CEN Dwelling Type

Occupied dwelling type classifies all occupied dwellings according to their structure and function.

A dwelling is defined as occupied if it was occupied at midnight on census night, or at any time during the next 12 hours, unless the occupant(s) completed a form at another dwelling during this period.

This variable is derived from the office use box, question 4 (dwelling description) and question 5 (number of storeys) on the dwelling form. The office use box is completed by the collector.

'Occupied private dwelling not further defined' includes baches, cribs, and holiday homes; dwellings joined to businesses or shops; and vague responses that could not be classified as separate or joined private dwellings (eg state house).

Each independent self-care unit, villa, or house within a retirement village is classified as a private dwelling and is included in the appropriate private dwelling category, according to whether it is separate or joined and the number of storeys.

The homes of people who live in a motor camp are classified as private dwellings and are in the 'Dwelling in a motor camp' category. Rest homes are included in the 'Residential care for older people' category.

'Educational institution' includes non-private dwellings accommodating small groups of tertiary students, as well as traditional halls of residence for tertiary students and other educational institutions such as boarding school hostels.

The night shelter category is solely for night shelters. Other forms of accommodation aimed at people who are housing-deprived such as transitional housing and Salvation Army hostels are classified as welfare institutions.

'Hotel, motel, guest accommodation' includes some dwellings that provide long-term accommodation. Usual residents of these dwellings may include students.

A boarding house is defined as a dwelling that is mainly intended for boarders, has lockable bedrooms that are rented by the room, communal facilities, and can accommodate six or more boarders.

The numbers of some types of non-private dwellings (eg motor camps, commercial vessels) can fluctuate according to factors such as events at census time or the weather at census time.