Lost in translation? Remote Indigenous households and definitions of the family – AIFS

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This paper examines some of the issues with the current Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) definition of ‘family’. Using case examples and family trees, this paper explores Aboriginal family and kinship systems in relation to the ABS national Census. The paper discusses the implications of the assumptions made in the application of the national Census and highlights some of the difficulties faced by Aboriginal people when filling out the Census form.