1100.2 - Statistics Victoria, Sep 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 14/10/2009   
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Recent releases


Selected releases

3101.0 Australian Demographic Statistics, Mar 2009. Released 22/09/2009

Australia's population increased by 2.1% for the year ending March 2009, compared with a 1.2% annual growth rate five years ago. The last time Australia saw higher growth rates was in the 1950's and 1960's as a result of post war migration and high birth rates.

At 31 March 2009, Australia's population had increased by 439,100 people over the year to 21,779,000 people. Australia's net overseas migration contributed more than half of this growth: 63% or 278,200 people. Natural increase (excess of births over deaths) contributed 160,800 (37%).

In the same period, Western Australia (3.1%) recorded the fastest population growth, followed by Queensland (2.6%), Northern Territory (2.2%), Victoria (2.1%), Australian Capital Territory (1.8%), New South Wales (1.6%), South Australia (1.2%) and Tasmania (1.0%).

Queensland (20,000) and Western Australia (5,900) gained the most people through net interstate migration from other states and territories. The states that lost people to interstate were New South Wales (loss of 21,900), South Australia (5,000), Australian Capital Territory (310) and Victoria (300).

At 31 March 2009, Victoria's population was 5,403,000, up by 111,900 people (2.1%) over the year. For population estimates at regional level refer to Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2007-08 (cat. no. 3218.0) and Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2008 (cat. no. 3235.0)

3235.0 Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2008. Released 11/08/2009

The estimated resident population of Victoria at 30 June 2008 was 5.31 million people, increasing by 390,300 people (7.9%, or 1.5% per year on average) since 30 June 2003. Melbourne Statistical Division (SD) was home to 73.0% of Victoria's population, or 3.9 million people. In the five years to 30 June 2008, the population in Melbourne SD increased by 315,000 people and regional Victoria by 75,300.

At 30 June 2008, the median age (age at which half the population is older and half younger) of Victorian residents was 36.1 years for males and 37.8 years for females. Melbourne SD had the lowest median age (36.1 years - persons) of all Victorian SDs. The highest median ages occurred in East Gippsland (43.2) and Wimmera (43.1).

Local Government Areas (LGAs) with the highest median ages were Queenscliffe (B) (53.6 years), Strathbogie (S) (47.9) and Yarriambiack (S) (47.3), all in regional Victoria. LGAs with the lowest median ages were Melbourne (C) (28.0 years), followed by Melton (S) (31.5) and Wyndham (C) (32.1) which lie on Melbourne's western fringe. Melton (S) had the highest proportion of population of children aged 0-14 years (24.4%).

Median ages for all LGAs in regional Victoria have increased since June 2003. The largest increases were in Yarriambiack (S) (3.8 years), Queenscliffe (B) (3.7 years) and Alpine (S) (3.4 years). The median age for Melbourne (C) was 0.7 years lower in June 2008 than 5 years earlier.

3238.0 Experimental Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991 to 2021. Released 08/09/2009.

Contains experimental estimates and projections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population based on the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Estimates and projections in this product are based on assumptions on past and future levels of fertility, mortality and migration. The product includes: estimates and projections for Australia, states and territories, by sex and five-year age groups, for 1986 to 2021; summary measures such as projected births and deaths; and detailed notes on the assumptions used.

Projections for 2006 to 2021 Remoteness Areas (at Australia level) and Indigenous Regions by sex and five-year age groups were released as additional material on 30/09/2009 in data cubes under the same 3238.0 catalogue number. Single year of age data for Australia, states and territories are available as a consultancy service. Estimates and projections are not available for more detailed geographies.

3310.0 Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2008. Released 31/08/2009

Registered marriages are now at a 20 year high, but the crude marriage rate has fallen from 7.0 marriages per 1000 people in 1989 to 5.5 in 2008. For divorces, 2008 had the lowest number of divorces granted in a single year since 1992, and the 2008 crude divorce rate of 2.2 divorces per 1000 population is the lowest in 20 years.

Some 118,756 marriages were registered and 47,209 divorces granted in Australia during 2008. This was an increase of 2.1% in registered marriages and a 1.6% decrease in divorces compared with 2007.

The past 20 years has also seen a trend in couples delaying the age that they marry. In 2008, the median age for first-time marriage was 29.6 years for men and 27.7 years for women, compared to 26.3 years and 24.2 years respectively in 1989.

