1318.3 - Qld Stats, Jul 2008  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 21/07/2008   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

WHAT'S NEW AT ABS ...

NatStats08 Conference
Australian Social Trends
Personal Fraud
Environment News
Age Matters
Statistical Language
Changes to the ABS survey program
ABS release information
Queensland theme page



NATSTATS08 CONFERENCE FEATURES LEADING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENT POLICY ADVISORS

The inaugural NatStats08 conference is an opportunity to build stronger relationships between information providers, policy makers, opinion leaders and the community to better utilise information resources across the nation, supporting a culture increasingly reliant on evidence-based decision making.

An array of high profile policy and decision makers will be speaking at the conference including:

  • Professor Glyn Davis, Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and co-convenor of the 2020 Summit;
  • Dr Ken Henry, Secretary, Treasury Department;
  • Greg Bourne, CEO, World Wildlife Fund Australia; and
  • Enrico Giovannini, Chief Statistician, OECD.

See the NatStats08 website for the latest program information including the latest list of speakers.

The conference theme is "Working Together for an Informed Australian Society". The program will look at three main topic areas:
  • Informing the Nation - with sessions on Health, Education and Indigenous Australia;
  • Measuring Progress in Society - with sessions on Measuring Disadvantage, Inequality and Social Inclusion, Measuring Progress in Australia and Community and Local Indicators; and
  • Environmental Information for Informed Decisions - with sessions on Water, Natural Resource Management and Climate Change.

Early Bird Registration for NatStats08 is now open - for more information and to register on-line please visit the NatStats08 web site at http://www.nss.gov.au/natstats.

If you would like more information about the conference program please call Mark Lound on 02 6252 6325 or email him at inquiries@nss.gov.au.

Image: Australian Social Trends AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL TRENDS

The 14th edition of Australian Social Trends, 2007 (cat. no. 4102.0) was released on 1 July 2008. Australian Social Trends is an annual series that presents information on contemporary social issues and areas of public policy concern. By drawing primarily on a wide range of ABS statistics, and statistics from other official sources, Australian Social Trends describes aspects of Australian society, and how these are changing over time. It is designed to assist and encourage informed decision-making, and to be of value to a wide audience including those engaged in research, journalism, marketing, teaching and social policy, as well as anyone interested in how we live today and how we've changed over recent decades.

The material presented in Australian Social Trends 2007 is organised into nine chapters. As in previous editions, each of the first seven chapters represents a major area of social concern (i.e. population, family and community, health, education and training, work, economic resources, and housing), with an eighth chapter covering other areas of concern (e.g. crime and justice, culture and leisure, and the environment). The ninth chapter provides international comparisons for a number of these areas. Australian Social Trends 2007 also contains an introduction which is designed to further explain the rationale behind the publication and describe its main aims and features.

In this edition there are a number of articles focusing on fertility, maternity and babies (such as recent increases in Australia's fertility and maternity leave arrangements), as well as a number of articles presenting international comparisons of issues (such as fertility and labour force participation). The opportunity has been taken to present some articles which expand and update analysis of topics examined in previous editions using the most recently available data. For example, in this edition, such articles cover one-parent families, international students and wealth in housing. There are also articles on topics of interest not previously examined, such as overweight and obesity, trends in household consumption and women's experience of partner violence. The number of articles listed in the cumulative index now comes to over 400, published across all 14 editions.

The national and state summary tables which present key social indicators in each of the seven major areas of social concern have been updated. Each set of tables now includes a summary of key points and graphs for selected indicators. Also updated are the set of tables comparing Australia with major OECD countries, our closest neighbours, and our trading partners.

Image: Personal Fraud PERSONAL FRAUD

Personal Fraud, 2007 (cat. no. 4528.0) was released 27 June 2008. This publication presents results from the ABS Personal Fraud Survey, conducted throughout Australia during July to December 2007. This is the first national survey of personal fraud in Australia.

Personal fraud has been recognised as a crime type that is a growing threat to the community, as a result of the rapid expansion and availability of internet technology and the increase in electronic storage, transmission and sharing of data. This survey provides a national benchmark measure of the extent to which Australians were exposed to a range of personal frauds, whether they became a victim of a selected range of personal frauds and whether they incurred any financial loss as a result of being victimised.

