2902.0 - Census Update (Newsletter), Apr 1998  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/04/1998   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

Household Characteristics

The Household Sample File (HSF) is a comprehensive file of 1996 Census household data formed from a one per cent sample of private dwellings, with their associated family and person records, and a one per cent sample of persons from all non-private dwellings. It is anticipated the data will be released in June 1998 and will cover a number of geographic regions within Australia enabling analysis on both national and smaller area levels.

The data are hierarchically structured and comprise a range of variables for Dwellings, Families and Persons including:

      Dwellings
      dwelling type, household income, number of bedrooms, housing loan repayment, rent and the number of motor vehicles.

      Families
      family type, number of dependent children, family income, location of spouse and the number of persons temporarily absent.

      Persons
      sex, age, birthplace of person, mother and father, language, age left school, labour force status, qualifications, industry, occupation, usual residence indicators and religion.
      The HSF has many potential uses for organisations from the research, marketing, real estate, building, banking and finance industries as well as those from the government sector. These potential uses include comprehensive cross-tabulation of variables meeting specified criteria, a wide spectrum of demographic subject matter research, target marketing, regression analysis and data modelling.

      The flat text file output format ensures that the HSF is compatible with virtually any software package preferred by users.

      For more information on the Household Sample File contact your nearest ABS office.