There was a 44% increase in marriages in August due to a large increase in the number of marriages performed on 8 August (08/08/08). The proportion of couples choosing a civil celebrant to officiate their marriage grew to 65.0%. The proportion of couples who chose to live together prior to marriage grew to 77.7%.

In 2008, the median age at divorce was 41.4 years for females and 44.1 for males. The trend towards joint applicant divorces has continued, representing 35.2% of all divorce applications. Almost half (48.8%) of divorces granted in 2008 were to couples with children aged under 18 years. Over 43,000 children were involved in divorces in 2008, with an average 0.9 children per divorce. The median length of marriage to divorce in 2008 was 12.3 years.

3401.0 Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, Aug 2009. Released 06/10/2009

In trend terms, short-term visitor arrivals (444,900 movements) to Australia during August 2009 were 3.3% lower than a year earlier (August 2008). When short-term visitor arrivals among the top ten source countries for August 2009 and August 2008 are compared, the highest percentage increase was recorded by Malaysia (30.4%), while Japan recorded the largest decrease (40.2%).

There were 13,260 permanent (settler) arrivals to Australia during August 2009, a decrease of 14.2% on August 2008 (15,460 movements). People born in China accounted for the largest proportion of settlers (13.9%), followed by people born in India (10.9%), United Kingdom (10.8%) and New Zealand (9.2%).

There were 7,710 Australian residents departing permanently from Australia during August 2009, an increase of 4.0% on August 2008 (7,410 movements).

3412.0 Migration, Australia, 2007-08. Released 28/07/2009

In 2007–08, Australia's net overseas migration (NOM)(213,700 persons) exceeded natural increase (births over deaths)(145,600 persons), remaining the major contributor to Australia's population growth for the third consecutive year. The preliminary NOM estimate represented 59% of Australia's population growth for the year.

NOM contributed 1.0% to Australia's 1.7% total population growth rate. Only once over the previous three decades has NOM made a higher contribution (1.1% in 2006–07). In numeric terms, 2007–08 NOM was 213,700 persons, comprising 442,100 NOM arrivals minus 228,400 NOM departures.

The main effect of NOM on Australia's age structure was a larger proportion of early working age population. Persons aged 15–34 years represented 61% of NOM compared with 28% of Australia's population. NOM made a positive contribution to the population of all states and territories, with the most populous states recording the greatest gains: New South Wales gained 61,300 persons, Victoria 58,100 and Queensland 41,200.

Migrants contributing to NOM were born in over 200 countries. Migrants born in China were the highest contributors to NOM (28,700 persons) followed by New Zealand (27,400), United Kingdom (24,000) and India (23,900).

Net interstate migration (NIM) was a major source of population loss for New South Wales (21,900 persons) and South Australia (4,500 persons).4102.0 Australian Social Trends, September 2009. Released 24/09/2009

Presents statistical analysis and commentary on a wide range of current social issues. Eight chapters cover population; family and community; health; education and training; work; economic resources; and housing; and other areas of social concern. Each chapter is supported by summary tables, including key social indicators which provide an overview of social change over the past decade, as well as how social conditions differ across Australian states and territories. A set of international tables also compares Australia with 17 other nations. Articles in this issue include: Expanding links with China and India, People with more than one job, Work and family balance, and Children who are overweight or obese.

In 2007–08, one-quarter of all Australian children, or around 600,000 children aged 5–17 years, were overweight or obese, up four percentage points from 1995 (21%). The obesity rate for children increased from 5% in 1995 to 8% in 2007–08, with the proportion overweight remaining around 17% over this time period. This shows a shift towards the higher and heavier end of the body mass index. The rates were much higher for adults, with 61% of Australian adults overweight or obese in 2007–08.

In 2008, there were over half a million Australian born in China or India. The number of Chinese born Australians increased nearly six-fold in two decades to be over 310,000 in 2008, while those from India increased four-fold to almost 240,000. Over the past two decades, skilled migration from China and India has increased markedly, driving rapid growth of these populations here.

4402.0 Childhood Education and Care, Australia, June 2008. Released 29/07/2009   

The first national survey to measure attendance in preschool programs in both preschools and long day care centres was conducted by ABS in June 2008. In June 2008, 72% of children aged 3-6 years who were not attending school were usually attending a preschool or a preschool program in long day care. Some 82% of school children aged 4-8 years had attended a preschool program in the year before commencing school.