Some selected results for Queensland are listed below.

In the 12 months prior to interview, 86,900 Queenslanders aged 15 years and over were the victim of identity fraud. The majority of identity fraud victims were a victim of credit or bank card fraud (72%). Over three-quarters (78%) of the 62,700 victims of credit or bank card fraud reported the incident.

Over 1.2 million Queenslanders aged 15 years and over were exposed to a scam in the 12 months prior to interview. Of those who received a fraudulent invitation or request, 5.4% (or 67,400 persons) became victims by responding to the scam by supplying information, money or both, or seeking more information.

Image: Environment News ENVIRONMENT NEWS

The sixth edition of Environment and Energy News (cat. no. 4653.0), the newsletter of the ABS Centre of Environment and Energy Statistics (CEES) was released 24 June 2008. Environment and Energy News is published twice a year, highlighting developments in environment and energy statistics particularly at the ABS. It includes topical articles and advice on recent and upcoming environment and energy releases.

Interested readers are also invited to visit the Environment and Energy theme page on the ABS website.

Image: Age Matters AGE MATTERS

The latest edition of Age Matters (cat. no. 4914.0.55.001) was released 27 June 2008. Age Matters is a newsletter about age related statistics. It includes topical articles and reviews of relevant ABS publications. Age Matters highlights developments in statistics on the ageing population, and other information of likely interest to ageing researchers and policy makers.

Interested readers are also invited to visit the Ageing theme page on the ABS website for links to ageing-relevant ABS datasets and other web sites.

Image: Statistical Language STATISTICAL LANGUAGE

Statistical Language! (cat. no. 1332.0.55.002) was released on 27 June 2008. Statistical Language! is an educational resource from the ABS designed to improve the reader's understanding of some fundamental statistical concepts. It is written in plain English for adults and aims to provide them with the basic statistical literacy skills to:
  • understand key statistical terminology;
  • facilitate access to the expanding level of statistical information presented to the public;
  • gain confidence with interpreting summarised information;
  • appreciate the importance of statistical information in today’s society; and,
  • make critical and informed use of data, whatever its source.

All these goals are at the heart of the ABS mission to assist informed decision-making in the Australian community.

Along with simple descriptions, this e-Magazine contains examples and diagrams to help users establish a basic understanding of the key statistical topics covered.

Image: Changes to the ABS Survey Program CHANGES TO THE ABS SURVEY PROGRAM

The ABS is facing a tight budget situation in 2008-09, which has led to a range of reductions in the ABS work program. The Australian Statistician, Brian Pink, has outlined a number of strategies to address the situation in the document Changes to the ABS survey program for 2008-09 on the ABS Website. Use the link to see what the implications are for the affected surveys or programs and how to get further information.

Changes to the Labour Force Survey

Detailed information on how the reduction in sample size will impact on the Labour Force Survey can be accessed from the document above or by going directly to Forthcoming Changes in Labour Force, Australia, Apr 2008 (cat. no. 6202.0).

Image: ABS Release Information ABS RELEASE INFORMATION

The ABS website provides the expected release details for all statistical products due for publication in the coming six months.

The web page 'Releases Scheduled for the Next Six Months' is revised on the ABS website at the beginning of each month. This six-month forecasting is intended to keep clients informed about products and when they will become available.

All ABS Core Statistical and Other Statistical publications that usually have a catalogue number will be detailed as well as prominent non-statistical publications such as the ABS Annual Report and Australian Statistics Advisory Council Annual Report.

Access 'Releases Scheduled for the Next Six Months' from the ABS Home page via 'Future Releases' or use this link.

Information on all ABS product releases can also be accessed from ABS Release Advice. This web page also provides links to Previous Releases, Releases Scheduled for the Next Six Months and Main Economic Indicator Releases.

Image: Queensland Theme Page QUEENSLAND THEME PAGE

This page provides access to Queensland statistical information including statistical releases and links to non-ABS sources. A wide range of economic and social statistics is covered.