Using data collected in the Survey of Income and Housing, this publication provides indicators of the level and distribution of after-tax (or disposable) household income, after adjusting for household size and composition.

The estimates of disposable income in this publication are derived by deducting estimates of income tax liability, the Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge from the gross income data collected in the Survey of Income and Housing. Gross income is defined as receipts available for, or intended to support, current consumption.

While income is usually received by individuals, it is normally shared between partners in a couple relationship and with dependent children. To a lesser degree, there may be sharing with other members of the household. Even when there is no transfer of income between members of a household, nor provision of free or cheap accommodation, members are still likely to benefit from the economies of scale that arise from the sharing of dwellings. The income measures shown in this publication therefore relate to household income.

Larger households normally require a greater level of income to maintain the same material standard of living as smaller households, and the needs of adults are normally greater than the needs of children. The income estimates are therefore adjusted by equivalence factors to standardise the income estimates with respect to household size and composition, while taking into account the economies of scale that arise from the sharing of dwellings. The equivalised disposable income estimate for any household in this publication is expressed as the amount of disposable cash income that a single person household would require to maintain the same standard of living as the household in question, regardless of the size or composition of the latter.

• Reports on this publication appeared in The Age (0) and The Australian (0)