Census Characteristics
This section contains a 'look up' list of person and dwelling characteristics for which 1981 Census statistics are available. Characteristics of persons and dwellings were obtained directly from the questions included on the 1981 Census schedule. Also, a number of additional derived characteristics are produced through aggregation (e.g. household income ) or cross-referencing of questions (e.g. internal migration).
Characteristics are listed by topic groups; the mnemonic given after each characteristic, in the form of three alphabetic characters (e.g. BPL for birthplace of individual), is the abbreviation used in census table descriptions. Clicking on this mnemonic accesses some notes designed to clarify and explain the census characteristics and classifications.
| Topic Group | Person characteristic | Mnemonic |
| Aboriginal or TSI | Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin | RAC | ||
| Age | Age | AGE | ||
| Age left school | ALS | |||
| Birthplace | Birthplace of father | BPF | ||
| Birthplace of individual | BPL | |||
| Birthplace of mother | BPM | |||
| Birthplace of parents | BPP | |||
| Period of residence in Australia | PER | |||
| Resident (Australia)/visitor status | REV | |||
| Citizenship | Country of citizenship | CIT | ||
| Education | Age left school | ALS | ||
| Educational institution: attending, not attending, etc | EDI | |||
| Qualification - level and field | QAL | |||
| Qualification - year obtained | YOQ | |||
| Employment sector | Public/private sector (government/non-government) | GNG | ||
| Family | Families in household - number of | NOF | ||
| Family classification code | FMC | |||
| Family head | FHD | |||
| Family income | FIN | |||
| Family number | FNO | |||
| Income unit type | IUT | |||
| Primary family - number of persons in | NFP | |||
| Relationship to head of family | RLF | |||
| Secondary Family 1 - number of persons | NFA | |||
| Secondary Family 2 - number of persons | NFB | |||
| Secondary Family 3 - number of persons | NFC | |||
| Hours worked | Hours worked | HRS | ||
| Household Families in household - number of | NOF |
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| Household income | HIN | |||
| Income unit type | Income unit type | IUT | ||
| Income | Family income | FIN | ||
| Household income | HIN | |||
| Individual income | INC | |||
| Industry | Industry | IND | ||
| Internal migration | Internal migration indicator - 1980, 81 | RMO | ||
| Internal migration indicator - 1976, 80, 81 | RMV | |||
| Issue | Issue - total number of children born | TIS | ||
| Journey to work | Journey to work-destination zones | DZN | ||
| Language | Language - use of English | ENG | ||
| Marriage | Marriage - duration of | DUR | ||
| Marriages - number of | MMO | |||
| Marital status | MST | |||
| Occupation | Occupation | OCC | ||
| Occupational status | STC | |||
| Overseas born | Period of residence in Australia | PER | ||
| Resident (Australia)/visitor status | REV | |||
| Qualification | Qualification - level and field | QAL | ||
| Qualification - year obtained | YOQ | |||
| Religion | Religion | REL | ||
| Schooling | Age left school | ALS | ||
| Educational institution: attending, not attending, etc. | EDI | |||
| Sex | Sex | SEX | ||
| Travel to work | Travel to work (mode) | TPT | ||
| Journey to work-destination zones | DZN | |||
| Usual residence | Internal migration indicator 1980,'81 | RMO | ||
| Internal migration indicator-1976,'80,'81 | RMV | |||
| Usual residence 1981 | RMC | |||
| Usual LGA of residence-1981 | RLC | |||
| Usual LGA of residence-1980 | RLO | |||
| Usual LGA of residence-1976 | RLV | |||
| Usual State of residence-1981 | RSC | |||
| Usual State of residence-1980 | RSO | |||
| Usual State of residence-1976 | RSV |
Notes on dwelling characteristics
Four questions relating to private dwellings were asked of the householder in the 1981 Census. Another three questions on the back of the census schedule were completed by the collector. Questions asked of the householder related to characteristics of the dwelling, while the collector completed questions relating to dwelling structure.
For census purposes, dwellings are divided into two main groups: private dwellings (which may be occupied or unoccupied) and non-private dwellings.
A private dwelling is normally a house or flat, but it can also be a tent, houseboat, or caravan if standing on its own block of land. A tent or caravan is not considered to be a private dwelling if it is occupied by members of a household resident in an adjacent dwelling, i.e. the tent or caravan is considered to be part of that adjacent dwelling.
An occupied private dwelling is defined as the premises occupied by a household on census night. For census purposes, a household is a person or group of persons who live together and eat together as a single domestic unit. It is possible, then, for more than one household to live in one house or structure. For example, a lodger who lives with a family and provides all his food for himself is not a member of the family's household but constitutes a separate household, and therefore completes a separate householder's schedule. Because an occupied dwelling is defined in this way, the number of households and number of occupied dwellings is identical and the number of occupied dwellings in an area, as defined for census purposes, may often be greater than the known number of structures.
An unoccupied private dwelling is a structure built specifically for living purposes and capable of being lived in, but unoccupied at the time of the census. Vacant houses, holiday houses, huts, cabins (other than seasonal worker's quarters) and houseboats are therefore counted as unoccupied dwellings; but vacant tents, garages and caravans (if not normally occupied) are not. Only private dwellings can be classified as unoccupied. Unoccupied dwellings include dwellings vacant because they have been newly completed, dwellings vacant for demolition or repair, holiday homes, dwellings to let and dwellings where the household was absent on census night.
The dwelling characteristics outlined below are discussed in more detail in Census 81 - Dwelling, Household, Family (2150.0).
| Dwelling characteristic | Mnemonic |
| Aboriginal dwelling identifier | ABD | |
| Bedrooms, number of | BED | |
| Buying/owning dwelling - see Nature of occupancy | ||
| Females in private dwellings | FPD | |
| Furnished/unfurnished - see Nature of occupancy | ||
| Males in private dwellings | MPD | |
| Material of outer walls | MAT | |
| Mortgage payments, total | ALM | |
| Mortgage, yes or no - see Nature of occupancy | ||
| Motor vehicles, number of | VEH | |
| Nature of occupancy | NOC | |
| Non-private dwelling type | NPD | |
| Occupants of dwelling, number of | IMD | |
| Rent, amount paid | RNT | |
| Rented, yes or no - see Nature of occupancy | ||
| Rooms in private dwellings, number of | TOT | |
| Structure of dwelling (dwelling type) | STR | |
| Unoccupied dwelling, reason | RUN |