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Australian Social Trends draws on a wide range of data, sourced both from ABS and other agencies, to present a picture of Australian society. This publication aims to inform decision-making, research and discussion on social conditions in Australia. It covers social issues of current and ongoing concern, population groups of interest, and changes over time.

The selection of articles aims to address current and perennial social concerns and to provide answers to key social questions. Some topics are revised as new data becomes available. The aim of this approach is for each report to remain responsive to contemporary concerns, while accumulating a more comprehensive picture of Australian social conditions over time. For this reason, articles often include cross references to other relevant articles in the current issue, and in previous issues. All Australian Social Trends articles are available via the ‘Article archive‘ page.

Australian Social Trends is structured according to the ABS Wellbeing Framework which identifies areas of social concern, population groups and transactions among people and entities within their social environments (see ABS Measuring Wellbeing: Frameworks for Australian Social Statistics, 2001 – cat. no. 4160.0). The broad areas of social concern are:

  • population
  • family and community
  • health
  • education and training
  • work
  • economic resources
  • housing
  • crime and justice
  • culture and leisure
  • other areas – including environment, religion, and transport and communication.