3238.0.55.003 - Information Paper: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Demographic Statistics Work Program and Release Plans, Apr 2012  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/04/2012  First Issue
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Components of Population Change


Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Births

ABS births data are released around October each year in Births, Australia (cat. no. 3301.0). This annual publication provides details on numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander birth registrations and births to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers, as well as total fertility rates and age-specific fertility rates by Indigenous status. It also provides information on characteristics of parents of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births, such as the Indigenous status, nuptuality and age of parents. Data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births are available at the national level and by state and territory.

This publication primarily reports births on a year of registration basis, due to year of registration data being complete for each calendar year. It also includes information on registration lags. Registration lag is the interval between the occurrence of the birth and the registration with the relevant state or territory Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. As a result of increased demand for births statistics by occurrence, ABS is currently seeking stakeholder feedback regarding the basis for reporting birth registrations statistics through established stakeholder forums.

The ABS will be reducing the amount of analytical commentary in the Births, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 3301.0) publication from October 2012. The datacubes will retain the same level of detail as was published in Births, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3301.0).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Deaths

ABS deaths data are released around November each year in Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3302.0). This annual publication contains information on a variety of mortality indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians including death counts, age at death, age specific death rates, median age at death, infant mortality rates and life expectancy at birth. While numbers of deaths are available for all states and territories, further disaggregation is released for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Disaggregated data for Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are not reported due to small numbers of registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths each year.

As for births, this publication primarily reports deaths on a year of registration basis, due to year of registration data being complete for each calendar year. It also includes information reported on registration lags as with ABS birth statistics. As a result of increased demand for deaths data by occurrence, ABS is currently seeking stakeholder feedback regarding the basis for reporting death registrations statistics through established stakeholder forums.

The ABS will be reducing the analytical commentary in the Deaths, Australia 2011 (cat. no. 3302.0) publication from November 2012. The datacubes will retain the same level of detail as was published in Deaths, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3302.0).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Migration

Data on the migration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within Australia is derived from the five-yearly Census of Population and Housing by comparing current place of usual residence with responses to questions on where the person lived one and five years ago.

Information about the mobility patterns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will be published in Population Characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2011 (cat. no. 4713.0), due for release in mid 2013, and a future update of The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (cat. no. 4704.0).