INTRODUCTION
This publication describes five summary measures, or indexes, derived from the 1996 Census of Population and Housing to measure different aspects of socio-economic conditions by geographic areas.
The 1996 Population Census provides information on a broad range of social and economic aspects of the Australian population. Nearly fifty questions of social and economic interest are asked in the Census. People using Census data are often interested not just in these items taken one at a time, but in an overview or summary of a number of related items. Statistical techniques can be used to provide such summaries and the indexes presented in this publication are one type of measure.
A measure of socio-economic disadvantage was first produced by the ABS from the 1971 Census. The Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), in their present form, were first produced in 1990 and consisted of five indexes formed from the 1986 Census data. In 1994, five indexes were produced from the 1991 Census data using essentially the same methodology as in 1990. They have now been constructed from the 1996 Census using essentially the same methodology once again.
This information paper describes the indexes and illustrates their possible uses. The approach for the construction of the indexes is outlined with a discussion of the limitations concerning their use. The socio-economic indexes which are available are described, and information is provided on how they can be obtained.