Of all children aged 3-6 years who usually attended a preschool, 23% attended for the 'benchmark' 15 hours or more per week, although attending for 10 to 14 hours was more common (47%). Some 43% (1.5 million) of all children aged 0-12 years attended child care.

In 2008, grandparents were caring for 19% of the children aged 0-12 years, with the next most common type of care being long day care (12%). Attendance in formal child care has risen from 17% of children aged 0-11 years in 1999 to 22% in 2008, while usage of informal care fell from 37% to 34%.

In June 2008, 41% of employed male parents reported that they used a range of work arrangements to facilitate caring for their children aged 0-11 years, up from 27% in 1999. The most common arrangement was flexible working hours, with 30% of employed fathers and 42% of employed mothers utilising flexible working hours. Part-time work was the most common arrangement (42%) used by employed mothers to care for their children compared to 5% of employed fathers. Overall, 74% of employed female parents used some form of work arrangement to facilitate care for their children.

4512.0 Corrective Services, Australia, Jun 2009. Released 17/09/2009

During June quarter 2009, the average daily number of full-time prisoners in Australia was 28,409 persons. This was an increase of 3% from March quarter 2009, and 6% on June quarter 2008. The Australian Capital Territory and Victoria had the lowest imprisonment rates (62 and 104 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, respectively). There were 56,366 persons in community-based corrections in Australia , an increase of less than 1% (277 persons) from March quarter 2009.4519.0 Recorded Crime - Offenders, Selected states and territories, 2007-08. Released 27/08/2009. First Issue.

This new publication details the number and characteristics of alleged offenders aged 10 years and over for all states and territories, except Western Australia. Due to quality and/or comparability issues, the statistics presented in this publication exclude data for Western Australia. It complements existing ABS publications relating to victims, criminal courts and corrective services.

Police proceeded against 295,600 alleged offenders during 2007-08 in all states and territories except Western Australia. This equated to 1,800 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years and over.

Young people (10-19 years) accounted for one third (33%) of all offenders proceeded against by police; the 15-19 age group having the highest offender rate for any age group (5,900 offenders per 100,000 people aged 15-19 years). Some 78% of all offenders were male.

Just over a quarter (26%) of offenders were proceeded against more than once during the year, and 4% of offenders were proceeded against five or more times. The most common principal offences were: acts intended to cause injury (330 offenders per 100,000 people aged 10 years and over); public order offences (315 offenders per 100,000); theft and related offences, and illicit drug offences (both at 240 offenders per 100,000). Police initiated 303,000 court actions against alleged offenders during 2007-08.

4722.0.55.009 Self-employed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, 2006. Released 07/07/2009

Information from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing is used in this snapshot. In the Census, employed people are classified as self-employed, as employees or as contributing family workers, on the basis of their main job. Self-employed people are those who own an unincorporated or incorporated business (whether or not the business employs staff). Employees are people who are employed, but do not own a business.

The characteristics of self-employed Indigenous people aged 15-64 years presented include industry type, occupation, income and education level. Where relevant, the circumstances of self-employed Indigenous people have been compared with those for Indigenous employees, and with non-Indigenous self-employed people.

In the 2006 Census in Australia, 121,500 Indigenous people aged 15-64 years (45%) indicated they were employed and 119,600 of them reported their employment type. Of the latter, 6,600 were self-employed, a further 112,000 were employees (including 14,000 people who identified they were participants in the Community Development Employment Projects program) and 1,000 were contributing family workers. The self-employment rate (self-employed as a proportion of all employed) among Indigenous people aged 15-64 years was 6%; around one-third the self-employment rate for non-Indigenous people in this age range (16%). Australia level data only.

