4602.0.55.003 - Environmental Issues: Water use and Conservation, Mar 2013 
Quality Declaration
Quality Declaration ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/10/2013
Page tools:
 Print Page
 Print All
| ||
|
EXPLANATORY NOTES
5 This supplementary survey was conducted in urban, rural, remote and very remote areas in all states and territories of Australia, except indigenous communities in ICF CDs. This is the first time the survey has excluded households in ICF CDs from its estimates, namely in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. This exclusion has minimal impact on Australian level estimates. However, it could have an impact on Northern Territory estimates, as around 10% of Northern Territory households that were previously included are now excluded. Most of the ICF CDs are located in very remote areas of Australia. COVERAGE 6 The survey's coverage was households in urban, rural, remote and very remote areas in all states and territories of Australia, excluding households in ICF CDs. DATA COLLECTION 7 The sample for the WUC Survey was approximately 16,500 households. After taking into account sample loss, the response rate for the survey was 89%. In total, information was collected from 12,997 fully responding households for the March 2013 survey. 8 Information was collected through interviews conducted over a two-week period during March 2013. Information was collected from any responsible adult in the household who was asked to respond on behalf of the household. ESTIMATION METHOD Weighting 9 Weighting is the process of adjusting results from a sample survey to infer results for the total population. To do this, a 'weight' is allocated to each enumerated household. The weight is a value which indicates how many households in the population are represented by the sample household. 10 The first step in calculating weights for each unit is to assign an initial weight, which is the inverse of the probability of the unit being selected in the survey. For example, if the probability of a household being selected in the survey was 1 in 700, then the household would have an initial weight of 700 (that is, it represents 700 households). Benchmarks 11 The initial weights are then calibrated to align with independent estimates of the population, referred to as benchmarks. The population included in the benchmarks is the survey scope. This calibration process ensures that the weighted data conform to the independently estimated distribution of the population described by the benchmarks rather than to the distribution within the sample itself. Calibration to population benchmarks helps to compensate for over or under-enumeration of particular categories of households which may occur due to either the random nature of sampling or non-response. 12 The survey uses estimated resident population (ERP) based household benchmarks for each state and territory of Australia, as at 31 March 2013. Estimation 13 Survey estimates of household counts are obtained by summing the weights of households with the characteristic of interest. RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES 14 Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors:
DATA QUALITY 15 Information recorded in this survey is essentially ‘as reported’ by respondents and hence may differ from that which might be obtained from other sources or via other methodologies. This factor should be considered when interpreting the estimates in this publication. DATA COMPARABILITY 16 Data from the 2013 WUC Survey is released under the title Environmental Issues: Water Use and Conservation, 2013 (cat. no. 4602.0.55.003). Data from the 2010 WUC Survey is released under the title Environmental Issues: Water Use and Conservation, 2010 (cat. no. 4602.0.55.003). 17 Prior to 2008, the annual publication Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices (cat. no. 4602.0) focussed on one of three rotating topics each year: Water Use and Conservation, Energy Use and Conservation, and Waste Management, Transport and Motor Vehicle Usage. 18 The ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability of estimates over time by minimising changes to its surveys. Sound survey practice however, requires ongoing review to maintain the integrity of the data. A few changes were made to the survey between 2010 and 2013. Significant changes, are outlined below. The following data items are not comparable due to changes to collection methodology:
CLASSIFICATIONS 19 Remoteness areas and Dissemination regions are classified according to the Statistical Geography Volume 1 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Jul 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 20 ABS surveys draw extensively on information provided by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated and without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905. NEXT SURVEY 21 The ABS plans to conduct this survey again in March 2016. RELATED PUBLICATIONS 22 Users may also wish to refer to the following ABS publications:
KEY REFERENCES 23 Further key references on water use and conservation can be found through the following web sites:
DATA CUBE TABLES 24 All tables in this publication are also available in a Data Cube (spreadsheet format). For a complete list of tables in the Data Cube, please refer to the contents page of the spreadsheet. DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST 25 In addition to the statistics provided in this publication and the Data Cubes, the ABS may have other relevant data available on request. Subject to confidentiality and sampling variability constraints, additional tabulations may be produced from the survey. All inquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
|
|