This document was added or updated on 24/11/2020.

Glossary

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

People who identified their origin as being Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

The ABS Standard Indigenous Question is based upon the Commonwealth working definition but does not include the third element of the Commonwealth definition, namely that ‘an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is a person who is accepted as such by the community in which he or she lives’. Collecting information on the basis of community acceptance is often impractical in a survey or administrative data collection setting and can lead to inaccuracies. For these reasons, it is not included in the ABS Standard. The definition of Indigenous Status is therefore operationalised as whether or not a person identifies as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.

The term 'origin', when used in the context of the operational definition, is considered to relate to a person's Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent and for some, but not all, their cultural identity.

Accommodation and Food Services

The Accommodation and Food Services industry is engaged in providing short-term accommodation for visitors, in providing food and beverage services, such as the preparation and serving of meals and the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by customers, both on and off-site.

Administrative and Support Services

The Administrative and Support Services industry engages in performing routine support activities for the day-to-day operations of other businesses or organisations. This includes office administration, hiring and placing personnel for others, preparing documents, taking orders for clients by telephone, providing credit reporting and collection services, and arranging travel and travel tours.

Age Pension

Age pension is a payment for persons who have reached Age Pension age and qualify to receive the Age Pension. Age Pension age depends on the individual's date of birth. For more information see the Explanatory Notes.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry is engaged in growing crops, raising animals, growing and harvesting timber, and harvesting fish or other animals from farms or their natural habitats.

Alcohol Consumption Risk Level

A risk level assessed using the 2009 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines for the consumption of alcohol.

Annuities

Annuities are guaranteed regular and recurring receipts, generally from an insurance company, the right to which was purchased with a lump sum or regular contributions at some point in the past.

Articulated Trucks

Motor vehicles constructed primarily for load carrying, consisting of a prime mover having no significant load carrying area, but with a turntable device which can be linked to one or more trailers.

Arts and Recreation Services

The Arts and Recreation Services industry engages in the preservation and exhibition of objects and sites of historical, cultural or educational interest; the production of original artistic works and/or participation in live performances, events, or exhibits intended for public viewing; and the operation of facilities or the provision of services that enable patrons to participate in sporting or recreational activities, or to pursue amusement interests.

Assets

An entity of a financial or non-financial nature, owned by the household or its members, and from which economic benefits may be derived by holding or use over a period of time.

Attached Dwellings

Dwellings which share a structural component with one or more other buildings. This may include walls, ceiling, floor or roofing. For example, flats, units and apartments and semi-detached, row and terrace houses.

Attendance

A child is considered to be attending a preschool program if the child was enrolled and present for at least one hour during the reference period. Children who did not attend a preschool program during the reference period (e.g. children who were absent due to illness or extended holiday leave) are not considered to have attended a preschool program.

Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Register

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Register is a register of all Australian businesses and contains identifying and classificatory data for each business. Information to populate the register is largely sourced from the Australian Business Register.

Australian Business Number

An Australian Business Number is a unique business entity identifier introduced in July 2000 by the Australian government as part of a major tax reform which included the introduction and administration of the Goods and Services Tax.

Australian Statistical Geography Standard

The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is used by the ABS for the collection and dissemination of geographically classified statistics. The ASGS replaced the Australian Standard Geographic Classification from July 2011. All data in Data by Region is presented on ASGS 2016 boundaries.

Births

All births that occurred and were registered in Australia, including births to mothers who usually lived overseas.

Building

A building is a rigid, fixed and permanent structure which has a roof. Its intended purpose is primarily to house people, plant, machinery, vehicles, goods or livestock.

Business Counts

A business for this purpose is defined as a legal entity engaged in productive activity and/or other forms of activity in the market sector. Business counts derived from the ABSBR exclude some entities, such as those without an active Australian Business Number, those without an active Goods and Services Tax (GST) role, those no longer actively remitting GST, and those not operating in the market sector.

Business Entry

A business which has newly registered for an Australian Business Number (ABN) and which has a GST role allocated.

Business Exit

A business for which the ABN or GST role has been cancelled and/or which has ceased to remit GST for at least five consecutive quarters.

