2080.0 - Microdata: Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, 2006-2011 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/12/2013   
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This document was added or updated on 12/02/2016.

FILE STRUCTURE

The ACLD product in both TableBuilder and the ABSDL is a single-level file that counts persons and has data items for 2006 and 2011.

In TableBuilder, data items have first been separated by year of collection. Each data item for the person in 2006 has a corresponding item in 2011. In addition, data items that provide longitudinal information derived from both years, such as the consistency in reporting of certain data items between 2006 and 2011, is in a folder labelled 'Longitudinal' (see also Using the ACLD in TableBuilder). In addition to Census variables, there are three data items relating to migrants that have been made available via the Settlement Database from the Department of Social Services. These data items are only available for 2011.

For each year, data items are further divided into the following groups:

  • Geography - geographic classifications on both a usual residence and place of enumeration basis.
  • Person - person-level characteristics, covering demographic, culture and language, education, employment and unpaid work topics.
  • Dwelling Related - derived from the characteristics of the dwelling in which the person was enumerated - e.g. type of dwelling.
  • Household Related - derived from the characteristics of the household in which the person lives, provided the person was counted at home on Census Night - e.g. total weekly household income.
  • Family Related - derived from the characteristics of the family in which the person lives, provided the person was counted at home on Census Night - e.g. age of youngest child in family.
  • Male Parent - derived from information about the person's male parent, provided the parent was counted in the same family on Census Night - e.g. labour force status of male parent.
  • Female Parent - derived from information about the person's female parent, provided the parent was counted in the same family on Census Night - e.g. labour force status of female parent.
  • Spouse/Partner - derived from information about the person's spouse/partner, provided the spouse/partner was counted in the same family on Census Night - e.g. highest educational attainment of spouse/partner.

UNLINKED RECORDS

The ACLD file contains all records from the 2006 Census sample, both those that were linked to a 2011 record and those that were not. Records that were linked have information for 2006 and 2011. Records that were not linked have information for 2006 only.

Data items for both 2006 and 2011 have a category labelled: unlinked record.

For 2011, the unlinked record category indicates the records from the 2006 Census that were not linked to a corresponding 2011 Census record. That is, these records have valid information for 2006 but none for 2011.

For 2006 data items, the unlinked record category is empty. It will take on a value in the future once the file has been augmented with an additional sample drawn from the 2011 Census. This will comprise children born and overseas arrivals between 2006 and 2011. It is designed to maintain the long-term viability of the ACLD and will be added as part of the third wave of the file which will incorporate the 2016 Census. Once this occurs, this category will indicate records for which there is valid information for 2011 but none for 2006.


Excluding Unlinked Records in TableBuilder

When using the weighted summation option in TableBuilder, no results will be returned for unlinked records in 2011 as weights were not applied to these records. Results will be returned if analysis is performed on unweighted data only. If desired, this category can be excluded from tables by ensuring that the 'unlinked record' category is deselected before each data item is added to the table. Such a table would produce a sample count corresponding to the equivalent table run with weights. Refer to the TableBuilder User Manual for more information on how to select data items for tables.

Uncheck the 'Unlinked record' box to exclude unlinked records.


If the 'unlinked record' category is present on a data item that has already been added to a table, it can be removed by selecting this category within the relevant data item and then pressing the 'Remove from Table' button.


Unlinked records can be removed by ticking on Unlinked record and clicking on the "remove from table" button.


Note that removing any category, such as the 'unlinked record' category, from a table where data has already been generated will clear all data, meaning the table will need to be rerun.