Households
Family blending
About this topic
Family blending classifies couple families with children according to whether the children are shared by both partners, from a previous relationship, or a mix of both. It applies only to couple families with children, not to all family types or all households.
This topic can help show patterns of repartnering and family complexity within an area. It should be interpreted with household type and households with children, because it is a specialised family-structure measure rather than a summary of all families.
Interpretation notes
- This derived family view applies only to couple families with children, not all families or all households.
- It classifies whether children are shared, step, or blended within the couple family, so it should not be compared directly with headline household totals.
Key insight
In 2021, intact families was the most common family type among couple families with children in Lake Macquarie (C), accounting for 83.5% (20,547 families). This share was higher than Regional NSW (83.2%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in step families, which increased by 898 families and 3.2 percentage points.
Section overview
Family blending
Lake Macquarie (C) - Total couples with children (Enumerated)
This table summarises family blending for Lake Macquarie (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.
Family blending snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Lake Macquarie (C), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.
Intact Family
2021 count
20,547
% of total
83.5%
Change from 2016
-3.1pp
20,547
83.5%
-3.1pp
Step family
2021 count
2,776
% of total
11.3%
Change from 2016
+3.2pp
2,776
11.3%
+3.2pp
Blended family
2021 count
1,099
% of total
4.5%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
1,099
4.5%
-0.1pp
Other couple family
2021 count
183
% of total
0.7%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
183
0.7%
0.0pp
Chart view
Family blending change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Intact Family
+557
-3.1pp
Step family
+898
+3.2pp
Blended family
+36
-0.1pp
Other couple family
+14
0.0pp
Data table
Family blending for Lake Macquarie (C). Family blending. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | % | Regional NSW% | Count | pp | |
| Intact Family | 20,547 | 83.5% | 83.2% | 19,990 | 86.6% | 86.8% | +557 | -3.1pp |
| Step family | 2,776 | 11.3% | 11.1% | 1,878 | 8.1% | 7.4% | +898 | +3.2pp |
| Blended family | 1,099 | 4.5% | 4.8% | 1,063 | 4.6% | 4.9% | +36 | -0.1pp |
| Other couple family | 183 | 0.7% | 0.9% | 169 | 0.7% | 0.9% | +14 | 0.0pp |
| Total couples with children | 24,611 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 23,096 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +1,515 | 0.0pp |