Where every figure comes from
Censible is built on open data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other government sources. This page sets out each source, every step applied to it, and how to credit it.
- 3
- Censuses: 2011, 2016 and 2021
- 618
- Figures, from population to housing
- Any area
- A place, a circle or a shape you draw
What it's built on
Every source is open data. The name links to where it's published.
| Source | Used for | Years | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census of Population and Housing, DataPacksAustralian Bureau of Statistics | Every census figure: population, labour, education, income and housing | 2011 · 2016 · 2021 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Census Time Series ProfileAustralian Bureau of Statistics | Earlier censuses re-tabulated on 2021 boundaries, for exact change over time | 2011 · 2016 · 2021 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Australian Statistical Geography StandardAustralian Bureau of Statistics | Boundaries for every place, from mesh blocks to states, including Edition 4 (2026) | 2011 to 2026 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Census correspondencesAustralian Bureau of Statistics | Carrying earlier counts onto today's boundaries | 2011 to 2026 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Regional population by age and sexAustralian Bureau of Statistics | Estimated resident population by SA2, the base for population and age projections to mid-2025 | 2021 to 2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Population projections by SA2, 2022 baseGeoscience Australia | Population and age projections for 2026 and 2031 | 2026 · 2031 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Wage Price Index and Consumer Price Index (rents)Australian Bureau of Statistics | Moving incomes and rents into 2026 dollars | 2021 to 2026 | CC BY 4.0 |
| G-NAF, Geocoded National Address FileGeoscape Australia, via data.gov.au | Placing your own sites at their street address | Quarterly | G-NAF End User Licence Agreement |
| OpenMapTiles and OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap contributors, via OpenFreeMap | The basemap under every map | Current | ODbL, CC BY 4.0 |
How it's processed
Each source is used as published. The steps applied to it are listed below.
Counts first, formulas last
Censible adds up the census's counts for an area first, then works out the median or percentage from those totals. That's what lets it give figures for any area, including ones built from several places.
The ABS's own figure, where there is one
The ABS works its published medians out from individual records, so a figure rebuilt from counts can differ slightly. For a standard region, Censible shows the ABS's figure alongside, and every recipe is tested against it.
Today's boundaries
Places use the 2026 boundaries. Where the ABS re-tabulated an earlier census, those exact figures are used. Elsewhere, earlier counts are carried across with the ABS's population-weighted correspondences and marked as estimated.
Small areas and privacy adjustments
The ABS adds small random changes to counts to protect privacy. In places with few people, that can move a share or median noticeably.
Your own areas
A circle around a point or a shape you draw is built up from the smallest census areas and mesh blocks inside it, then the counts are added up as for any other place.
2026 and 2031
Estimates, not census results. Results from the 2026 Census are due from June 2027, and will replace them.
Population and age
Census counts grown with ABS estimated resident population to mid-2025, then Geoscience Australia's population projections.
Shares
About 70 shares, such as qualifications, industry, languages and renting, are moved by their trend between censuses, where that trend would have predicted 2021 better than assuming no change. The rest are held at their 2021 share.
Dollars
Incomes move with the ABS wage price index and rents with CPI rents, to 2026. Mortgages, and everything after 2026, move with Australia's change in the median between 2016 and 2021. Dollar figures are in each year's own dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
Work and travel to work
Held at 2021. That census fell during lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne, so more people worked from home than usual.
Attribution
Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. Population projections © Geoscience Australia, CC BY 4.0. Address data © Geoscape Australia, licensed under the G-NAF End User Licence Agreement. Basemap © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Censible is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics or any other source above.
See the data for your area
Pick any suburb, postcode or council in Australia and we'll send you a sample dataset and report for it, free.