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Appendix 1 - Data Definitions

ABS STATISTICAL CONCEPTS

Below are definitions and the major output categories for key family and related variables currently in use in ABS household collections. Further information on concepts and classifications which relate to data on children and the family, and which are used throughout ABS social statistics, are published in Standards for Statistics on the Family (ABS Cat. No. 1286.0).


Household

A group of two or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling, who regard themselves as a household and who make common provision for food or other essentials for living; or a person living in a dwelling who makes provision for his or her own food and other essentials for living without combining with any other person. A household may comprise more than one family.


Family

Two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship.


Income unit

One person, or a group of related persons within a household whose command over income is assumed to be shared. Income sharing is considered to take place between partners in a couple relationship, and between parents and their dependents. A family may comprise more than one income unit.


Marital Status

The living arrangements of couples which may take the form of a registered marriage or a de facto marriage. Because users are interested in both living arrangements and registered marital status, the ABS has two separate variables for marital status: Social Marital Status and Registered Marital Status.

The two marital status variables measure different personal characteristics and serve different purposes. It is possible to use the two variables independently, or to cross-classify them, depending on the purpose of the analysis. For example, an individual who is currently living in a de facto marriage and is separated from a previous registered marriage, would be coded as Married in a de facto marriage in the Social Marital Status classification and Separated in the Registered Marital Status classification.

Although there is some demand for Registered Marital Status data, the Social Marital Status variable better reflects the living arrangements of couples, and provides more relevant information on a wider range of issues. Information on current partnering arrangements is an essential input variable in family coding. For these reasons, and in accordance with recommendations of international bodies, including the United Nations and the Economic Commission for Europe, the ABS collects social marital status in its household surveys. Information on registered marital status is available from some household surveys and from administrative by-product collections.


ABS family classifications

Family Type
The differentiation of families based on the presence or absence of couple relationships, parent-child relationships, child dependency relationships or other blood relationships, in that order of preference. Families are classified into the following major types:

Couple family with children

• Couple family with children under 15
• Couple family with dependent students
• Couple family with children under 15 and dependent students
• Couple family with non-dependent children

• Couple family without children

• One-parent family with children under 15
• One-parent family with dependent students
• One-parent family with children under 15 and dependent students
• One-parent family with non-dependent children

• Other family

• A family must consist of at least two persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age.
• A family is identified only from persons who are usually resident within a specific household, family members living in another household are excluded from being part of the same family.
• Registered and de facto marriages are accorded equal status.
• Non-related individuals living in the same household (eg. friend, boarder, housekeeper) are not counted as family members provided they are 15 years of age or over.
• Separate families are identified within a single household if more than one group of people satisfy the criteria for forming a family. (All related individuals not forming a separate family within a household, however, are assigned as members of one and only one family).

• Unrelated individual living in a family household
• Group household member
• Lone person

• People who are usual residents of another household are included in the Relationship in Household classification but information collected from them are not used in family coding. They are assigned to the separate category of 'visitor'.
• When a family is identified in a household, the 'family basis' of the concept 'relationship in household' takes precedence over the 'household basis'.
• In couple families, the family reference person can be either partner in the couple; in one-parent families it will be the lone parent; and in other families it can be any member of the family. In many cases the household reference person and a family reference person are the same person.

• Married (not further defined)
• Married in a registered marriage
• Married in a de facto marriage

• Not married