Potential wellbeing metrics
Wellbeing metrics should provide high level information on how we are tracking in different areas. Ideally, they should be established and accepted so current measures can be compared with past trends and those of other relevant jurisdictions. The Government is seeking feedback on whether these example wellbeing metrics reflect what the community values and would like to see reported in the budget.
Table 1.10 - Potential wellbeing metrics
| Wellbeing theme |
Indicator | Metric | Why this is important |
Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy | Life expectancy | Life expectancy in years at birth, including by First Nations status, regional/metro and gender | Life expectancy provides a longitudinal view of overall health trends |
 |
| Healthy | Self-assessed health | Survey question on how an individual feels about their health | Self-assessed health reflects individuals' perceptions of their own heatlh |
|
| Skilled | Children who meet early childhood developmental domains | Percentage of children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains of the AEDC, by First Nations status | Assesses whether children starting their first year of school are developmentally on track, at risk or vulnerable |
|
| Skilled | Qualification attainment | Percentage of population with Year 12 or equivalent, or Certificate III and above | Education attainment is associated with positive employment outcomes |
|
| Skilled | Average Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) maths, science and reading scores | Student scores in maths, science and reading | Measures students’ literacy and numeracy against international standards |
|
| Prosperous | Gini coefficient | Ratio of income and wealth inequality across the population | A standard international measure of income and wealth inequality across the population |
 |
| Prosperous | Growth in real gross state product (GSP) per capita | Percentage change in GSP per person per year | Measures changes in the size of the NSW economy |
|
| Prosperous | Labour underutilisation rate | Percentage of people unemployed or underemployed | Measures the capacity in the labour market and whether people are working how they want to work |
|
| Housed | Housing costs (mortgage, rent, maintenance, etc) against gross income | Percentage of household income spent on housing | Helps us understand how much households are spending on housing |
|
| Housed | Home ownership | Percentage of an age cohort who own their own home | Home ownership is fundamental to secure housing |
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| Housed | Neighbourhood satisfaction | Percentage of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) survey respondents who are satisfied with their neighbourhood | Feelings about local communities and places |
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| Secure | Feeling of safety | Percentage of HILDA survey respondents who feel safe | General satisfaction with safety amongst the NSW public |
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| Secure | Disaster preparedness | Percentage of survey respondents who are prepared for disaster | Resilience of the community to disasters |
|
| Community | Feeling part of local community | Percentage of HILDA survey respondents who feel part of their local community | Feeling a sense of belonging captures people’s self-reported quality of social networks |
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| Community | Community volunteering | Percentage of HILDA survey respondents who allocate their time to volunteering | Community volunteering is essential for many community groups |
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| Connected | Customer satisfaction with NSW Government services | Percentage of people surveyed who reported satisfaction with their experience interacting with Government services | Identify gaps in levels of satisfaction in government services between service lines, and between targeted groups and the wider population |
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| Connected | Leisure time | Percentage of HILDA survey respondents who are satisfied with the amount of free time they have | Gauge people’s ability to allocate time as desired |
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| Sustainable | Air quality | The Clean Air Metric (CAM) benchmarks the annual PM2.5 exposure across the State against the national annual standard of 8 μg/m3 | Gives insight into air pollution in NSW, which impacts respiratory health |
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| Sustainable | Temperature anomalies | Deviation from average long-run temperature | Temperature is recognisable and relatable as well as acting as broad indicators of long-term environmental and climate trends |
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