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(see sections 11.1 and 11.2) are the main factors that contribute to the incomedisparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.Gross weekly equivalised household incomeThe measure used in this Report for household income is gross weekly equivalisedhousehold (GWEH) income (box 3.6.2). GWEH income calculated for Indigenouspeople, while adjusting for household size and composition to some extent, may notreflect adequately the household circumstances of Indigenous people, and the dataneed to be considered with this in mind. For example, Daly and Smith (1995), Gray(1990), and Hunter, Kennedy and Smith (2003) have found that there are substantialdifferences in family size and composition (structure) between Indigenoushouseholds and non-Indigenous households. Compared to non-Indigenoushouseholds:• Indigenous people are more likely to live in larger households with largenumbers of dependants and smaller incomes.• Indigenous households are more likely to extend over generations.• High Indigenous adult mortality can impact upon household livingarrangements.• Indigenous people are substantially more likely to live in single parenthouseholds.• Indigenous people, especially those living outside the cities, may live inhouseholds with resource commitments to their extended families livingelsewhere.• Indigenous households tend to have a large number of visitors, who may not beaccounted for in a data collection that takes a snapshot on a particular day.Section 10.3 (Overcrowding in housing) provides more information on the housingand living arrangements of Indigenous people and differences between Indigenousand non-Indigenous households.While equivalised household income is the generally preferred measure for theanalysis of people’s income, the different concepts and structures of householdswhere Indigenous people live compared with those where no Indigenous people livecan result in income measurement that is not fully reflective of the circumstancesfor Indigenous household incomes (Hunter, Kennedy and Smith, 2003).58 OVERCOMINGINDIGENOUSDISADVANTAGE 2007