By Parker McKenzie
The 2021 census data was released on Tuesday 28 June, allowing residents of the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley to see the changing demographics compared to previous years and the rest of the country.
Yarra Ranges Shire grew by 6531 people since 2016, with the median weekly household income rising by $380 in the same time period from $1501 to $1881.
The median age of residents remained the same at 40-years-old, above both the Victorian and Australian average of 38.
The number of people born in Australia rose slightly from 77.9 per cent to 79.4 per cent, and England remained the second highest place of birth with 4.9 per cent. English ancestry was the most common for residents in the Yarra Ranges, but grew from 30.7 per cent to 43.3 per cent in 2021. Australian and Irish took out 2nd and 3rd position.
10.3 per cent of residents reported having a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety, a statistic which wasn’t recorded in 2016, making mental health the largest type of long-term health condition in the Yarra Ranges, with asthma second at 9.6 per cent. 57.9 per cent of responders reported no long-term health conditions.
In the electorate of Casey, which covers parts of the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley, residents said they have become less religious in the past five years, with 53.3 per cent reporting they have no religious affiliation in 2021 compared to 40.5 per cent in 2016.
Tecoma Uniting Church Minister Matt Cutler from said he wasn’t surprised to see the results of the census.
“I don’t think the church has ever done well when it was the largest seat at the table, or whenever it was wedded to power or was too big. It’s always distorted itself,” he said.
“People now engage in religious traditions by choice, not by cultural hand down. Today, there’s very little inherited people a part of faith tradition.”
People of Catholic belief were the largest religious group in 2021 with 15.2 per cent, with Anglicans representing the second largest with 7.8 per cent. Both saw a drop, however, with 19 per cent of people reporting to be Catholic and 11.2 per cent reporting as Anglican in 2016.
Minister Cutler said the people living in the hills were often spiritual, if not religious.
“I keep finding through our community, that we have a very high amount of those who say I can’t do the tradition stuff, I can’t even do the god stuff but there is some kind of mystical thing I want to have a conversation about,” he said.
“For me, I want to continue to be the kind of church that serves the local community, regardless of numbers. I like the fact that people think Tecoma United Church is one of those churches, that is really valued for the food program, for our community hub, as somewhere go if needs arise.”
56.9 per cent of Casey residents belonged to Secular beliefs, other spiritual beliefs and no religious affiliation.
You can see all the statistics for the Yarra Valley and other geographical areas at: https://www.abs.gov.au/census
