FEATURE ABS RELEASES
Publications
ABS introduces new Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (cat. no. 6467.0)
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides a general measure of changes in prices of consumer goods and services purchased by Australian households and is used for a variety of purposes, such as in the development and analysis of government economic policy, the adjustment of some government benefits, and individual contracts.
The Pension Review Report completed in February 2009 concluded that an alternative measure of price change more fully responsive to changes in pensioners' purchasing power would be appropriate.
The government has funded the ABS to produce a new index that more specifically reflects changes in the living costs of pensioners and other households receiving income support from the government. In the 2009-10 Budget, the government has indicated that is will use this new index, the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI), to index base pension rates where it is higher than the CPI.
The ABS will progressively improve the index to better reflect the price changes experienced by pensioners and beneficiaries and will publish the PBLCI quarterly.
In this first issue, the PBLCI showed a 0.1% increase in prices compared with the 0.5% increase reported in the CPI for the June quarter 2009. The PBLCI showed a 0.9% increase for the March quarter 2009, compared with the 0.1% increase for the CPI.
Further information, including how the PBLCI is calculated and its relationship to the CPI, is available in the Information Paper: Introduction of the Pensioner Cost Living Index (PBLCI) (cat. no. 6466.0)
Other Information
The possibilities are endless with Census TableBuilder
TableBuilder is a new and innovative online tool which allows you to create your own custom tables of Census data including person, family and dwelling classifications. All person, family and dwelling data in TableBuilder is available by Place of Enumeration (location on Census night); person data is also available by Place of Usual Residence and Place of Work.
TableBuilder's large table function makes creating tables with up to five million cells of Census data a breeze!
Who would benefit from using TableBuilder?
TableBuilder is a product aimed at clients with a high level of experience in Census data concepts, who have the need for customised Census data on a regular basis.
Which geographic areas are available in TableBuilder?
All main Australian Standard Geographic Classification and Census specific geographies are available in TableBuilder. You can access data for areas as small as a Collection District (approximately 225 households) or as large as an entire state or territory or all of Australia. TableBuilder also allows you to customise your own geographic areas. Mesh Block data will not be available in TableBuilder.
What format is the data available in?
Tables build in TableBuilder can be exported in either CSV or Excel format. Maps and graphs can be exported in either PDF or PNG format. Tables can also be saved within the product so they can be retrieved in future sessions.
Pricing
TableBuilder is available exclusively by subscription. Access to the 2006 Census is at a cost of $1,655.00 inclusive of GST per licence, which are issued to individuals. This price includes helpline support and an online training package. To subscribe, go to www.abs.gov.au.tablebuilder or phone the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 between 8:00am and 4:30pm (SA time), Monday to Friday. Please note that all TableBuilder subscribers will be asked to complete an undertaking form outlining obligations when using TableBuilder.
Introduction of revised standards in ABS economic statistics in 2009 and their impact on ABS data.
In September quarter 2009, ABS economic statistics will undergo the largest single change in over a decade. The ABS will be aligning all of our sub annual collections and National Accounts with recently updated international standards. There will be changes to many of the concepts output in ABS publications, the structure of industry and the coverage of our collections.
The revised standards (ANZSIC 2006, SESCA 2008, SNA Rev1 and BPM5) affect all ABS economic collections and any labour force and social collections that publish on an industry basis, including:
- National Accounts
- International Accounts and Trade
- Economic Indicators
- Labour statistics
- Retail statistics
- Business Characteristics, R & D and IT statistics
- Mining, Manufacturing and Building statistics
- Agriculture statistics
- ABS Price Indexes
- Services Industry statistics
For a complete list of ANZSIC related publications and release details see Chapter 6 of
Information Paper: Update on ANZSIC 2006 Implementation, Australia, 2008 (cat. no. 1295.0.55.001).
Community Indicators Summit - video presentations now available
The Community Indicators Summit held in Brisbane in July 2009 provided a unique opportunity for over 150 attendees to share learnings, exchange ideas and strategies and report on advancements in the field of community indicators in Australia and internationally.
The video presentations from the Summit are now available from the
NSS website
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