1338.1 - NSW State and Regional Indicators, Dec 2008 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 20/01/2009   
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QUALITY DECLARATION - SUMMARY


INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) is produced by the New South Wales office of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The staff producing the publication have experience in the compilation of compendium publications (using both ABS and non-ABS data).

The development of NSRI was informed by consultations with users of both ABS and non-ABS statistics. Through this consultation, government agencies, academic researchers, businesses, community organisations and individual Australians have told the ABS what State and regional level data they would like compiled and how they would like it presented. The aim of this product is to provide a reference for discussion and decision-making by the government and the general community.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please follow the link to read about the ABS Institutional Environment.


RELEVANCE

NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) considers some of the key aspects and areas of interest to people in NSW and provides indicators and a brief summary of these. Indicators and commentary are presented in the following areas: population, family and community, health, education and training, work, household economic resources, housing, crime and justice, transport, economic activity and the environment.


TIMELINESS

As of the December 2008 issue, NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) is released quarterly with two or more chapters being updated each quarter. Chapters are updated with the most recently released data available and where possible and appropriate, presented as a time series. For those chapters not being updated in the most recent release, the ABS web site and the web sites of other organisations may provide more recent and/ or detailed statistics.


ACCURACY

The quality of data presented in NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) will vary based on the source of information. For example, Census and administrative data will be more reliable than survey estimates, and State level data more reliable than regional or smaller area data. All data included in this publication has been assessed to ensure it was fit and appropriate for publication and analysis.

ABS survey data is, when applicable, accompanied by annotations indicating the relative accuracy of the statistics. Other information relating to the accuracy or fitness for purpose of data (for both ABS and non-ABS data) can be found in the table footnotes/cell annotations. More detailed information on each collection or source can be found on the agency website or within the original publication, which are, where possible, linked in the datacubes.


COHERENCE

The selected content of NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) is reviewed each issue to ensure data is relevant and up to date. The December 2008 issue is the first time the publication brings together NSW State level and regional level data, along with articles on statistical events and news. Each chapter includes "Statistical Highlights" which provide analysis and graphs for selected indicators. This is supported by a summary table presenting a time series of key indicators, followed by more detailed statistics relating to issues identified within each topic.

NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) presents data on issues of importance to New South Wales and no systematic or comprehensive attempt has been made to compare New South Wales with other States. Administrative data presented in NSRI are sourced, in the main, from NSW State government agencies and, in these cases, are only available for NSW. However, all ABS data presented are available for other states and territories on request or in many cases, via published sources. Selected key publications utilised within NSRI are accessible through the Related Information tab.


INTERPRETABILITY

NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) contains a wide range of information on numerous topics. The information is sourced from multiple ABS collections as well as surveys and administrative datasets collected by non-ABS agencies. To help you understand and interpret these statistics the product contains:

  • analysis on selected core data tables
  • an extensive glossary of terms, including the source reference for each term
  • sources for each individual table and graph, and
  • a list of abbreviations and symbols.

    For more detailed explanatory information regarding any of the statistics in this publication, users should consult the referenced publication, legislation or agency.


    ACCESSIBILITY

    NSW State and Regional Indicators (NSRI) analysis and data cubes are accessible through the ABS website. General inquiries about the content and interpretation of the statistics in this publication should be addressed to Larissa Wharton on (02) 9268 4376. For all other inquiries please contact the National Information Referral Service on 1300 375 070.

    Links (or references) to source publications can be located within the datacubes. Links to related publications can be located within the Related Information tab.