4724.0.55.002 Tobacco Smoking in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, 2004-05. Released 29/07/2009

The rate of tobacco smoking in the Indigenous population is about twice that of the non-Indigenous population. Half of Indigenous adults (50%) reported being a regular tobacco smoker in 2004-05. One in five Indigenous adults (or 20%) reported being an ex-smoker and 28% reported that they had never smoked. Indigenous adults living in remote areas had slightly higher rates of regular tobacco smoking (52%) than those in non-remote areas (49%). Over the ten years to 2004-05 the rate of smoking in the Indigenous population remained about the same. Australia level data only.5256.0 Australian National Accounts: Non-Profit Institutions Satellite Account, 2006-07. Released 18/09/2009

Non-profit institutions (NPIs) play an important role in the provision of welfare, social and other services in Australia. This satellite account for Australia provides information on the size, structure and economic contribution of non-profit institutions for 1999-2000 and 2006-2007. Results of this study are based, in part, on tax data supplied by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to the ABS under the Taxation Administration Act 1953, which requires that such data are only used for statistical purposes.

The direct value that Non-profit institutions (NPI) add to the economy is measured in NPI gross value added (GVA). NPI output that is sold in the market is valued by sales, whilst non-market output is valued at cost. NPIs accounted for $41b or 4.3% of total GVA in 2006-07.

Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the value of production inclusive of product taxes. NPI GDP contributed 4.1% to total gross domestic product in 2006-07. NPIs received income of $76.6b in 2006-07, and held $138b worth of assets.

NPIs contribute significantly to employment, accounting for 889,900 employed persons and over 4.6 million volunteers. These volunteers contributed 623 million hours to NPIs, equating to 317,200 full-time equivalents. The economic value of those hours was estimated to be $14.6 billion.


5655.0 Managed Funds, Australia, Jun 2009. Released 27/08/2009

At 30 June 2009, the total consolidated assets of Australian managed funds institutions was $1,206.4b, a 7.7% decrease (-$100.7b) on a year earlier (June quarter 2008, $1,307.1b). Over the year, consolidated assets of superannuation funds (held outside of life insurance offices) decreased by $45.5b (-5.8%); public unit trusts decreased by $26.6b (-9.6%); life insurance offices decreased by $20.3b (-11.1%); and all other managed funds decreased by $8.3b (-13.2%).

6202.0 Labour Force, Australia, Sep 2009. Released 08/10/2009

The unemployment rate for Australia decreased from 5.8% in August 2009 to 5.7% in September 2009. The unemployment rate increased 1.4 percentage points over the year to September 2009 (Seasonally Adjusted).

The unemployment rate for Victoria also increased, going from 4.4% in September 2008 to 5.6% in September 2009. The number of unemployed persons increased 29.8% over the year from 122,900 (Sept 2008) to 159,600 (Sept 2009)(seasonally adjusted).

A quarterly measure of labour underutilisation (unemployed and underemployed as a proportion of labour force) has recently been developed by ABS. For Victoria, the labour underutilisation rate increased by 3.6 percentage points from 10.8% in August quarter 2008 to 14.4% in August quarter 2009 (seasonally adjusted).

6463.0 Analytical Living Cost Indexes for Selected Australian Household Types, Jun 2009. Released 24/08/2009

Price indexes published by ABS provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. The index for employee households decreased 0.7% for the year to June quarter 2009 mainly due to decreases in interest charges, automotive fuel, audio visual and computing equipment and child care. The major offsetting increases were provided by rents, insurance, hospital and medical services, tobacco, take away and fast foods, and electricity.

The index for age pensioner households increased by 2.8% for the year to June quarter 2009 mainly due to increases in rents, insurance, hospital and medical services, electricity, house repairs and maintenance, property rates and charges, water and sewerage, fruit and tobacco. The major offsets were provided by automotive fuel, interest charges, audio visual and computing equipment.6467.0 Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index, June 2009. Released 24/08/2009. First Issue

The Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) provides an alternative measure of price change to better reflect living cost changes that affect pensioners and other households receiving income from the government. Further information occurs in Information Paper: Introduction of the Pensioner and Beneficiary Cost Living Index, Australia, 2009 (cat. no 6466.0.0, released 30/06/2009).

The PBLCI shows a 0.1% increase in prices compared with 0.5% reported in the CPI for June quarter 2009. The PBLCI showed a 0.9% increase for March quarter 2009, compared with 0.1% for the CPI.

6523.0 Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2007-08. Released 20/08/2009

This publication provides indicators of the level and distribution of after tax (disposable) household income, after adjusting for household size and composition (equivalisation). Estimates of disposable income are derived by deducting estimates of income tax liability, Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge from the gross income data collected in the Survey of Income and Housing (SIH).

