increased freedoms aiming to allow greater flexibility on
5934-538: The purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation , however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction. General purpose grants become available for
6020-408: The same administrative functions and similar political structures, regardless of their naming, and retain a particular designation ("shire", "borough", "town", "city") for historical reasons only. They will typically have an elected council and usually a mayor or shire president responsible for chairing meetings of the council. In some councils, the mayor is a directly elected figure, but in most cases
6106-493: The state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish. However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control as well as community safety and accessible transport. The changes in services has been described as
6192-402: The system as a precaution. The ABS reported that no census data were compromised. The Australian Signals Directorate was assisting the ABS to bring the infrastructure back online more than 24 hours after the closure. The census website was restored at 2:30 pm on 11 August. On the same day, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated his displeasure over the event, which had "been a failure of
6278-621: The term "town", while in Victoria they are designated as "rural city". Historically, the word "borough" was common for small towns and suburban centers in Victoria, but nowadays only the Borough of Queenscliffe remains as the one and only borough in the entire country. New South Wales and Queensland have also introduced a new term "region" for outback LGAs formed by the amalgamation of smaller shires and rural cities. In New South Wales, where
6364-524: The territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands were included in the 2006 census, following the enactment of the Territories Law Reform Act 1992 . The 2006 census contained 60 questions, all of which were compulsory except those relating to religion and household census data retention. The census cost around A$ 300 million to conduct. For the first time, respondents were given the option of completing an online "eCensus" as opposed to
6450-535: The time that persons of 50 percent or more non-Aboriginal descent were not Aboriginal persons for the purposes of the Constitution. At the first Australian census in 1911 only those Aboriginal persons living near white settlements were enumerated, and the main population tables included only those of 50 percent or more non-Aboriginal descent. Details of Aboriginal persons of 50 percent or more non-Aboriginal descent were included in separate tables to Aboriginal persons of more than 50 percent Aboriginal descent. This practice
6536-445: The traditional paper-based version. By 17 August, more than 720,000 households had completed the census online. Across Australia, 8.4% of estimated dwellings lodged online. The highest percentage of internet lodgements was in the Australian Capital Territory with 14.8% of households using eCensus. This was a markedly different proportion of households than elsewhere in Australia, with the other states and territory ranging from 5.9% in
6622-501: The varying designations, whilst the local governing legislature itself is generally known as a council . In general, an urban / suburban LGA is called a " city ", as in the City of Melbourne , City of Canada Bay and City of Bunbury ; while an exurban / rural LGA covering a larger agricultural / natural area is usually called a " shire ", as in Shire of Mornington Peninsula , Shire of Banana and Lachlan Shire . Sometimes designations other than "city" or "shire" are used in
6708-539: Was defeated. A 1988 referendum sought to explicitly insert mention of local government in the federal constitution but this was comprehensively defeated. A further referendum was proposed in 2013 , but was cancelled due to the change in the election date . Federal government interaction with local councils happens regularly through the provision of federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. Local government in Australia has very limited legislative powers and no judicial powers , and executive -wise
6794-566: Was followed in all subsequent censuses up to 1966. Since 1967, the ABS has considered Torres Strait Islanders a separate Indigenous people. Prior to 1947, Torres Strait Islanders were regarded as Aboriginal and excluded when not of 50 percent or more non-Aboriginal descent. In 1947, Torres Strait Islanders were considered to be Polynesian and in 1954 and 1961 were considered to be Pacific Islanders . In 1966, Torres Strait Islanders were again regarded as Aboriginal and excluded when not of 50 percent or more non-Aboriginal descent. Ancestry data
6880-406: Was held on 7 August. There were 18,769,420 people counted in Australia. Of these, 410,003 people identified as Indigenous Australians. There were 203,101 overseas visitors. The 2006 census was conducted on the night of 8 August. There were 19,855,288 people counted in Australia. Of those, 455,031 people identified as Indigenous Australians. There were 206,358 overseas visitors. For the first time,
6966-527: Was held on the same day. In 1984, the Community Services (Torres Strait) Act was enacted by the Queensland Government, allowing community councils to be created to own and administer former reserves or missions under a Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT). Each was responsible for local basic utilities and services such as electricity, housing and management of local CDEP programs. They also worked with
7052-533: Was included in the 1986 census. It was found when the data was evaluated that people who filled in the census were not sure what the question meant and there were inconsistent results, particularly for those people whose families had been in Australia for many generations. There were no ancestry related questions in 1991 or 1996 . For 2001 it was decided that development of Government policies did need information about people who were either born overseas, or whose parents were born overseas. The questions were to mark
7138-616: Was part of South Australia and had 3,451 white people plus 6,346 Aboriginals in settled districts. Including the Northern Territory, South Australia had a total counted population of 286,211 people. The reported population of Western Australia did not include Aboriginal persons of more than 50 percent Aboriginal descent. The population of greater Melbourne was 282,947 and of Sydney was 224,939. In 1901, there were 3,773,801 people (1,977,928 males and 1,795,873 females) counted in Australia. Prior to federation , each colony had been responsible for its own census collection. The census held during
7224-500: Was processed. There were 13,548,450 people counted. Scanned data of the 1981 Census is available on the ABS website. The 1986 Census was held on 30 June 1986. Scanned data of the 1986 Census is available on the ABS website. The 1991 census was held on 6 August 1991. The 1996 census was held on 6 August. There were 16,892,423 people counted in Australia. Of these, 342,864 people identified themselves as Indigenous Australians. There were 139,594 overseas visitors. The 2001 census
7310-621: Was the Perth Town Trust , established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for
7396-500: Was widely believed at the time of the referendum, and is still often said, that section 127 meant that Aboriginal persons were not counted in Commonwealth censuses before 1967. In fact section 127 related to calculating the population of the states and territories for the purpose of allocating seats in Parliament and per capita Commonwealth grants. Its purpose was to prevent Queensland and Western Australia using their large Aboriginal populations to gain extra seats or extra funds. Thus
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