Buses

Motor vehicles constructed for the carriage of passengers. Included are all motor vehicles with 10 or more seats, including the driver's seat.

Business Related Insolvency

Business related insolvencies occur where an individual's situation is directly related to his or her proprietary interest in a business.

Campervans

Self-propelled motor vehicles containing an area primarily used for accommodation. Included are motor homes and powered caravans.

Capital Gains

Capital gains is the profit that results from the sale of a capital asset, where the sales price exceeds the purchase price and attracts capital gains tax. Conversely, a capital loss can arise if proceeds from a sale are less than the original purchase price.

Carer

A person who provides any informal assistance (help or supervision) to people with disability or older people (aged 65 years and over). Carers can be split into two groups:

• Primary carer - a person aged 15 years and over who provides the most informal assistance to a person with disability for the core activities of mobility, self-care and communication.
• Other carer - a person of any age who provides unpaid care with one or more of the core activity tasks but is not the main provider of informal care (i.e. not a primary carer); or a person who only provides assistance with non-core activities.

Carer Payment

Carer Payment is for people who are unable to support themselves through participation in the workforce while caring for someone with a disability, severe medical condition, or who is frail and aged.

Clerical and Administrative Support Workers

Clerical and Administrative Support Workers provide support to Managers, Professionals and organisations by organising, storing, manipulating and retrieving information.

Commonwealth Rent Assistance

Commonwealth Rent Assistance is a non-taxable income supplement payable to eligible people who rent in the private rental market or community housing. Pensioners, allowance recipients and those receiving more than the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A may be eligible for Rent Assistance.

Community and Personal Services Workers

Community and Personal Services Workers assist Health Professionals in the provision of patient care, provide information and support on a range of social welfare matters, and provide other services in the areas of aged care and child care, education support, hospitality, defence, policing and emergency services, security, travel and tourism, fitness, sports and personal services.

Construction

The Construction industry is engaged in the construction of buildings and other structures, additions, alterations, reconstruction, installation and maintenance and repairs of buildings and other structures.

Core Activity Need for Assistance

The Core Activity Need for Assistance variable has been developed to measure the number of people with a profound or severe disability. As with the ABS Surveys of Disability, Ageing and Carers, the Census of Population and Housing defines the profound or severe disability population as: 'Those people needing help or assistance in one or more of the three core activity areas of self-care, mobility and communication, because of a long-term health condition (lasting six months or more), a disability (lasting six months or more), or old age'.

Count of All Children in Family

The number of dependent and non-dependent children in the family. It includes up to three children who were temporarily absent from the household on Census night. Applicable to families with children in family households.

Deaths

Deaths that occurred and were registered in Australia, including deaths of persons whose place of usual residence was overseas.

Debtors

Persons with Business related or Non-business related insolvency.

Disability A person has a disability if they have an impairment which restricts their everyday activities and has lasted, or is expected to last, for at least six months. A person with a disability is classified by whether they have: a specific limitation with any core activities (mobility, communication and self-care) a specific restriction when participating in schooling or employment activities, or no specific limitation with core activities or restriction with schooling or employment activities. A person has a specific limitation with a core activity if they need help from another person, have difficulty or use an aid or other equipment to perform at least one selected task. The level of limitation for each core activity is based on the amount of help a person needs with a selected task: profound — unable to do or always needs help with a core activity task severe — sometimes needs help or has difficulty with a core activity task moderate — does not need help but has difficulty with a core activity task mild — does not need help and has no difficulty, but uses aids or equipment or has other limitations with a core activity task A person's overall level of core activity limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in any of these activities. For example, if a person has a profound limitation with a communication task and a moderate limitation with a self-care task, they person is categorised as having a profound disability. A person has a schooling restriction if, because of their disability, they: are not attending school/undertaking further study need time off school or study attend special classes or a special school have other related difficulties. A person has an employment restriction if, because of their disability, they: are restricted in the type of job they could do are restricted in the number of hours they can work have difficulty finding suitable work need time off work are permanently unable to work. A person with a ‘schooling/employment restriction only' is someone who reported no limitations with any of the core activities but reported having difficulty with schooling and/or employment activities.

