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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework - Summary report

Income

An adequate income is fundamental to being able to live a healthy life – it gives a person greater access to nutritious food, better housing, and health and other services, as well as a greater ability for social participation (World Health Organization 2017).

Equivalised household income: Household incomes are adjusted to facilitate the comparison of income levels between households of different size and composition, reflecting the requirement of a larger household for a higher level of income to achieve the same standard of living as a smaller household.

Income quintiles: Household incomes are ordered from lowest to highest income, and then divided into 5 equal-sized groups, or quintiles. The lowest income group is the first quintile, and the highest is the fifth quintile. Equivalised household income quintile boundaries are calculated for the total population.

In 2021, more than 1 in 3 (35% or 137,600) First Nations adults lived in households with incomes in the lowest 20% of incomes nationally (First income quintile; based on equivalised gross household income, an adjusted income measure used to compare households of different types and sizes).

Between 2011 and 2021, after adjusting for inflation, the median gross weekly equivalised household income increased:

  • from $619 to $825 for First Nations adults
  • from $998 to $1,141 for non-Indigenous adults.

Average weekly equivalised household income of First Nations adults was highest among those living in Major cities ($982), and lowest among those living in Very remote areas ($459) (Figure 5.5).

Figure 5.5: Median gross weekly equivalised household income of adults by Indigenous status (2011–2021), and by Indigenous status and remoteness (2021)

The first line chart shows that the average gross weekly equivalised household income of First Nations adults increased from $619 in 2011 to $825 in 2021, while that for non-Indigenous Australians it increased from $998 to $1,141. The second column chart shows that, in 2021, the average gross weekly equivalised household income of First Nations people adults decreased with increasing remoteness, from $982 in Major cities to $459 in Very remote areas. For non-Indigenous Australians, the highest income was in Very remote areas ($1,278) and the lowest was in Outer regional areas ($983).

Source: Measure 2.08, Table D2.08.13 – AIHW analysis of the ABS Census of Population and Housing, data provided by the ABS, customised report, 2023 (ABS 2023c); and Measure 2.08, Table D2.08.12 – ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021 (AIHW 2022c).

Income and health have a two-way relationship. People who have an adequate income can improve their health by spending more money to do so. At the same time, people who have good health are also more likely to find work and earn an income.

Comparing First Nations adults living in households with household income in the lowest income quintile (bottom 20% of incomes) nationally with those in the top 2 income quintiles (top 40% of incomes nationally), in 2018–19:

  • 32% (49,100) of those in the lowest income quintile assessed their own health as fair or poor, compared with 13% (10,200) of those in the top 2 income quintiles.
  • 44% (65,700) of those in the lowest income quintile were assessed as experiencing high or very high psychological distress, compared with 18% (14,100) of those in the top 2 income quintiles.

In 2018–19, a government cash pension or allowance was the main source of personal income for 45% (200,200) of First Nations adults aged 18–64.

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