Ararat Wellbeing Report

Self-Reported Health was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked to rate their health as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor.

48.9% of persons living within Ararat reported that their health was either excellent or very good as compared to 54.1% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 54.3%.

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Subjective Wellbeing was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey using the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index (AUWBI). Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with their lives on a number of domains resulting in an aggregated Personal Wellbeing Index ranging between 0-100.

Normative data from the AUWBI indicates that the average Personal Wellbeing Index for Australians is approximately 75. In comparison, the average Personal Wellbeing Index for persons living in Ararat was 78.7 in 2007, while the Grampians Region average was 77.7 and the Victorian State average was 76.4.

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Community Connection was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with feeling part of their community and answers are presented according to a 0-100 range.

Normative data from the AUWBI indicates that the average Community Connection score for Australians is approximately 70. In comparison, the average Community Connection score for persons living in Ararat was 76.6 in 2007, while the Grampians Region average was 74.6 and the Victorian State average was 70.7.

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Social Support was measured in the Department of Planning and Community Development Community Strength Survey in 2008. Respondents were asked if they could get help from friends, family or neighbours when they needed it, either definitely, sometimes or not at all.

93% of persons living within Ararat reported that they could definitely get help from friends, family or neighbours when they needed it, as compared to 92.2% in the Grampians Region.

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Volunteering was measured in the Department of Planning and Community Development Community Strength Survey in 2008. Respondents were asked whether or not they helped out as a volunteer.

48.1% of persons living within Ararat reported that they helped out as a volunteer, as compared to 51% in the Grampians Region.

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Child Health Assessments are routinely undertaken by the Maternal and Child Health Service in Victoria to monitor child health and development. Ten visits are anticipated according to key ages and stages until a child reaches 3.5 years of age. Data relating to the activities of the Maternal and Child Health Service are collated on a financial year basis by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

The rate of participation for children eligible for an assessment at 3.5 years was 71.2% in Ararat in 2007-08, compared to 65.3% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 60.1%.

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Perceptions of Safety were measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked to rate how safe they felt when walking alone in their local area during the day and at night.

When walking alone in their local area during the day 97.2% of persons in Ararat felt safe or very safe, compared to 97.4% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 96%.

When walking alone at night 80% of persons in Ararat felt safe or very safe, compared to 73.3% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 66.5%.

Respondents who stated that they were never alone in the particular situation were not asked to give their perception of how safe they might feel in the situation, and are excluded from the calculation of the proportions.

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Crime statistics are produced annually by Victoria Police. Summaries of offences are reported per 100,000 population to enable comparisons across different areas.

In Ararat, there were 1347 recorded crimes against the person per 100,000 population in 2010-11 compared to 927 in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 875.

In Ararat, there were 4083 recorded crimes against property per 100,000 population in 2010-11, compared to 4566 in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 4551.

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Home Internet Access was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked to indicate if the Internet could be accessed from their dwelling, and if so, whether access was via a dial up or broadband connection.

In Ararat, 69.1% of persons lived in households that had Internet access of any form at their dwelling, compared to 73.6% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 78.9%.

Of the total population of Ararat, 34.9% lived in households that had home Internet access via a broadband connection, compared to 45.8% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 61.1%.

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The activities of young people who have left school have been sourced from customised 2006 Census tables obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These data describe the level of engagement in work and study activities of 15-19 year-olds who are not attending school. This population can be categorised into three major groups: fully engaged school leavers are defined as those who are involved in work and/or non-school study (including university, TAFE and vocational training) on a full-time basis; disengaged school leavers are defined as those who are not involved in any work or study activities at all; and the remaining school leavers are defined as partly engaged. The percentage of fully engaged and disengaged school leavers are presented below.

Engaged or Disengaged: In Ararat, 53.9% of 15-19 year-old school leavers were fully engaged in work or non-school study, compared to 64.4% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 71.9%. Furthermore, 24.9% were disengaged, compared to 19.4% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 15.4%.