For households with middle and high income levels in 2007-08, wages and salaries were the principal source of income; while for low income households government pensions and allowances were the principal source. Low income households (household income in second and third deciles) had on average 0.7 employed persons. There were more employed persons in middle income (1.6 employed persons, middle income quintile) and high income (1.9, highest income quintile) households.

People living in households where the reference person was aged 65 and over had the lowest mean income per week of $561 (equivalised disposable household income). People aged 65 and over living alone were more likely than couples (where reference person was aged 65 and over) to have government pensions and allowances as their principal source of income (76% compared to 65%).

Average equivalised disposable household income in Australia was $811 per week, with average incomes in the capital cities 25% above those outside capital cities. Average equivalised disposable household incomes in Tasmania and South Australia were below the national average by 19% and 8% respectively.

7503.0 Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, 2007-08. Released 29/07/2009

The gross value of total Australian agricultural production increased 20% from 2006-07 to $43.3b in 2007-08. Most of the increase in value of agricultural production was driven by increased crop production and higher average prices in 2007-08. This saw the falls of 2006-07 reversed by a $5.9b (33%) rise in gross value of crops to $23.8b. The gross value of livestock slaughterings and other disposals was down 2% to $12.1b, as the value of cattle and pigs dropped. Livestock products increased by $1.5b to its highest value in recent years at $7.3b. Marketing costs accounted for $2.9b (7%) of the total gross value of agricultural production in 2007-08.

In Victoria during 2007-08, the gross value of total Victorian agricultural production was $11.7b. The gross value of crops was $5.3b, livestock slaughterings and other disposals $2.7b, and livestock products $3.7b. 8104.0 Research and Experimental Development, Businesses, Australia, 2007-08. Released 25/09/2009

During 2007-08 in Australia, the largest contributors to business expenditure on research and development (BERD) were Manufacturing ($4,305 million or 30%), Mining ($3,283 million or 23%) and Professional, scientific and technical services ($2,230 million or 16%).

Of all industries, Mining and Manufacturing reported the largest absolute growth from 2006-07, increasing expenditure on R&D by $510 million (up 18%) and $469 million (up 12%) respectively. Other industries to record large increases included Financial and insurance services (up $313 million or 28%) and Professional, scientific and technical services (up $233 million or 12%).


8129.0 Business Use of Information Technology, 2007-08. Released 20/08/2009

Presents the use of information technology in Australian business, as collected by the 2007-08 Business Characteristics Survey. This release includes information related to business IT use; IT security; type of broadband access; web features; ordering system linkages; and, detailed uses of the Internet.

In Australia during 2007-08, larger businesses tended to have greater internet presence than smaller businesses: 26.8% of businesses employing 0-4 persons had a web presence, compared with 95.8% of those with 200 or more employees.

The Accommodation and food service industry (71.1%) had the lowest industry rate of internet access. The highest rates were in Finance and insurance services (98.1%); Professional, scientific and technical Services (98.1%); Information, media and telecommunications (97.8%); and Wholesale trade (93.6%).

In Victoria during 2007-08, 84.0% of businesses had internet access, and 37.2% a web presence. Some 39.5% of Victorian businesses placed orders via the internet, and 22.9% received orders via the internet.

8153.0 Internet Activity, Australia, Jun 2009. Released 14/09/2009

The Internet Activity Survey collects details on aspects of internet access services provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia with more than 1,000 active subscribers. Mobile wireless subscriptions to the internet via a datacard or USB modem are included in the scope of the survey, but connections to the internet via mobile telephones are excluded.

At end June 2009, there were 8.4 million active internet subscribers (household and business) in Australia. Digital subscriber line (DSL) continued to be the major technology for non dial-up connections, accounting for 57% (4.2 million) of such connections; although this share decreased from December 2008 (63% of non dial-up connections). Mobile wireless subscribers had the next highest share, increasing significantly from 20% of all non dial-up connections (1.3 million) in December 2008 to 27% (2 million) in June 2009; an increase of 51% over six months.

The general trend towards higher download speeds continued, with 57% of subscribers now using a download speed of 1.5Mbps or greater, compared with 51% in December 2008. 8167.0 Selected Characteristics of Australian Business, 2007-08. Released 17/09/2009

Presents summary data for a selection of topics including: business structure and arrangements; business markets and competition; business finance; business use of information technology; business innovation; business performance; barriers to business activities or performance; and skills. In 2007-08, involvement in a franchising agreement as a franchisee was reported by 4% of all businesses in Australia. Joint marketing or distribution was the most prevalent type of collaborative arrangement, involving 7% of all businesses.

