Children’s Access to Essential Services Still Marked by Sharp Urban–Remote Divide, ABS Data Shows
Nearly half of Australia’s 4.6 million children aged 0–14 lived within 5 km of all essential services, including childcare, schools, hospitals and GPs in 2021.
According to new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today, there is a stark difference regarding access to essential services between major cities and regional, remote, and socio‑economically disadvantaged areas.
Children in Remote and Very Remote Australia were far more likely to live 20 km or more from essential services: 1.8% of children lived 20 km or more from a GP — a small proportion nationally, but heavily concentrated in remote regions. Access to childcare and OSHC showed similar patterns, with 10,142 children living 60 km or more from the nearest service.
ABS said that remoteness brings greater variation: some children live very close to services clustered in small communities, while others face extremely long travel distances.
37.1% of children living 20 km or more from a GP were in the most disadvantaged areas, compared with just 3.5% in the most advantaged.
Across the country, children were more likely to live near a government school than a non‑government one. Secondary school access followed similar trends, with 85.2% of young people aged 13–18 living within 5 km of a school.
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