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Swan Hill (Focus on Robinvale)

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Robinvale is a small horticultural area on the Murray River in northwest Victoria. It is part of the Swan Hill LGA, although it is located closer to Mildura. The population of Robinvale is unknown but is officially estimated to be between 4,000 and 8,000. In April 2003, Robinvale signed a partnership agreement and became a Best Start demonstration site.

LGA Profile

Population

  • The 2004 total population of Swan Hill Local Government Area (LGA) was 21,461.
  • The Department of Sustainability and Environment projects the 2020 population of Swan Hill LGA will reach 21,623.
  • There are 2,808 children aged 0 to 8, comprising 13.1% of Swan Hill’s total population. This compares with 11.3% for Victoria as a whole.
  • There are approximately 935 people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in Swan Hill, making up approximately 4.4% of the area’s population.

Socio-Economic

  • The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2001 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSED) for Swan Hill was 984.3. A lower score indicates a higher level of disadvantage. This compares with the State IRSED of 1016.
  • Swan Hill was ranked 15 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 Swan Hill was 6.5%, compared to 5.5% for Victoria as a whole.

Language/Cultural Background

  • 8.5% of Swan Hill’s population were born overseas, compared to 23.3% of Victoria as a whole.
  • Of those born overseas, 38.7% speak only English and 42.5% speak English “well” or “very well”.
  • 16.3% 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 2,316 families with children aged 15 and under in Swan Hill.
  • 80.5% of the 2,316 families are couple families, compared with 80.6% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.
  • 19.5% of the 2,316 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, 94.4% of children in the 12 to 15 month age cohort in Swan Hill were fully immunised. This compares to 92.0% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.
  • Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 91.4% of children in the 24 to 27 month age cohort in Swan Hill 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 272.1 Hospital Separations per 1000 of all children aged 0 to 8 in Swan Hill.
  • 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 53.1 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 in Swan Hill during 2003 and 2004.
  • This compares to 19.0 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 across Victoria for the same period.

Downloads

Contact Information

Robinvale Community Health Services
Robinvale District Health Service
PO Box 376
Robinvale 3549

Phone: (03) 5051 8160