4906.0.55.003 - Personal Safety Survey, Australia: User Guide, 2016  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/11/2017   
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RESPONSE RATES

The 2016 PSS had a total sample of 36,495 households. Of these, 7,074 households were pre-assigned as part of the male sample and 29,421 households were pre-assigned as part of the female sample. These gendered samples were subject to change depending upon whether there was someone of the pre-assigned gender in the household (for more details on the requirement for pre-assigned genders, refer to the Sample Design section in the Methodology page of this User Guide).

After removing sample loss of 15.2% (households where residents were out of scope of the survey and where dwellings proved to be vacant, under construction or derelict), a final sample of 30,933 eligible dwellings were identified.

From these 30,933 eligible dwellings, a final response rate of 68.7% was achieved for the 2016 PSS with 21,242 persons completing the survey questionnaire nationally. The response comprised 5,653 fully responding males and 15,589 fully responding females.

A fully responding household is one in which all parts of the interview were completed for the selected respondent. Households where all compulsory parts of the interview were completed were classified as adequate complete, however they were not included as part of the final file. For more details on what was included in the compulsory section, refer to the Survey Content page of this User Guide.

RESPONSE RATES, Personal Safety Survey, 2016
Number of households
no		Proportion of households
%
Selected households (actual sample approached)(a)
36 495
100.0
Total sample loss(b)
5 562
15.2
Selected households after sample loss
30 933
84.8
Responding households
30 933
100.0
Selected households after sample loss
Fully responding households
21 242
68.7
Non-fully responding households
Adequate Complete(c)
Part Response(d)
3 756
272
12.1
0.9
Non Response(e)
4 433
14.3
Refusal(f)
1 230
4.0
Total non-fully responding households
9 691
31.3
(a) Total Households Approached = (FR Hhlds + Part Response + Non Response + Refusal + Sample loss)
(b) Sample loss = (Out on Scope + Vacant Dwelling + Vacant Holiday Home + Dwelling Converted to Non-Dwelling + Derelict Dwelling + Dwelling Demolished + Dwelling Under Construction + Dwelling Listed in Error + URs Away all Enumeration Period + URs Too Young)
(c) Adequate Complete = Persons who opted out from any point after the designated opt-out point and Proxy interviews.
(d) Part Response = (Part Non-Contact + Part Language + Part Death/Illness)
(e) Non Response = (Full Non-Contact + Full Language Problems + Full Death/Illness + Contact without Data + Sec Building Non Contact + Nat Disaster Non Response + Hhld Not Approached + OHS + Other)
(f) Refusal = (Full Refusal + Part Refusal)


PSS 2016, APPROACHED SAMPLE, FINAL SAMPLE AND RESPONSE RATES

NSW
Vic
Qld
SA
WA
Tas
NT
ACT
Aust.
Households approached (after sample loss)
5 162
5 029
4 628
3 241
3 511
3 137
3 470
2 755
30 933
Households in fully responding (FR) sample
3 435
3 274
3 285
2 238
2 541
2 449
2 049
1 971
21 242
Response rate (%)
66.5
65.1
71.0
69.0
72.4
78.1
59.0
71.5
68.7
Males in FR sample
1 543
1 208
948
411
487
424
349
283
5 653
Pre-assigned male
1 280
917
573
111
179
50
31
22
3 163
'Flipped' male(a)
263
291
375
300
308
374
318
261
2 490
Females in FR sample
1 892
2 066
2 337
1 827
2 054
2 025
1 700
1 688
15 589
Pre-assigned female
1 564
1 825
2 185
1 784
2 007
2 001
1 689
1 676
14 731
'Flipped female(a)
328
241
152
43
47
24
11
12
858
(a) ‘Flipped’ sample come from households which were originally assigned the opposite gender for selection. As such, these households comprise persons aged 18 years and over of the one gender. For more details, see the Methodology page of this User Guide.

The 2016 PSS introduced the option of a Computer Assisted Self Interview (CASI) for the voluntary component of the survey. The CASI gave the respondent the option to complete that section of the survey directly and privately on the interviewer laptop. For respondents who were not comfortable with completing a CASI, the option for the interview to continue as a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI – or interviewer conducted interview) was available. For more details, see the Survey Development and Data Collection page of this User Guide.

In total, 11,478 respondents (54%) chose to continue the survey as a CASI, while the other 9,764 respondents (46%) chose to proceed with the CAPI. The following table presents the characteristics of respondents by the interview mode utilised.

PSS 2016, CASI and CAPI uptake rates by selected characteristics

No.
CASI %
No.
CAPI %
Total
Male
2 870
50.8
2 783
49.2
5 653
Female
8 608
55.2
6 981
44.8
15 589
18-44
6 480
69.5
2 840
30.5
9 320
45-64
3 783
51.2
3 599
48.8
7 382
65-99
1 215
26.8
3 325
73.2
4 540
NSW
1 561
45.4
1 874
54.6
3 435
VIC
1 918
58.6
1 356
41.4
3 274
QLD
2 096
63.8
1 189
36.2
3 285
SA
1 340
59.9
898
40.1
2 238
WA
1 364
53.7
1 177
46.3
2 541
TAS
829
33.9
1 620
66.1
2 449
NT
1 072
52.3
977
47.7
2 049
ACT
1 298
65.9
673
34.1
1 971
Australian born
7 659
53.1
7 021
46.9
14 980
English speaking country(a)
1 351
51.8
1 258
48.2
2 609
Non-English speaking country
2 168
59.3
1 485
40.7
3 653
Total response
11478
54.0
9 764
46.0
21 242
(a) Includes Canada, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America

Due to the procedures used for collecting data for the PSS, particularly regarding the requirement for a private interview with the respondent, there are some groups which are under-represented in the survey. The table presented below identifies the characteristics of fully responding (21,242) and adequate complete/part responding (3,776) respondents.

PSS 2016, Response status by selected characteristics

Fully Responding
(%)
Part Responding(a) (%)
Total (%)
Fully Responding (%)
Part Responding(a) (%)
Total (%)
Disability Status
Profound
1.6
7.3
2.5
55.0
45.0
100.0
Severe
3.0
5.5
3.3
75.3
24.7
100.0
Moderate
6.8
7.8
7.0
83.1
16.9
100.0
Mild
8.6
12.8
9.2
79.0
21.0
100.0
Schooling/employment restriction only
2.9
3.0
2.9
84.5
15.5
100.0
No limitation or specific restriction
10.6
8.2
10.2
87.9
12.1
100.0
No disability or long-term health condition
66.6
55.4
65.0
77.1
12.9
100.0
Proficiency in Spoken English
Very well
11.0
11.3
11.0
84.6
15.4
100.0
Well
6.2
10.8
6.9
76.5
23.5
100.0
Not well
1.2
13.0
3.0
34.3
65.7
100.0
Not at all
0.0
2.8
0.5
7.1
92.9
100.0
Mainly speaks English at home
81.5
62.1
78.6
88.1
11.9
100.0
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Born in Australia
70.5
55.4
68.2
87.7
12.3
100.0
'Main English-speaking Countries'
12.3
8.9
11.8
88.6
11.4
100.0
Born in other Country
17.2
35.7
20.0
73.0
27.0
100.0
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
85.0
15.0
100.0
(a) Includes Adequate Complete and respondents who completed at least the Disability module.

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