Flexible working hours was the most reported type of working arrangement at 54%. Only 4% of businesses reported offering paid parental leave to employees.
At the industry level, 43% of businesses in Professional, scientific and technical services reported an ability for staff to work from home. Health care and social assistance had the highest proportion of businesses reporting job sharing (21%).

8501.0 Retail Trade, Australia, August 2009. Released 30/9/2009.

This is the second release of 8501.0 Retail Trade based on the revised Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006. The information paper, ANZSIC 2006 Implementation in Retail Trade Statistics, July 2009 (cat. no. 8501.0.55.006) provides a background to the change and describes the impact this has had on the presentation of statistics. It also provides a concordance file for any changes that have occurred in the time series spreadsheets.

In terms of Current Prices, monthly retail turnover increased by 0.9% in August 2009 (Seasonally Adjusted). This follows a revised decrease of 0.9% in July 2009 and a decrease of 0.8% in June 2009.

Retail turnover for Victoria increased by 0.6% from July 2009 to August 2009; and by around 6.7% for the year: moving from $4.7b in August 2008 (Seasonally Adjusted) to $5.0b in August 2009 (Seasonally Adjusted).


8755.0 Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary, Jun 2009. Released 26/08/2009

In volume terms, the seasonally adjusted estimate for total construction work done in Australia was 5.4% higher (at $35.0b) in June qtr 2009 than a year earlier (June qtr 2008). The engineering sector (22.7% increase) was largely responsible for this rise. The value of construction in residential building (-7.6%) and non-residential building (-9.8%) were down over the year.

During June qtr 2009, construction work done in Victoria totalled $7.1b (seasonally adjusted), up 3.4% on Mar qtr 2009 and 8.8% higher than a year earlier (June qtr 2008).

In Victoria, 1394 new houses were approved but not yet commenced (original series) at the end of June 2009, down 24.9% on a year earlier (June qtr 2008); while 1004 dwellings in new other residential buildings had not yet commenced construction, down 19.5% on a year earlier.

9314.0 Sales of New Motor Vehicles, Australia, Aug 2009. Released 21/09/2009

In Victoria during August 2009, 19,496 new motor vehicles (seasonally adjusted) were sold, a 2.1% decrease on July 2009, and 8.0% lower than a year earlier (August 2008).
Information papers, research papers, and classifications

1216.0 Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Jul 2009. Released 16/09/2009

The ASGC provides a common framework of statistical geography which enables the production of statistics that are comparable and can be spatially integrated. There have been no changes to Victorian statistical boundaries in this edition of the ASGC. The ASGC will be replaced in 2011 by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The ASGS will be based upon mesh blocks creating more stable and consistent units than the ASGC.

1234.0 Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC), 2008 (Second edition). Released 01/08/2008

The second edition of the Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC) has been developed for use within Australia for production and analysis of crime and justice statistics. It supercedes the first edition of ASOC, which was released in 1997. Its objective is to provide a uniform national statistical framework for classifying criminal behaviour in the production and analysis of crime and justice statistics. The classification is used in ABS statistical collections, and by Australian police, criminal courts and corrective services agencies.

The Classification has two main purposes: to provide a standardised statistical framework for organising key behavioural characteristics of criminal offences, and to overcome differences in legal offence definitions across states and territories.

1234.0.55.001 National Offence Index, 2009. Released 23/07/2009

The National Offence Index (NOI) has been developed by ABS as a statistical tool to enable the output of nationally comparable offence information within the field of crime and justice statistics. The Index detailed in this publication supercedes the first version of NOI which was released in 2002 as an Appendix in the Criminal Courts, Australia (cat. no. 4513.0) publication. This is the first time NOI has been published in its own right.

The National Offence Index is a tool which provides an ordinal ranking of offence categories in the Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC), according to perceived seriousness in order to determine a principal sentence. The purpose of NOI is to enable representation of an offender by a single offence in instances where multiple offences occur within the same incident or where defendants have multiple charges in criminal cases.