Disability Support Pension

Disability Support Pension is a payment that provides income support for people who have a permanent physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment. For more information see the Explanatory Notes.

Dividends

Dividends may be the main source of income for people who run their own incorporated business. They can be either:

• 'franked' which are shares of company profit paid or credited by an Australian resident public company from profits on which Australian company tax has been paid
• 'unfranked' which are those shares of company profit paid by an Australian resident company from profits on which Australian company tax has not been paid

Dwelling

A dwelling is a self-contained suite of rooms, including cooking and bathing facilities and intended for long-term residential use. A dwelling may comprise part of a building or the whole of a building. Regardless of whether they are self-contained or not, units within buildings offering institutional care (e.g. hospital) or temporary accommodation (e.g. motels, hostels and holiday apartments) are not defined as dwelling units. Such rooms are included in non-residential building approvals. Dwellings can be created in one of four ways: through new work to create a residential building; through alteration/addition work to an existing residential building; through either new or alteration/addition work on non-residential building or through conversion of a non-residential building to a residential building.

Education and Training

The Education and Training industry engages in the provision and support of education and training, except in the training of animals (e.g. dog obedience, horse training).

Electricity, Gas Water and Waste Services

Electricity, Gas Water and Waste Services industry is engaged in the provision of electricity; gas through mains systems; water, drainage; and sewerage services. Also includes units mainly engaged in the collection, treatment, and disposal of waste materials; remediation of contaminated materials (including land); and materials recovery activities.

Employed

All people aged 15 years and over who met one of the following criteria during the reference week:

• Worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind, in a job or business or on a farm (employees and owner managers of incorporated or unincorporated enterprises).
• Worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (contributing family workers).
• Were owner managers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.
• Were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
  • away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or
  • on strike or locked out; or
  • on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job.

Employee Income

Employee income includes the following data items on the individual income tax return.

• Total income from wage and salary (before tax and application of Medicare levy) as shown on the 'PAYG payment summary - individual non-business'.
• Allowances, earnings, tips, director's fees, etc.
• Employer lump sum payments (adjusted to gross value).
• Employment termination payments.
• Attributed personal services income.
• Employee share schemes.
• Reportable fringe benefits (gross value not adjusted).
• Reportable employer superannuation contributions (superannuation contributions (within concessional cap limits) from pre-tax income, usually made under salary sacrifice agreements).
• Exempt foreign employment income.
• Other net foreign employment income.

English Proficiency

Classifies a person's self-assessed proficiency in spoken English for persons who speak a language other than English at home. 

Enrolment

A child is considered to be enrolled if they are formally enrolled or registered in the preschool program and either:

• attended the preschool program for at least one hour during the reference period
• were absent during the reference period due to illness or extended holiday leave, but were expected to return

A child is not considered to be enrolled if they were absent during the reference period and not expected to return to the preschool program.

Establishments

Establishments are hotels, motels and private resorts, guest houses and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms - which provide predominantly short-term, non-residential accommodation.

Estimated Resident Population

Estimated Resident Population is the official measure of the population of Australia, based on the concept of usual residence. It refers to all people, regardless of nationality or citizenship, who usually live in Australia, with the exception of foreign diplomatic personnel and their families. It includes usual residents who are overseas for less than 12 months and excludes overseas visitors who are in Australia for less than 12 months.

Equivalised Total Household Income

Equivalised total household income is household income adjusted by the application of an equivalence scale to facilitate comparison of income levels between households of differing size and composition, reflecting that a larger household would normally need more income than a smaller household to achieve the same standard of living. For a lone person household it is equal to household income. For a household comprising more than one person, it is an indicator of the household income that would be needed by a lone person household to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing.

Ex-smoker

A person who reported at the time of interview that they did not currently smoke but had either:

• regularly smoked daily
• smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, or
• smoked pipes, cigars or other tobacco products at least 20 times in their lifetime.

Family

A family is defined by the ABS as 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.

Family Tax Benefit

Family Tax Benefit can be paid to a parent, guardian or an approved care organisation to assist in the cost of raising children. For more information see the Explanatory Notes.

