Australia's 'FIFO ghosts' a growing problem on census night

Topic:Census

Fly-in, fly-out workers arrive at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport.

In short:

A lobby group is pushing for the census to better capture data around fly-in fly-out workers.

The Australian Mining Cities Alliance has six local governments.

What's next?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will begin releasing the data gathered on census night next year.

Mining communities fear the count will fail to capture the nation's growing fly-in fly-out workforce.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder is experiencing one of the biggest booms in its history.

An aerial view of Kalgoorlie's Super Pit gold mine.

The rise in FIFO work practices has been dramatic at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport.

Mayor Glenn Wilson has made regular use of the airport to lobby for changes to the census.

What we've done is to make sure our ghost populations are included, said Mayor Glenn Wilson.

We have a baseline population, and then with the mining activities, those populations increase.

He chairs the Australian Mining Cities Alliance, which has several members.

Glenn Wilson is concerned ghost populations are not being included in the data.

FIFO boom at airport

When the first national census was held in 1911, the population of Kalgoorlie and Boulder was estimated at 19,605.

That grew to 29,306 as of the 2021 Census.

According to the latest ABS data, Kalgoorlie-Boulder's population was 31,268 at June 30 last year.

An aerial view of the Kalgoorlie CBD.

Mr Wilson estimates there could be as many as 10,000 FIFO workers in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

We know since the last census there's been more dwellings built in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Why is it important? Because funding opportunities rely on up-to-date population figures.

An increase in population gives us more opportunity to get more funding.

Passengers line up for security screening at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport was built for 100,000 passenger movements a year.

City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder figures show there were 562,710 passenger movements in the 12 months to June 30.

Based on the airport figures, I am very optimistic we're going to see a population increase, said Mr Wilson.

FIFO workers on the tarmac at Karratha Airport.

Similar concerns in Pilbara

The FIFO workforce has been a long-term feature of the iron ore heartland of WA's Pilbara.

But Regional Development Australia's Pilbara chief executive Daiva Gillam said infrastructure was struggling.

I'm going to give you a real-world example, she said.

The Shire of East Pilbara in Newman are spending over $50 million to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant.

For every person in Newman that lives there, there are up to three FIFOs all flushing the toilet.

The infrastructure is not built to cope, but those workers aren't usually counted in the Pilbara.

Newman sits in WA's east Pilbara region.

Robert Powell is on a two and one roster, working two weeks in Port Hedland.

Despite spending more time up north, he will list his Perth home as his primary residence.

Home is home, work is work, and it needs to be reflected that way in the census, he said.

It's, to me, no different to saying I live in Armadale and work in Welshpool.

He suggested adding more questions to the census would help properly account for the FIFO workforce.

Workers leave a FIFO flight at Karratha Airport.

How are FIFO workers counted?

Census spokesperson Emily Walter said FIFO workers were similar to seasonal farm workers.

She said the ABS had employed a dedicated team to coordinate with mine sites.

The census creates a snapshot at a point in time, like taking a photograph, she said.

FIFO workers are often in a location for several days or weeks at a time.

If they are spending more than six months of the year at the location where they work, then they need to use that as their usual residence.

That 'usual residence' concept is something that is really important for how we understand the data.

A matter of 'belonging'

Organisational psychiatrist Cheryl Yam said the question ran deeper than data for affected FIFO workers.

The question isn't simply 'where do I sleep most nights?' It's more where do I belong?

Cities like Kalgoorlie previously relied on a chiefly residential workforce, but the FIFO population is growing.

The camp really isn't necessarily home, but it's also more than just a workplace.

Dr Yam said workers often felt the remote camp was where they stayed and home being where they lived.

Officials understand the sentiment, but say the workforce and infrastructure pressures across regional Australia meant every worker needed to be accurately counted.

In keeping with that growth theme, Ms Gillam said it was vital for regional areas that every worker was counted.

Nobody wants to say that they live where they work, she said.

But for the purpose of the census only, if you're here for six months, yeah, this is where you live.

The census data is scheduled to be released in June 2027.

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