1304.5 - Stats Talk WA (Newsletter), Mar 2008  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 26/03/2008   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

Need Some Help?
Services We Provide

ABS Information Consultancy
The WA Office of the ABS is able to provide a variety of consultancy services to meet your specific information and statistical needs. Our Information Service can give you access to all of the data collected by the ABS including demographic, social, health and environmental statistics, as well as a wide range of economic survey data.

Our trained information consultants can:
• assist you to identify the data required to meet your research, service delivery or policy development needs from a huge range of FREE data easily accessible from the ABS website.

•prepare customised tables and/or tailored reports, on a fee-for-service basis. Customised tables can be developed to provide data specific to your topic or geographic area. Tailored reports include additional detail such as graphs, commentary and/or maps, particularly useful when you need more descriptive data.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I’m not sure what data I need or if you even collect it. How can you help me?
A. Our experienced consultants will guide you through the range of products and services available. Many of these can be accessed free from the ABS website. We will discuss with you, in detail, how you are planning to use the data and whether outputs need to be customised to meet your individual needs.

Q. I’ve seen a table on your website that is just what I need, except ...
A. The ABS usually publishes only key features from many of its statistical collections. More data are often available on request. Contact one of our consultants to discuss our customised table service.

Q. I’m thinking of setting up a new business in Perth. Can the ABS help me decide where to locate my business by providing a profile of the population within a defined radius of each potential location?
A. Yes, the ABS collects a wealth of information on the demographic and social characteristics of the population in your target area including age, education, employment and income levels etc.

Q. Will I have to pay?
A. While there is a very large amount of free information on the ABS website, the ABS charges on a fee-for-service basis for statistics that are tailored to meet customer needs. Most quotes are provided free. Charges incurred apply primarily to the time taken to research your request, extract and manipulate the data, and for analysis of the data undertaken on your behalf.

For further information contact Mike Thomas on (08) 9360 5353.

ABS Outposting Service
Did you know that an ABS officer can come and work with your team to develop and implement solutions to meet your agency’s statistical needs?

An outposted officer is one of the best ways the ABS has to provide statistical support to agencies and other organisations. The officer’s work could involve assisting with specific survey and questionnaire design, developing a data resource specifically to meet the agency’s needs or identifying and documenting an agency’s data collection.

An outposting may also provide a basis for an agency to review its own statistical environment and develop statistical and analytical skills within their agency. Outpostings can also assist agencies to improve the use of administrative data for statistical outputs which potentially could lead to a wider range of regional level data.

For further information about ABS outpostings contact Wavne Rikkers on (08) 9360 5385.