Financial Assets

An asset whose value arises not from its physical existence (as would a building, piece of land, or capital equipment) but from a contractual relationship. Financial assets are mostly financial claims (with the exception of shares and value of own unincorporated business). Financial claims entitle the owner to receive a payment, or a series of payments, from an institutional unit to which the owner has provided funds. Examples include accounts held with financial institutions (including offset accounts), ownership of an incorporated business, shares, debentures and bonds, trusts, superannuation funds, and loans to other persons.

Financial and Insurance Services

The Financial and Insurance Services industry engages in financial transactions involving the creation, liquidation, or change of ownership of financial assets, and/or in facilitating financial transactions.

Fuel

Type of fuel used in motor vehicles as reported to the registering authority and includes petrol, diesel, LPG/other gases, dual fuel and electric vehicles.

Gini Coefficient

The Gini coefficient is a single statistic that lies between 0 and 1 and is a summary indicator of the degree of inequality in income where values closer to 1 represent greater inequality. For more information see the Explanatory Notes.

Government Pensions and Allowances

Income support payments from government to persons under social security and related government programs. Included are pensions and allowances received by aged, disabled, unemployed and sick persons, families and children, veterans or their survivors, and study allowances for students.

Greater Capital City Statistical Area

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA) are geographical areas that are designed to represent the functional extent of each of the eight state and territory capital cities. Within each state and territory, the area not defined as being part of the greater capital city is represented by a Rest of State region. There are 16 GCCSA regions covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. These consist of 8 regions representing each of the Australian State and Territory capital cities, and 8 regions covering the rest of each State and the Northern Territory. The ACT only has one GCCSA region for the entire Territory. The category of Other Territories in GCCSA includes the Other Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island.

Gross Capital Gains

Total current year capital gains as reported by taxpayers for the financial year. Capital gains is the profit that results from the sale of a capital asset, where the sales price exceeds the purchase price and attracts capital gains tax. Conversely, a capital loss can arise if proceeds from a sale are less than the original purchase price.

Gross Income

Income from all sources, whether monetary or in kind, before income tax, the Medicare levy, the Medicare levy surcharge, and the temporary budget repair levy are deducted.

Health Care and Social Assistance

The Health Care and Social Assistance industry provides human health care and social assistance.

Heavy Rigid Trucks

Rigid trucks of gross vehicle mass greater than 4.5 tonnes.

Homelands/Traditional Country

An area of land with which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have ancestral and/or cultural links

House

A detached building primarily used for long term residential purposes consisting of one dwelling unit. Includes detached residences associated with a non-residential building, and kit and transportable homes.

Household

A household is defined as one or more persons, at least one of whom is at least 15 years of age, usually resident in the same private dwelling.

Household Net Worth

Net worth (or wealth) refers to economic resources in the form of the balance of assets and liabilities held by members of a household.

Households

The type of household within a dwelling. Family households can contain non-family members (unrelated persons and visitors). A maximum of three families can be coded to a household. Lone person households can contain visitors.

Housing Suitability

Measure of housing utilisation based on a comparison of the number of bedrooms in occupied private dwellings with a series of household demographics, such as the number of usual residents, their relationship to each other, age and sex. It can be used to identify if a dwelling is either under or over utilised. The criteria are based on the Canadian National Occupancy Standard.

Housing Stress

Compares the rent and mortgage payments of households against the total household income, and determines whether the household is spending less than, or equal to or greater than 30 percent of their income. Applicable to occupied private dwellings.

Income Share

Income share held by the top 1%, 5% and 10% of all earners has been presented in this publication. The aggregate income of the units in each percentile is divided by the overall aggregate income of the entire population to derive income shares.

Income Support Supplement

An income support pension paid to: eligible war widows and widowers under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, and persons receiving wholly dependent partners' compensation under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.

Individual Tax Return

The annual tax return submitted by individuals to the Australian Taxation Office.