1351.0.55.027 Research Paper: Assessing the Quality of Linking Migrant Settlement Records to Census Data, August 2009. Released 27/08/2009. First Issue

As part of ABS's Census Data Enhancement project, the Migrants Quality Study was conducted to assess feasibility of linking Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s Settlement Database (SDB) to the Statistical Longitudinal Census Dataset (SLCD), without using name and address as linking variables. This paper provides some background, a brief description of the linking process, a thorough evaluation of linked data quality, and then discussion about the usefulness of linked data.

Results from this quality study indicate that linking the SDB to SLCD is feasible and can produce useful information that no other data source currently provides. However, some quality issues were identified and need to be thoroughly understood to ensure that linked data is correctly interpreted and appropriately used.3228.0.55.001 Population Estimates: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2009. Released 12/06/2009

This publication provides a description of concepts, sources and methods used by ABS in the production of population estimates. Contents include: an overview of the range of population estimates produced by ABS and some of their major uses; an outline of methods and data used to produce population estimates at national, state and statistical local area (SLA) levels, as well as customised geography; information on estimating components of population growth; and a description of data sources used to produce population estimates. Further technical details are provided in the Appendices.


5204.0.55.005 Information paper: Product changes to Australian System of National Accounts following revisions to international standards, 2009. Released 21/08/2009. First Issue

The first issue of Australian System of National Accounts (cat. no. 5204.0) that will incorporate these updated standards will be 2008-09, scheduled for release on 8 December 2009.

6290.0.55.001 Information Paper: Expansion of Hours Worked Estimates from the Labour Force Survey, 2009. Released 08/09/2009. First Issue

The global financial crisis has resulted in an increased focus on Australia's labour market; and in particular on changes in unemployment, employment and the relationship to hours worked. While much of the recent interest has been on movements in the unemployment rate, there is considerable value in analysing other indicators, such as underemployment and hours worked, to better understand impacts on the labour market. This release provides details on aggregate monthly hours worked estimates from the Labour Force Survey.

6427.0.55.002 Update on ANZSIC 2006 Implementation for Producer and International Trade Price Indexes, 2009. Released 17/07/2009

This information paper includes key information on the new producer and international trade price index structures, their weighting patterns and further details on implementation of ANZSIC 2006. The areas impacted by ANZSIC 2006 changes are detailed and proposed table formats under an ANZSIC 2006 classification are provided, as well as time series identifiers for the new and changed series.

6466.0 Information Paper: Introduction of the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index, Australia, 2009. Released 30/06/2009

The federal government's Pension Review Report, completed by Dr Jeff Harmer in February 2009, followed a comprehensive review of Australia's pension system. In considering indexation arrangements, detailed analysis of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other measures of price change led the Review to conclude that "an alternative measure of price change which is more fully responsive to specific changes in pensioners' purchasing power would be appropriate".

In response to the Review, government has funded ABS to produce a new index that more specifically reflects changes in the living costs of pensioners and other households receiving income support from government. In the 2009–10 Budget, government indicated that it will use this index, to be known as the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI), to index base pension rates where it is higher than the CPI. ABS will publish the PBLCI on a quarterly basis commencing 24/08/2009.

Initially, the PBLCI will be constructed as a by–product of processing the quarterly CPI. Over time, ABS will progressively improve the index to better reflect price changes experienced by pensioners and beneficiaries.

8501.0.55.006 Information Paper: ANZSIC 2006 Implementation in Retail Trade Statistics, July 2009. Released 03/08/2009.

This information paper describes changes made to monthly Retail trade statistics from the July 2009 reference month as a result of implementing a revised industry classification - ANZSIC 2006.
Other releases

4183.0 Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2007-08. Released 28/08/2009

4362.0 National Health Survey: Summary of Results; State Tables, 2007-2008 (Reissue). Released 02/09/2009

4363.0.55.001 National Health Survey: Users' Guide - Electronic Publication, 2007-08. Released 14/09/2009

6224.0.55.001 Labour Force, Australia: Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, Jun 2009. Released 30/07/2009.


Main Economic Indicators (MEIs). Also released during the past quarter were a number of monthly and quarterly MEIs which can be accessed from the ABS website home page <www.abs.gov.au>. Examples of MEIs include: housing finance, building approvals, labour force, consumer price index, sales of new motor vehicles, and retail trade.