Definition: Rural and Remote Families.     READ, DISCUSS, NOTETAKE 

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, rural families are those that live in geographic areas located outside major towns and cities. Remote families are commonly associated with mining, farming, remote Aboriginal communities and very low population densities. Remote also implies distance from neighbours, large towns and cities, good and services and the facilities offered by large towns and cities.

Prevalence:

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2022, 28% of the Australian population live in rural and remote areas. This equates to 7 million people with 2.3% of these people live in very remote areas.

Why are they a group in context?

They are a unique group because of their geographic isolation, social distancing and lack of facilities and opportunities that urban families can experience.

Individual diversity:

According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies (2011), families living in rural and remote areas are more likely to be indigenous and live in a multi family household. They have a lower life expectancy and more long term health conditions. There is no one single type of rural community. Often young people will move to a city for education and employment and many older Australians leave cities on retirement for a quieter and slower lifestyle, thus leaving a higher population of older people. LGBTQIA+ individuals may feel isolated and discriminated against if living in rural communities 

Student Activity 2: 

a. How would you describe rural and remote families? Try and come up with your own definition.

b. What determines whether an individual is part of this group? What do they have in common?

c. How might individuals vary within the group?

d. Create a table in your books identifying positive and negative terminology used to describe rural and remote families.