Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) provide summary measures derived from the Census and can help users understand the relative level of social and economic wellbeing of a region. SEIFA uses a broad definition of relative socio-economic disadvantage in terms of people's access to material and social resources and their ability to participate in society.

SEIFA is a set of four indexes which rank geographical areas across Australia. These indexes are ranked by a score based on the characteristics of the people, families and dwellings in these areas. This can be used to determine where the wealthy live, where the disadvantaged live, and where the highly skilled and educated live.

Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD)

Is a general socio-economic index that summarises a range of information about the economic and social conditions of people and households within an area. Unlike the other indexes, this index includes only measures of relative disadvantage.

Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD)

This index summarises information about the economic and social conditions of people and households within an area, including both relative advantage and disadvantage measures.

Index of Economic Resources (IER)

This index focuses on the financial aspects of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage, by summarising variables related to income and wealth. This index excludes education and occupation variables because they are not direct measures of economic resources. It also misses some assets such as savings or equities which, although relevant, could not be included because this information was not collected.

Index of Education and Occupation (IEO)

This Index is designed to reflect the educational and occupational level of communities. The education variables in this index show either the level of qualification achieved or whether further education is being undertaken. The occupation variables classify the workforce into the major groups and skill levels of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) and the unemployed. This index does not include any income variables.

Notes

The areas shown are ‘Statistical Area Level 2’ (SA2) standard areas as used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. SA2 is a general purpose, medium-sized area, which is used to represent communities that interact socially and economically.

Areas show no data if the analysed population is below 200.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2033.0.55.001 - Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia, 2011