Demographics & Community Profile

Demographics and Socioeconomic Disadvantage South Eastern Melbourne 

The Dandenong Casey General  Practice Association (DCGPA) is the key general practice organisation in the South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local (SEM ML). 

The South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local (MLO 24) will be located in metropolitan Melbourne with a population of 453,598 - projected to grow to 588, 931 in 2021.  The population is highly diverse and covers 3 local government areas, Casey, Cardinia and Greater Dandenong over 1820 square kilometres.   With pockets of high social disadvantage, rurality and rapid growth the SEIFA index of relative disadvantage sits at 977  with the City of Greater Dandenong ranked as one of the most disadvantaged urban areas in Australia. 

The South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Locals catchment area is one of Australias fastest growing population areas, with pockets of significant disadvantage. 

SEIFA Index of Relative Disadvantage 2006. Index Australia = 1000

Of the  454,000 people in the catchment:  15% live in Cardinia, 55% live in Casey and 30% live in Greater Dandenong. The City of Casey and the Shire of Cardinia as two of the fastest growing areas in Australia have large numbers of young people and a significant level of socio-economic disadvantage. Greater Dandenong is a culturally diverse community with a large ageing population, over 2,000 refugees settling there every single year, and is one of the most socio-economic disadvantaged LGAs in Victoria.

Catchment Profile

(1) City of Greater Dandenong

The City of Greater Dandenong is the most culturally diverse locality in Victoria and an area of high disease burden; there are a large number of households with low income, a high level of residents born overseas and low English proficiency.  In December 2010, the City of Greater Dandenong produced a report entitled Health and Wellbeing in Greater Dandenong. The report indicated in 2008/09, 2,470 recently arrived migrants settled in Greater Dandenong the largest number of migrant settlers in any Victorian municipality.  Nearly a fifth of these people were humanitarian immigrants, largely from countries such as Afghanistan, Burma, Iraq, Sudan and Sri Lanka.   

The culturally diverse population of Greater Dandenong requires a renewed focus on improving the health literacy of patients with limited English proficiency through the use of health interpreters.  There is evidence that supports language barriers decrease equity in health care by reducing the patients understanding and involvement in decision making and decreasing adherence to treatment including medications.   

The Victorian Population Health Survey found that levels of obesity were higher (17% compared to 12%) among people who were indigenous, disadvantaged, less educated, unemployed, those who ran out of food in the previous 12 months, and people who were experiencing the highest levels of psychological stress. Childhood obesity amongst these groups was also higher. The paper reported that 18% of Greater Dandenong residents (18,000 people) suffer one form of major depression and 6.7% (7,000 people) of major depression. 6% of people had a severe profound disability in Greater Dandenong, compared to 4.3% in the rest of Melbourne. 

(2) City of Casey

The City of Casey is Victorias largest and fastest growing municipality and the dominant growth area for south-eastern Melbourne with new families settling in Casey at a rate of 40 per week.

The key features of this Region include:

• The City of Casey has the youngest age profile of all Melbourne LGAs, with young families moving into the area due to relatively affordable housing.
• 29% of Caseys population is aged under 18 compared to 23% in Metropolitan Melbourne.
• 65,000 (30%) of Casey residents were born overseas. The top 4 countries of origin are the United Kingdom (11,000 or 5%) and Sri Lanka, India, and New Zealand (Approximately 5,000 or 2% from each).
• 26% of employed Casey residents work within Casey, 20% work in Greater Dandenong, and 9% work in Monash.
• On the 2006 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (SEIFA) Casey is ranked 53 out of 78 LGAs in Victoria; this is 28 places lower in ranking since 2001, highlighting that the City of Casey has become significant more advantaged during this period. 

(3) Cardinia Shire

The Cardinia Shire is located on the south-east fringe of metropolitan Melbourne, unlike the majority of the LGAs encompassed in greater Melbourne; Cardinia has a large rural population giving it unique geographical features and service provision issues.