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A skilled workforce in a community is an essential component of a strong local economy. For this indicator, highly skilled has been defined as ossupations with ANZSCO Skill Levels 1-3. The data have been collated from customised Census tables obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

55.2% of employed persons working in Ararat worked in highly skilled occupations compared to 55.3% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 56.3%.

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The employment rate has been calculated from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census. This employment to population ratio describes the percentage of persons aged 15 years or older who are employed.

Of those aged 15 years or older and living in Ararat, 53.5% were employed, compared to 58.4% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 60.9%.

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Median Equivalised Household Income has been calculated from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census. Equivalising income adjusts the total income of the household according to the number of persons and household type.

Median Equivalised Gross Weekly Household Income for Ararat was $476, compared to $507 in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of $600.

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Food Security was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked if there had been any times in the previous 12 months when they had run out of food and could not afford to buy more.

6.4% of persons living in Ararat had experienced food insecurity, compared to 6.4% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 6%.

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Educational qualifications are an important resource enabling individuals and their communities an opportunity to engage in the knowledge economy. The percentage of people living in Ararat who had Tertiary or TAFE qualifications has been calculated from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census.

Of those living in Ararat, 41.1% of persons aged 25 years and over had tertiary or TAFE qualifications, compared to 44.6% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 50.7%.

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Work-Life Balance was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Employed respondents were asked whether they agreed that "their work and family life often interfere with each other".

50.1% of employed persons living in Ararat disagreed or strongly disagreed that their work and family life often interfere with each other, and felt that they had a good balance of work and family. This is compared to 50.6% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 53%.

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One measure of Housing Affordability has been calculated through customised 2006 Census tables obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The data show the percentage of households spending 30% or more of their gross household income on rent or mortgage payments.

10% of households in Ararat were spending 30% or more of gross household income on rent or mortgage payments, compared to 14.1% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 17.7%.

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Transport Limitations were measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked if their day-to-day travel had been limited or restricted in the previous 12 months.

20.8% of persons living in Ararat had experienced transport limitations in the previous year, compared to 20% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 20.3%.

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Household Water Conservation was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked if their household had engaged in a list of water conservation methods, including the collection of waste water from washing machines, showers or sinks.

84.6% of persons living in Ararat were in households that collect waste water, compared to 84.8% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 74.8%.

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Data on Household Waste Recycling are obtained from an annual survey conducted by Sustainability Victoria which collects information on the kerbside service activities provided by local government. An average of 490kg of garbage was collected per household from kerbside collections in Victoria in 2008-09.

26% of household waste collected in kerbside collections in Ararat was recycled in 2008-09, compared to the Victorian State average kerbside recycling rate of 43%.

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Data on Household Waste Recycling are obtained from an annual survey conducted by Sustainability Victoria which collects information on the kerbside service activities provided by local government. An average of 490kg of garbage was collected per household from kerbside collections in Victoria in 2007-08.

28% of household waste collected in kerbside collections in Ararat was recycled in 2007-08, compared to the Victorian State average kerbside recycling rate of 42%.

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Participation in Arts and Culture was measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked if they had participated in a range of activities in the previous month, including painting, drawing, art and craft, playing musical instruments, singing, writing and performing.

44% of persons in Ararat had participated in at least one of the selected artistic and cultural activities in the previous month, compared to 47.4% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 46.6%.

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Victorians' opinions on Cultural Diversity were measured in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked if they agreed that "it is a good thing for a society to be made up of people from different cultures".

85.7% of persons in Ararat agreed or strongly agreed that cultural diversity is a good thing for a society, compared to 87.1% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 89.4%.

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Data on the participation of Victorians in selected forms of Citizen Engagement were collected in the 2007 Community Indicators Victoria Survey. Respondents were asked if they had attended a town meeting or public hearing, met, called or written to a local politician, joined a protest or signed a petition in the previous 12 months.

59.3% of persons in Ararat had engaged in at least one of the selected activities in the previous year, compared to 62.9% in the Grampians Region and the Victorian State average of 53.8%.

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