Best Start

Back to:

Best Start Project Sites

Existing sites - Ballarat

LGA Profile

Population

  • The 2004 total population of Ballarat Local Government Area (LGA) was 87,148.
  • The Department of Sustainability and Environment projects the 2020 population of Ballarat LGA will reach 102,141.
  • There are 10,130 children aged 0 to 8, comprising 11.6% of Ballarat’s total population. This compares with 11.3% for Victoria as a whole.
  • There are approximately 832 people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in Ballarat, making up approximately 1.0% of the area’s population.

Socio-Economic

  • The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2001 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSED) for Ballarat was 993.4. A lower score indicates a higher level of disadvantage. This compares with the State IRSED of 1016.
  • Ballarat was ranked 24 out of the 78 LGAs in Victoria on the IRSED. A rank of 1 was assigned to the most disadvantaged LGA.
  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, the unemployment rate in Ballarat was 7.5%, compared to 5.5% for Victoria as a whole.

Language/Cultural Background

  • 7.2% of Ballarat’s population were born overseas, compared to 23.3% of Victoria as a whole.
  • Of those born overseas, 72.6% speak only English and 22.9% speak English “well” or “very well”.
  • 3.6% of those born overseas speak English “not well” or “not at all”, this compares to 13.6% of all Victorians born overseas.

Families

  • There are approximately 8,855 families with children aged 15 and under in Ballarat.
  • 74.6% of the 8,855 families are couple families, compared with 80.6% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.
  • 25.4% of the 8,855 families are one-parent families, compared with 19.4% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.

Immunisation

  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 94.1% of children in the 12 to 15 month age cohort in Ballarat were fully immunised. This compares to 92.0% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.
  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 93.4% of children in the 24 to 27 month age cohort in Ballarat were fully immunised. This compares to 92.5% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.

Child Health

  • From July 2003 to June 2005 there were 200.2 Hospital Separations per 1000 of all children aged 0 to 8 in Ballarat.
  • This compares with a rate of 229.5 Hospital Separations per 1000 children aged 0 to 8 across Victoria for the same period.

Teen Pregnancy

  • There were 31.4 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 in Ballarat during 2003 and 2004.

This compares to 19.0 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 across Victoria for the same period.

Contact Information

Address

Family and Children's Services
City of Ballarat
Phoenix Building, 25 Armstrong Street
Ballarat 3350

Phone: (03) 5320 5773