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LEARN MORE ABOUT .idIn 2021, Australia had 8.5% of couple families with children in step families and 3.5% in blended families.
Information on blended and intact families can be an indicator of the level of family breakup and repartnering within the area, and a potential indicator of socio-economic disadvantage. Family blending only applies to couple families with children. For information more broadly about household and family types, including single-parent families, please see Household Type, Households with Children, and Households without Children.
Q:
Derived from the Census question:
'What is the person's relationship (to each other person in the household)?'
| Family blending | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - Total couples with children (Enumerated) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Family blending by type | Number | % | Greater Capital Cities % | Number | % | Greater Capital Cities % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Intact Family | 2,576,197 | 87.5 | 89.0 | 2,428,993 | 89.4 | 90.6 | +147,204 |
| Step family | 250,609 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 173,155 | 6.4 | 5.9 | +77,454 |
| Blended family | 103,215 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 100,926 | 3.7 | 3.2 | +2,289 |
| Other couple family | 14,125 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 13,164 | 0.5 | 0.4 | +961 |
| Total couples with children | 2,944,146 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,716,238 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +227,908 |
Dominant groups
Analysis of the family blending in Australia in 2021 compared to Greater Capital Cities shows that there was a higher proportion of step families as well as a higher proportion of blended families. Overall, 8.5% of total couple families with children were step families, and 3.5% were blended families, compared with 7.6% and 3.0% respectively for Greater Capital Cities.
There were a similar proportion of other families and a lower proportion of couples without children. Overall, the proportion of other families was 0.5% compared to 0.4% in Greater Capital Cities while the proportion of intact families was 87.5% compared to 89.0% in Greater Capital Cities.
Emerging groups
The number of couple families with children in Australia increased by 227,908 between 2016 and 2021.
The largest changes in family blending in Australia between 2016 and 2021 were:
- Intact Family (+147,204 couples with children)
- Step family (+77,454 couples with children)
- Blended family (+2,289 couples with children)
- Other couple family (+961 couples with children)
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