Indicator Rationale
Social infrastructure addresses social service needs across the lifespan that are largely government funded and provides essential societal resources that support wellbeing. Social infrastructure includes community and individual support services and resources such as health, education, early childhood, community support, community development, culture, sport and recreation, parks and emergency services. The provision of well-planned social infrastructure supports the liveability of communities by promoting walking and community social interaction. Similarly, it is associated with people’s improved physical and mental health and their increased satisfaction with the area in which they live.
Relevant Sustainable Development Goals
Measures
Social Infrastructure Index with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 16.
Health Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to Residential aged care facilities, Dentists, General Practitioners, Pharmacies, Community Health Centres and Maternal child and family health centres, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 6.
Education Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to Childcare, Out of hours school care, Government primary schools and Government secondary schools, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 4.
Community and Sport Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to Community centres, Public swimming pools and Sports facilities with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 3.
Cultural Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to museum/art galleries, cinemas/theatres and libraries with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 3.
Average distance to closest GP clinic is related to the Social Infrastructure Index and provides the average distance to the nearest General Practitioner clinic.
Average distance to closest GP clinic with bulk-billing is related to the Social Infrastructure Index and provides the average distance to the nearest General Practitioner clinic offering a Medicare bulk-billing payment system where a patient has no out-of- pocket expenses.
Average distance to closest playground
Methodology
The Social Infrastructure Index and subdomains are calculated based on a range of different measures that include: Community Centres; Culture and Leisure; Early Years; Education; Health and Social Services; and Sport and Recreation. They include 16 individual service types and are based on the presence of service mix within threshold distances detailed in the table below.
| Measure | Destination | Distance Threshold (m) |
| Community Centres | Community centres | 1000 |
| Culture & Leisure | Museum/Art gallery | 3200 |
| Cinema/Theatre | 3200 | |
| Libraries | 1000 | |
| Early Years | Childcare | 800 |
| Out of school hours care | 1600 | |
| Education | Government primary schools | 1600 |
| Government secondary schools | 1600 | |
| Health and Social Services | Residential aged care facilities | 1000 |
| Dentists | 1000 | |
| General practitioners (GP) | 1000 | |
| Maternal, child and family health centers | 1000 | |
| Other community health care centers | 1000 | |
| Pharmacies | 1000 | |
| Sport and Recreation | Public swimming pools | 1200 |
| Sports facilities | 1000 |
Binary indicators were used to record the presence (=1) or absence (=0) for the 16 types of social infrastructure destinations. The Social Infrastructure Index represents a social infrastructure mix score created by summing the 16 binary indicators for each participant. Score for the Social Infrastructure Index range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 16 if all types are present.