Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
CONTACT
National Director
National Centre for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Northern Territory
Telephone (08) 8943 2190
Facsimile (08) 8941 0715
DESCRIPTION
This survey provides information about the economic, social and cultural status of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The survey provides a strong information base for planning the provision of services, for meeting the needs, objectives and aspirations of Indigenous people, and for measuring progress in these areas.
Information for Indigenous households and families are available on a range of topics including living conditions, income and employment, childcare arrangements, education, and the health status of family/household members. There may be differences between the ABS classification of families and the traditional cultural groupings of Indigenous people. Extensive data are provided on Indigenous children aged 0-14.
Because of the relatively small proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the total population (about 2%), most ABS surveys are unable to provide information about Indigenous people without sample supplementation. Consequently, this survey is an important source of information on many dimensions of the lives of Indigenous people, including family functioning.
SCOPE
All persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander living in Australia. Excludes non-Indigenous persons, except those living in households with Indigenous persons. The sample includes private dwellings (including garages, tents and improvised houses) and selected non-private dwellings (such as hotels, motels, hospitals, residential colleges, nursing homes and prisons) and, where possible, people not living in dwellings (such as campers--out). The survey was conducted in urban, rural and remote areas in all States and Territories.
DISSEMINATION
Publications
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994: Social Atlas (cat. no. 4155.0).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Housing Characteristics and Conditions (cat. no. 4187.0).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Law and Justice Issues (cat. no. 4189.0).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey, 1994, Detailed Findings (cat. no. 4190.0).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: States and Northern Territory (cat. no. 4190.1-7). (Excludes the Australian Capital Territory).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994, Regional Overview (cat. no. 4192.0.001-36) - an A2 size wall chart for each Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Region (36 versions).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994: Regional Statistics (cat. no. 4196.1 - 36) - one for each ATSIC Region.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994: Australia's Indigenous Youth (cat. no. 4197.0).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994: Employment Outcomes for Indigenous Australians (cat. no. 4199.0).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Health of Indigenous Australians (cat. no. 4395.0).
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Torres Strait Islanders, Queensland (cat. no. 4179.3).
Occasional papers
Cunningham, J. 1997, Cigarette Smoking among Indigenous Australians, 1994 (cat. no. 4701.0)
Cunningham, J. & Macherra, D. 1998. Overweight and Obesity, Indigenous Australians, 1994 (cat. no. 4702.0)
Cunningham, J., Sibthorpe, B & Anderson, I. 1997, Self-assessed health status, Indigenous Australians, 1994 (cat. no. 4707.0).
Data Service
Customised unpublished data are available in a variety of formats.
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Unit Record File (cat. no. 4188.0.15.001).
Data Details
Data are primarily available at person level. Extensive data are also available at family and household levels.
Demographic and family information
Age (including children 0-14)
Sex (including children 0-14)
Relationship in household
Social marital status
Family type
Cultural activities
Participation in cultural activities
Identification with a clan/tribal/language group
Importance of role of elders
Homelands
Recognition and importance
Childhood
Whether taken away from natural family
Upbringing
Health
Recent illness
Special illness/conditions
Disability
Access to health services
Mobility
Attitudes to health and health services
Food security
Height and weight
Fat and sugar consumption
Breastfeeding
Smoking
Alcohol, substance abuse
Law and justice
Access to and use of legal services
Victims of crime
Attitudes to family violence
Attitudes to policing
Experience with the law
Indigenous police aides/liaison officers
Voting patterns
Other selected topics
Employment (including Community Development Employment Program)
Income
Education
Housing
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE
Australia, States and Territories, and ATSIC Regions.
FREQUENCY OF COLLECTION
Irregular. Conducted in 1994.
METHOD OF COLLECTION
Special Social Survey. A sample of approximately 5,000 dwellings throughout Australia, comprising about 6.6 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, was selected at random using a multistage sample design stratified by the 35 ATSIC Regions and Torres Strait area. This design ensured the sample was nationally representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in different circumstances across the country.
The survey data were collected from the selected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in personal interviews by trained Indigenous interviewers. The survey was extensively tested and used culturally appropriate methodology.
Note: Some attitudinal information may have been influenced by the circumstances of the interview itself and may reflect short term views rather than usual feelings or circumstances. As a result, some caution should be used in interpreting these data as necessarily indicative of general or usual perceptions.
HISTORICAL DATA
Apart from the ABS Census of Population and Housing, there are very few national, historical data available on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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