6527.0 - Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: User Guide, 1998-99

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/11/2001

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Contents >> Additional Information >> Appendix 3. Household Expenditure Classification (HEC)

INTRODUCTION

The Household Expenditure Classification (HEC) was developed for use in coding and disseminating data from the 1998-99 HES, and replaces the HES Commodity Code List (HESCCL) used in earlier Household Expenditure Surveys. The development of the HEC resulted from the need to update the HESCCL to include emerging areas of household expenditure such as spending on new technology. This was not possible within the existing code structure so a new, hierarchical classification was developed which can be easily updated, and facilitates presentation and manipulation of the data.

CLASSIFICATION STRUCTURE

The HEC has a five-level hierarchical structure. The levels are:

major group, comprising 17 expenditure groups, each represented by a two-digit code;
sub-major group which breaks up the major groups and contains 43 groups, each represented by a four-digit code;
minor group which breaks up the sub-major groups and contains 123 groups, each represented by a six-digit code;
detailed group which is the most detailed level of expenditure included in HES publications, comprising 463 groups, each represented by an eight-digit code; and
base group which is the most detailed level of expenditure available, comprising 609 groups, each represented by a ten-digit code.

The major group is equivalent to the broad expenditure group used in the HESCCL. The 17 groups have only very minor changes in content. For example, disposable nappies have been moved from major group 08 (household services and operation) to major group 06 (clothing and footwear). The 17 major groups are:

Goods and services
01 Current housing costs (selected dwelling)
02 Domestic fuel and power
03 Food and non-alcoholic beverages
04 Alcoholic beverages
05 Tobacco products
06 Clothing and footwear
07 Household furnishings and equipment
08 Household services and operation
09 Medical care and health expenses
10 Transport
11 Recreation
12 Personal care
13 Miscellaneous goods and services

Selected other payments
14 Income tax
15 Mortgage repayments-principal (selected dwelling)
16 Other capital housing costs
17 Superannuation and life insurance

The 1998-99 HEC is shown in table A3.1. All levels of the classification are shown. The HEC coding list, which lists the products included in the detailed HEC codes, is available for purchase by contacting the HES contact officer on 02 6252 7031.

CONCORDANCES

Continuity of data was regarded as an important issue when developing the HEC. It is acknowledged that there will be many circumstances where users need to convert data to the old HESCCL basis, or to convert historical data to the HEC. To facilitate this process, concordances between the two classifications have been developed. Table A3.1 includes a concordance from the base group level of the 1998-99 HEC to the three digit level of the 1993-94 HESCCL. Table A3.2 provides the reverse concordance. The letter ‘p’ indicates where there is a partial match from one classification to the other.

COLLECTION METHODS

The expenditure data for the 1998-99 HES was derived by one of three methods. These were to collect the expenditure data through a household (CAI) questionnaire or a (paper) diary, or to derive it using modelling techniques. Table A3.1 indicates which method was used for each base group. For further explanation of the references to "Household, Diary or Modelled" and "Recall period", please refer to chapters 2 and 3 of this publication.

RELATIVE STANDARD ERROR INFORMATION

Table A3.1 also shows the relative standard error for each base group at the Australia level, the factor line needed to derive the relative standard error of estimates at other levels, and an indication of the minimum sample size required to achieve a relative standard error of less than or equal to 25%. See appendix 1 for more information.

TABLES A3.1 AND A3.2

Tables A3.1 and A3.2 are included in the attached Excel spreadsheet.