31 May Health and Wellbeing – New REMPLAN Community Insights

The long-awaited third and final release of the 2021 Census data is here!  

The new ‘complex topics’ data has allowed us to develop several new reports in REMPLAN Community software and profiles.

The new reports in REMPLAN Community software include:

Long Term Health Conditions

Over 8 million Australians had at least one long-term health condition, some 31.7% of the population.  Of these 54.1% were female and 45.9% were male.  The three most commonly reported conditions in Australia were a mental health condition (8.8%), arthritis (8.5%) and asthma (8.1%).  There is of course a strong link between age and incidence of long-term health conditions as the proportion of those with a long term health condition increases with age.

Rates of mental health conditions and asthma are more evenly distributed across age groups which suggests that these conditions are not linked to ageing.  However the majority of other conditions increase with age.

As with all REMPLAN reporting, users can drill down data across geographies, sub-geographies and genders.  See the following chart which shows the incidence of specific health conditions across the Australian population split by gender.

Social Disadvantage (SEIFA)

The ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas or SEIFA combines several variables, including education, employment and household income to create a ranking of areas across Australia according to their relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage.  Of the 10 most disadvantaged  LGAs in Australia, six are in Queensland and four in the Northern Territory.  Six of the least disadvantaged LGAs are in Sydney, three in Perth and one in Darwin.

Generally, disadvantaged areas tend to be in regional and remote communities while advantaged areas tend to be in major cities.

The latest ranking is now available based on the 2021 Census and is available in REMPLAN’s Community software down to the SA1 level, on a scale that ranks disadvantaged geographic zones with a low number and advantaged zones with a high number.  This makes it straightforward for software users to identify areas experiencing challenges and guide policies and programs accordingly.

Australian Defence Force Service

The ABS introduced new questions in the 2021 Census related to service, both current and previous, in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).  The Census has found that 2.8% of the Australian population over 15 years had served or were serving in the ADF.  One in 20 households had at least one person who had served in the ADF, and three in five of previous service members had a long term health condition.

Returning to civilian life following ADF service can present challenges, and previous service members may have distinct characteristics and health needs (physical and psychological) that require special consideration due to their military training, service, and deployments.  The data can guide the delivery of services to veterans.

Distance to Work

This Census report provides insights into the distances that members of local communities are travelling from their home to places of work.  The ABS uses a combination of statistical and geospatial data to generate these estimates. 

There are a number of studies across the world that suggest there are negative impacts from long commute times, particularly in relation to stress.  REMPLAN Community allows users to analyse this data down to suburb/locality and SA1 level.

REMPLAN has further added backward compatibility for Distance for Work, so users will be able to compare the latest 2021 estimates with Distance to Work data from 2016.

Upcoming REMPLAN Community releases

REMPLAN is developing new functionality in Community software to enable the generation of reports that focus on defined ‘Communities of Interest’.  The initial communities of interest will include:

• Indigenous
• Youth (15-24 years)
• Seniors (65 years+)

These reports will cross tabulate selected census data to provide detailed insights into the community of interest, and how it compares with the wider community.

REMPLAN Community Trial Offer

Haven’t used REMPLAN Community before?

Access REMPLAN Community for 2 months for a one-off fee of $2,000 +GST before 30 June.  This includes full software access for unlimited users, with training and support from the REMPLAN team.  Apply the resources to your projects, including data from 1991 to 2021, small area geographies, more than 65 demographic indicators, population and housing scenario modelling, and travel-time region generator.

Should you take up an annual subscription following the 2 month trial period, $2,000 will be deducted from the first year’s subscription fee.

Questions?   Interested in the REMPLAN Community trial offer?

Please call us on 1300 737 443 or contact us online.