• The Cardinia Shire has by far the highest proportion of its citizens living in rural communities, while roughly one-third of the residents of Yarra Ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Hume live outside an urban centre.  This has major implications for Cardinia Shire residents ability to access the resources they need for their primary, secondary and tertiary health needs.     
• 29.8% of residents are under the age of 18 compared to 23% in Metropolitan Melbourne.  
• 7,980 (14% ) residents were born overseas, the top five areas of origin are United Kingdom, New Zealand, Netherlands, Germany and Italy
• The culturally and linguistically diverse and non-English speaking background communities are currently very small population groups in the Cardinia Shire.   

Population Projections

Over the next 10 years, the catchment areas of Casey and Cardinia are expected to be one of the fastest growing municipalities in Australia.  The highest population growth within the SEM ML catchment is expected within the City of Casey and Cardinia which is expected to increase by 121,069 (53%) and 57,288 (94%) people respectively between 2007 and 2021.  In contrast, the City of Greater Dandenong is expected to experience relatively more stable population growth levels but continues to have high rates of migrants and refugees.

FIGURE 1: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA PREDICTED GROWTH

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population 

The 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimated that there are nearly 2,000 indigenous persons in the south east growth area of Casey, Cardinia and the City of Greater Dandenong. The service demands of the Indigenous population are quite unique and comparisons of Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents across the catchment area reveal some major health disparities. In terms of life expectancy, the Indigenous population is significantly lower in comparison to the non-Indigenous people across the catchment area.  In 2008, the life expectancy of Indigenous males and females was 67.2 and 72.9 years respectively which is 11.5 years lower than non-Indigenous men and 9.7 years lower than non-Indigenous women .  Also aged adjusted rates of disability based on the findings of the 2006 Census show that 10.1% of Indigenous residents have a severe or profound disability which is almost twice the corresponding rate among the general population.  

In all three municipalities, 50.4% of the indigenous population are children and young persons under 20 years of age with only 11.7% of the Indigenous population aged 50 and over.  In contrast there is a progression towards a permanently higher proportion of older people in the non-Indigenous population. Therefore, services directed towards supporting the development of Indigenous children, adolescents and young families are essential.  

The challenges that confront health care providers in delivering services to many Indigenous people include those relating to cultural appropriateness, geographical isolation, English language proficiency and the greater need for assistance.   

Resettlement of Refugees

The South Eastern Melbourne Region is a major area for resettlement of refugees in Australia; approximately one in twelve refugees recently resettled in Australia come to live

in the cities of Greater Dandenong and Casey. Five per cent of the population within these two local government areas has arrived under contemporary refugee and humanitarian resettlement programs and in the 2009-10 financial year these cities resettled approximately 1,155 people from refugee backgrounds. 

Socioeconomic Disadvantage

There are pockets of high relative socioeconomic disadvantage across the South East: in Pakenham and Lang Lang in Cardinia; in Berwick, Cranbourne and Doveton in Casey; and across the whole of Greater Dandenong (which was the most disadvantaged area in the state of Victoria in 2001) (Care In Your Community South East Planning Trial Report 2006). In these areas disadvantage related disorders are higher and access to private health insurance low. Thus a corresponding increase in publicly funded health services is critical.

Accessing health care services both within and outside the catchment is a common difficulty for people living in Cardinia, Casey and Greater Dandenong. It is of particular concern in the more rural areas of Casey and Cardinia where public transport is limited.  Cardinia is classified RA1, with the exception of Bunyip which is RA2.  People can also face difficulty accessing services if they are frail, elderly, disabled, have unwell family or are unwell themselves and treatment options are located some distance from their homes. Service development will need to take account of geographical isolation and respond through the provision of an appropriate range of services in the local communities.

Demographics: City of Casey
These figures can be found at the City of Casey Website at 
www.casey.vic.gov.au/demographics

Demographics: Greater Dandenong
These figures can be found at the Greater Dandenong Website at 
Social Statsitics for the City of Greater Dandenong

Demographics: Cardinia Shire
Details can be found at Cardinia Shire Council
Shire Facts and Statistics

Department of Health and Ageing
Statistics

AIHW - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Australia's national agency for health and welfare statistics and information