Indicator: HS-25 Condition of dwellings
Data
| Proportion of all occupied dwellings (%) | |
|---|---|
| Need for repairs | |
| Both external and internal | 31.3 |
| External only | 13.3 |
| Internal only | 12.2 |
| Total in need of repairs | 56.8 |
| Need for repairs | |
| Desirable but low need | 41.1 |
| Moderate need | 19.2 |
| Essential need | 5.9 |
| Essential and urgent need | 2.0 |
| Total in need of repairs (a) | 56.8 |
| With major structural problems | 19.0 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Australian Housing Survey. Cited in: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Australian Social Trends 2002, Australian Bureau of Statistics, p. 199
| Capital city | Balance of State/Territory | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage estimated number of households (%) | |||
| Need for repair to outside of dwelling | |||
| No need | 54.5 | 57 | 55.4 |
| Desirable but low need | 28.5 | 26.1 | 27.6 |
| Moderate need | 12.5 | 12 | 12.3 |
| Essential need | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Essential and urgent need | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| Need for repair to inside of dwelling | |||
| No need | 55.8 | 57.7 | 56.5 |
| Desirable but low need | 27.7 | 26.9 | 27.4 |
| Moderate need | 11.9 | 10.6 | 11.4 |
| Essential need | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| Essential and urgent need | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, Data from Australian Housing Survey 1999, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
| Indigenous households | Non-Indigenous households | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number (’000) | % | Number (’000) | % | |
|
Need for repairs to dwelling |
||||
| No need | 49.0 | 33.7 | 3 066.9 | 43.5 |
| Low need | 41.1 | 28.2 | 2 300.4 | 32.6 |
| Medium need | 27.7 | 19.0 | 1 179.8 | 16.7 |
| High need | 27.8 | 19.1 | 510.0 | 7.2 |
| Total | 145.5 | 100.0 | 7 057.0 | 100.0 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999, Australian Housing Survey 1999, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Results, Australian Bureau of Statistics, p. 14
| Proportion of IHO managed permanent dwellings requiring | Number of IHO managed permanent dwellings (a) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minor or no repair | Major repair | Replacement | ||||||
| 1999 | 2001 | 1999 | 2001 | 1999 | 2001 | 1999 | 2001 | |
| Communities with a population of less than 50 | 78.2 | 76.5 | 16.3 | 14.2 | 3.9 | 8.8 | 2306 | 2521 |
| Communities with a population of 50 or more | 64.6 | 66.9 | 24.8 | 22.2 | 10.7 | 10.9 | 12361 | 12707 |
| All communities | 66.7 | 68.5 | 23.4 | 20.9 | 9.6 | 10.5 | 14667 | 15228 |
(a) - includes ‘Condition of permanent dwellings’ not stated.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed 30 Nov 2005, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/
b06660592430724fca2568b5007b8619/075a7d64c769ee67ca2568ce00037c69!OpenDocument, p. 45
What the data mean
In 1999, over half (57%) of all occupied dwellings in Australia were in need of repairs. However, the repairs needed in less than a tenth (8%) of all dwellings were considered to be essential or urgent. Nearly a fifth (19%) of all occupied dwellings had major structural problems.
There was no difference between the condition of dwellings in capital cities and those in the rest of the State/Territory, although the dwellings that did not need repairs (inside of outside) were lower in capital cities compared to those in the rest of State/territory.
Nearly two-thirds of all Indigenous dwellings were in need of repairs with a fifth having a high need for repairs. By contrast, a little over half of non-Indigenous dwellings were in need of repairs with less than a tenth having a high need.
The condition of Indigenous housing has slightly improved between 1999 and 2001 as shown by the lower proportion of dwellings requiring major repairs (20.9% in 2001 compared to 23.4% in 1999). However, the proportion of dwellings requiring replacement had increased slightly from 9.6% in 1999 to 10.5% in 2001.
Issues for which this is an indicator and why
Human Settlements — Liveability of human settlements - Housing quality
The liveability of a settlement will be determined by the quality of the housing available to its residents. The condition of dwellings, measured as percentage of houses requiring repairs, is an indicator of housing quality.
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