Sense of belonging and inclusion

Identity and belonging

Sense of belonging/inclusion

Our sense of belonging in our community, how inclusive we find our local area, and whether people experience discrimination in our city impacts our wellbeing.

Belonging

This measure shows Canberrans’ sense of belonging to their local community. This is important because a sense of belonging can help us to:

Around 7 out of 10 Canberrans (72.1%) reported feeling a high sense of belonging in 2023. In late 2020, during the first year of the pandemic, it was 80.8%. The 2023 result is consistent with pre-pandemic levels. People who had a significantly lower sense of belonging in 2023 were those:

2022-2023: Living well in the ACT region survey, unpublished data.

2019-2021: Living well in the ACT region: The changing wellbeing of Canberrans during 2020 and 2021

Line graph of percentage of respondents who reported high, moderate, or low levels of sense of belonging in the ACT, between 2019 and 2023.

In 2023, 72.1% reported high sense of belonging compared to 80.8% in 2020.

In 2023, 24.6% reported moderate sense of belonging compared to 10.1% in 2020.

In 2023, 3.3% reported low sense of belonging compared to 9.1% in 2020.

The Living Well in the ACT Region survey, conducted by the University of Canberra, aims to measure, track and understand the wellbeing of adult residents living in the Australian Capital Territory region of Australia. It examines factors known to affect wellbeing at the individual, household, community and regional level.

When generating data for the ACT, statistical weighting is used to address differences between the sample of people who respond to the survey, and the characteristics of the ACT adult population. Differences between groups are reported when there is a statistically significant difference based on 95% confidence intervals or other tests of significance.

Data are produced from this survey for different groups of people in the ACT. The ‘overall response’ category represents responses at the ACT population level. Where reliable estimates can be produced, data are also presented for Canberrans by: gender, age, cultural background, gender identity and sexuality, carer role and experience of disability.

Care is needed when interpreting the differences in findings between groups as the descriptive statistics published here show where there are differences in wellbeing, but not what has caused those differences in wellbeing.

The University of Canberra has been conducting the survey since 2019. As of mid-2023, the survey had been conducted 6 times. Not all questions have been measured each time the survey has been conducted.

There have been no changes in measure design, analysis or reporting of this measure since it was first included in the survey.

Data for people with disability are only available for 2023 due to a change in the way disability was defined and measured in the survey, to better reflect international best practice.

Further information about the survey can be found at Living Well in the ACT Region or by contacting Professor Jacki Schirmer at the University of Canberra.

Inclusion

This measure shows the proportion of Canberrans who self-report a high level of inclusion in their local community. It is based on how inclusive a person feels their local community is of different people and groups.

This is important because socially inclusive communities support people from all backgrounds and experiences to participate with dignity, security and acceptance.

Confidence in the inclusiveness of local communities has fallen in all groups since 2019. People reporting a lower sense of inclusion compared to others include those:

2022-2023: Living well in the ACT region survey, unpublished data.

2019-2021: Living well in the ACT region: The changing wellbeing of Canberrans during 2020 and 2021.

Line graph of percentage of respondents who reported high, moderate, or low levels of inclusion in their local community in the ACT, between 2019 and 2023.

In 2023, 46.7% reported moderate sense of inclusion compared to 47.8% in 2020.

In 2023, 34.9% reported high sense of inclusion compared to 43.7% in 2020.

In 2023, 18.5% reported low sense of inclusion compared to 8.5% in 2020.

The Living Well in the ACT Region survey, conducted by the University of Canberra, aims to measure, track and understand the wellbeing of adult residents living in the Australian Capital Territory region of Australia. It examines factors known to affect wellbeing at the individual, household, community and regional level.

When generating data for the ACT, statistical weighting is used to address differences between the sample of people who respond to the survey, and the characteristics of the ACT adult population. Differences between groups are reported when there is a statistically significant difference based on 95% confidence intervals or other tests of significance.

Data are produced from this survey for different groups of people in the ACT. The ‘overall response’ category represents responses at the ACT population level. Where reliable estimates can be produced, data are also presented for Canberrans by: gender, age, cultural background, gender identity and sexuality, carer role and experience of disability.

Care is needed when interpreting the differences in findings between groups as the descriptive statistics published here show where there are differences in wellbeing, but not what has caused those differences in wellbeing.

The University of Canberra has been conducting the survey since 2019. As of mid-2023, the survey had been conducted 6 times. Not all questions have been measured each time the survey has been conducted.

There have been no changes in measure design, analysis or reporting of this measure since it was first included in the survey.

Data for people with disability are only available for 2023 due to a change in the way disability was defined and measured in the survey, to better reflect international best practice.

Further information about the survey can be found at Living Well in the ACT Region or by contacting Professor Jacki Schirmer at the University of Canberra.

Discrimination

This measure shows the proportion of Canberrans who reported experiencing discrimination in the past 12 months. This is important to measure because experiencing discrimination can impact our health, social and economic participation. It can also influence our physical health outcomes.

The proportion of Canberrans experiencing discrimination has stayed stable since 2019, but increased among:

In 2023, people more likely to report experiencing discrimination were those:

2022-2023: Living well in the ACT region survey, unpublished data.

2019-2021: Living well in the ACT region: The changing wellbeing of Canberrans during 2020 and 2021.

Line graph of percentage of respondents who reported discrimination in the past 12 months in the ACT, between 2019 and 2023.

In 2023, 77.3% did not experience discrimination compared to 78.9% in 2020.

In 2023, 22.7% experienced discrimination compared to 21.1% in 2020.

The Living Well in the ACT Region survey, conducted by the University of Canberra, aims to measure, track and understand the wellbeing of adult residents living in the Australian Capital Territory region of Australia. It examines factors known to affect wellbeing at the individual, household, community and regional level.

When generating data for the ACT, statistical weighting is used to address differences between the sample of people who respond to the survey, and the characteristics of the ACT adult population. Differences between groups are reported when there is a statistically significant difference based on 95% confidence intervals or other tests of significance.

Data are produced from this survey for different groups of people in the ACT. The ‘overall response’ category represents responses at the ACT population level. Where reliable estimates can be produced, data are also presented for Canberrans by: gender, age, cultural background, gender identity and sexuality, carer role and experience of disability.

Care is needed when interpreting the differences in findings between groups as the descriptive statistics published here show where there are differences in wellbeing, but not what has caused those differences in wellbeing.

The University of Canberra has been conducting the survey since 2019. As of mid-2023, the survey had been conducted 6 times. Not all questions have been measured each time the survey has been conducted.

There have been no changes in measure design, analysis or reporting of this measure since it was first included in the survey.

Data for people with disability are only available for 2023 due to a change in the way disability was defined and measured in the survey, to better reflect international best practice.

Further information about the survey can be found at Living Well in the ACT Region or by contacting Professor Jacki Schirmer at the University of Canberra.