Social Exclusion Monitor
More than 1.2 million Australians still experience deep social exclusion, according to the latest data.
Social exclusion occurs when someone experiences multiple, overlapping problems, such as unemployment, poor health and inadequate education, which stop them fully participating in society. Tackling social exclusion helps make Australia a better place to live for everyone.
The social exclusion monitor is an approach to measuring social exclusion in Australia, developed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (MIAESR) . It uses the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey of more than 13,000 people. The monitor is updated with each new wave of the HILDA survey.
Our measure combines results collected about an individual's circumstances based on 30 different components of disadvantage, called indicators. For example, a person may have a low income, poor health and little connection with their community, which all compound to restrict their opportunities.
Update October 2020
Using the newest data from 2018, the monitor finds that more than 1.2 million Australians have been dealing with deep social exclusion, in a nation that had seen more than two decades of overall economic prosperity.
This means that these Australians experience at least four different sorts of disadvantage in their lives, such as being on a low income, having little paid work, not being involved in community clubs or associations and not being socially active.
You can use the monitor to better understand who is missing out in Australia and to gauge the effectiveness of government social policy.
Data note
Please note that the Wave 18 HILDA survey data was collected before the COVID-19 crisis. However, the groups of Australians who were already excluded are likely to be the hardest hit by the economic and social impact of the pandemic and the public health responses.
How do we measure social exclusion?
- Introducing our social exclusion measure
- Levels of social exclusion
- Persistence of social exclusion
- Social exclusion and income poverty
About the research method
To understand more about about how the Brotherhood of St. Laurence and the Melbourne Institute measure exclusion see:
- Scutella, R, Wilkins, R & Horn, M 2009, Measuring poverty and social exclusion in Australia: a proposed multi-dimensional framework for identifying socio-economic disadvantage (PDF, 494 KB) , Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and Brotherhood of St Laurence, Melbourne.
- Scutella, R, Wilkins, R & Kostenko, W 2009, Estimates of poverty and social exclusion in Australia: a multi-dimensional approach (PDF, 1.2 MB), Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and Brotherhood of St Laurence, Melbourne.
Read past issues of the occasional Social exclusion monitor bulletin (2011–2015)
Why does social exclusion matter?
Read about the implications for policy