A Young and Multicultural Victoria: The 2016 Census
The cultural diversity of Victoria’s youth population is on the rise. The 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of population and housing (the Census) data reveals that almost half (48 per cent) of young people in Victoria were either born overseas or had at least one parent born overseas, an increase from ten years earlier. The ABS Census provides a snapshot into the shifting patterns and demographics of Victoria’s young people, and helps improve our understanding of the ever-changing and multicultural face of young Victorians today.
This 2016 Census report on young people from Victoria has an emphasis on those from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and aims to provide data specific to this group of young Victorians to inform good decision-making. Although often grouped together for the purposes of data collection, there can be distinct differences amongst young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. This includes the complexities and multiplicities of self-identification. Young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds can identify with multiple ethnicities and ancestries, including adopting or discarding certain identities, regardless of whether they were born in Australia or have just recently arrived.
This report compares three groups of young people, in order to identify common and contrasting features:
1. Young people born overseas (referred to as ‘overseas-born’).
2. Young people with at least one parent born overseas (referred to as ‘second generation’).
3. Young people born in Australia with both parents born in Australia (referred to as ‘third-plus generation’).