Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Victorians
What does the data tell us?
How does this impact on VALS’ future
directions?
Victoria’s Aboriginal population is
young and growing fast…
• Victoria’s recorded Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander population was 37,988 people out of
a total Victorian population of 5,354,042. This
equates to 0.7% of the population.
• Nationally the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander population is 2.5% of the total
population.
• 6.9% of the nation’s ATSI people live in
Victoria
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ABS CENSUS 2011
A population that is younger and growing
faster than the general community
Victoria’s Aboriginal young people
• The Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander population has a younger age
distribution than the non-Indigenous
population with a median age of 21 years in
the 2011 Census, compared with 38 years for
non-Indigenous people.
• More than one in three Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders are under 15 years of age.
Victoria’s Aboriginal population is
growing fast
• Victoria’s ATSI population increased by 7,848
since the 2006 census
• This is a growth rate of 4.7% per annum,
compared to a growth rate of 1.7% for Victoria’s
general population.
• …and an increase of 26% since the 2006 census, a
rate of growth exceeded only by the ACT.
•
Note preliminary estimates adjusted for undercount indicate the ATSI
population might be as high as 47,327. Final figures will be available in 2014.
Where do Aboriginal Victorian’s live?
• 53.7% live in regional areas, 46.3% in metro
areas.
• The distribution of the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander population across Victoria is
quite uneven, with relatively higher numbers
of Aboriginal people living in a small number
of local government areas.
Metro
Non metro
LGAs with the greatest number of
Aboriginal people
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Greater Shepparton- 2082
Mildura- 1836
Greater Geelong- 1788
Greater Bendigo- 1441
Casey- 1403
East Gippsland- 1353
Darebin- 1156
Wyndham- 1144
Ballarat- 1140
Whittlesea-1125
Latrobe- 1055
Hume- 1046
Aboriginal populations in key regional towns -2011
Aboriginal populations in key centres in Greater
Melbourne Metropolitan area, 2011
Justice outcomes
Up to 2010 adolescent contact with police reduced
Over- representation in prison
Victoria has performed well, but trending up
Aboriginal Victorians are 12.5 times as likely to
be in prison
ABS: Prisoners in Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 4517.0).
Largest proportional increase in ATSI
imprisonment rate was found in Victoria
(15%)
Average daily ATSI imprisonment rate
ABS: - Corrective Services, Australia, March Quarter 2013 (CAT NO 4512.0)
Other social and economic indicators
Key trends in Victoria which may have contributed to improved
Koori justice outcomes between 2005 and 2011 have been:
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In 2002, 31.8% of Koori Victorians reported having used substances in the last 12 months. By 2008
this had reduced to 27.5%
Koori labour force participation in Victoria has risen from 56.9% in 2006 to 66.3% in 2010
Attendance at social activities, sporting and physical recreation activities and cultural activities have
improved amongst Koori Victorians, by 1%, 13% and 13% respectively.
School retention from year 7 to 12 has increased from 38.4% in 2006 to 46.9% in 2011 plus many
Victorian Indigenous students also enrolled in TAFE courses
In2012 37.7% of Aboriginal students in Year 12 went on to university compared to 27.7% in 2006.
Key trends in Victoria that may have negatively impacted Koori
justice outcomes:
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Risky/high risk alcohol use in the Victorian Koori community rose from 33.8% in 2002 to 39% in
2008
Koori unemployment in Victoria has risen from 15.8% in 2006 to 16.3% in 2010, although this is
explained by rising labour force participation.
Most Koories overall have completed part Secondary schooling only: 91.3% of males and 85% of
females.
Child protection substations increased from 56.6 per 1000 children in 2006 to 62.5 in 2012
Family violence incidence
Family Violence
Regional and Metropolitan break down
Family Violence Offenders by gender and age
Family Violence Victims by gender and age
VALS’ clients – numbers and trends
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Assistance
Casework
Criminal, Civil and Family
Location
Age and gender breakdown
VALS - Case Opens by Gender - Criminal Law
600
500
Cases Opened
400
Female
300
Male
200
100
0
2012 Q1
2012 Q2
2012 Q3
2012 Q4
2013 Q1
2013 Q2
VALS -Case Opens by Gender - Family and
Civil Law
60
50
Cases Opened
40
Female - Civil
Male - Civil
30
Female - Family
Male - Family
20
10
0
2012 Q1
2012 Q2
2012 Q3
2012 Q4
2013 Q1
2013 Q2
VALS -D24 Calls by Age Range by Month
250
200
D24 Calls per Month
0 to 9
10 to 14
150
15 to 18
19 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
100
45 to 54
55 Plus
50
0
2013 01
2013 02
2013 03
2013 04
2013 05
2013 06
2013 07
Concluding points
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The Aboriginal population is proportionally small when compared to the total Victorian
population, but growing at a faster rate
Aboriginal Victorians are more likely to live in regional Victoria that non-Aboriginal
Victorians
Population is young and it is young people who are more likely to have contact with the
justice system
The rate of imprisonment has grown 15%, the highest in the country in the year to
March 2013
Non-metropolitan regions have seen increases in the proportion of Koories that were
sentenced to community based orders compared to prison. However, the reverse
occurred in large metropolitan regions what year
Indigenous males in custody increased 7% and females 12% in the year to March 2013
The rate of imprisonment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners nationally
was 15 times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous prisoners at 30 June 2012;
Victoria 12.5 times higher.
Risky/high risk alcohol use in the Victorian Koori community rose from 33.8% in 2002
to 39% in 2008
Aboriginal young people are far more likely to be remanded – 30% compared to 22%