3.1.4 Household Structure

Golden Plains is a popular location for young families. Almost half of households (47.8 percent), have children within them (ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2016). Primary and secondary school aged students are overrepresented in the Shire, as are the “homebuilder” group aged between 35 and 49, when compared to Regional Victoria. Typically, car-based travel suits the needs of young children, but as the cohort ages there will likely be an increasing need for non-car-based transport. A common concern for families with teenagers is to have an ability to travel independently to and from their destinations, and to do it safely. Once people reach the age for tertiary education or full-time work, at ages 18 to 34, they tend to leave Golden Plains at a greater rate than Regional Victoria. Similarly, older workers and retirees (aged 50 to 85) are also underrepresented compared to Regional Victoria. It is unclear how significant transport concerns are in the decision to leave Golden Plains, however the smaller cohort of these groups makes it more difficult to have enough demand for transport services.

Table 3–2: Age structure. Source: .id. Based on ABS, Census of Population and Housing 2016

Analysis of the age groups of Golden Plains Shire and Regional Victoria in 2016 indicates that Golden Plains has a higher proportion of younger residents and lower proportion of older age groups. As Table 3–2 shows, 27 percent of the population was under 17 years of age and over 30 percent were aged over 50 years old, compared with over 20 percent and over 40 percent respectively for Regional Victoria.