Information Media and Telecommunications

The Information Media and Telecommunications industry engages in:

• creating, enhancing and storing information products in media that allows their dissemination
• transmitting information products using analogue and digital signals (via electronic, wireless, optical and other means)
• providing transmission services and/or operating the infrastructure to enable the transmission and storage of information and information products

Investment Income

Investment income includes the following data items on the individual income tax return:

• Gross interest.
• Dividends unfranked amount.
• Dividends franked amount.
• Dividends franking credit.
• Distribution from trusts less net capital gains, foreign income and franked distributions- non-primary production.
• Franked distributions from trusts - non-primary production.
• Australian franking credits from a New Zealand company.
• Net foreign rent.
• Net rent.

Labour Force

For any group, people who were employed or unemployed, as defined.

Labourers

Labourers perform a variety of routine and repetitive physical tasks using hand and power tools, and machines either as an individual or as part of a team assisting more skilled workers such as Trades Workers, and Machinery Operators and Drivers.

Lifetime risk (alcohol consumption)

Refers to the lifetime risk guideline from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines 2009 Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol. A person is considered to have exceeded the guideline if they consumed more than two standard drinks per day on average in the last week.

Light Commercial Vehicles

Vehicles primarily constructed for the carriage of goods, and which are less than or equal to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass. Included are utilities, panel vans, cab chassis and forward-control load carrying vehicles (whether four-wheel drive or not).

Light Rigid Trucks

Rigid trucks of gross vehicle mass greater than 3.5 tonnes and less than or equal to 4.5 tonnes.

Local Government Area

Local Government Areas (LGAs) are spatial units which represent the geographical areas of incorporated local government councils. Each LGA has an official status which is indicated by the LGA type: (A) NSW LGA (excluding Cities), (AC) Aboriginal Council, (B) Borough, (C) City, (CGC) Community Government Council, (DC) District Council, (IC) Island Council, (M) Municipality/Municipal Council, (S) Shire, (RC) Rural City, (RegC) Regional Council and (T) Town. The major areas of Australia not administered by incorporated bodies are the northern parts of South Australia, most of the Northern Territory and all of the Australian Capital Territory and the Other Territories. LGA boundaries can change from year to year.

Long-term Health Condition

An illness, injury or disability which has lasted at least six months, or which the person expects to last for six months or more.

• Asthma is classified as current if the person reported at the time of interview they were having symptoms or treatment. To be current, symptoms of asthma or treatment for asthma must have occurred in the last 12 months.
• Asthma, arthritis, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes), sight and hearing problems are assumed to be long-term.
• Heart attack, angina, heart failure and stroke are assumed to be both current and long-term.

Machinery Operators and Drivers

Machinery Operators and Drivers operate machines, plant, vehicles and other equipment to perform a range of agricultural, manufacturing and construction functions, move materials, and transport passengers and freight.

Main Source of Income

The income source from which the most income is received. For more information see the Explanatory Notes.

Managers

Managers plan, organise, direct, control, coordinate and review the operations of government, commercial, agricultural, industrial, non-profit and other organisations, and departments.

Manufacturing

The Manufacturing industry is engaged in the physical or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products (except Agriculture and Construction).

Median

For any distribution, the median value is that which divides the relevant population into two equal parts, half falling below the value, and half exceeding it.

Median Age

That age which divides the units in a group into two equal parts, one half having ages above the median and the other half having ages below the median.

Median Income

That level of income which divides the units in a group into two equal parts, one half having incomes above the median and the other half having incomes below the median.

Median Price

The midpoint of dwelling values in the reference period. Half of all properties bought/sold in the period did so at a price below the median, the other half had a price above the median.

Method of Travel to Work

Derived from the question about how the person got to work on the day of the Census.

Mining

The Mining industry extracts naturally occurring mineral solids, such as coal and ores; liquid minerals, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. The term mining is used in the broad sense to include underground or open cut mining; dredging; quarrying; well operations or evaporation pans; recovery from ore dumps or tailings as well as beneficiation activities (i.e. preparing, including crushing, screening, washing and floatation) and other preparation work customarily performed at the mine site, or as part of mining activity.

Motorcycles

Two and three wheeled motor vehicles constructed primarily for the carriage of one or two persons. Included are two and three wheeled mopeds, scooters, motor tricycles and motorcycles with sidecars.

Never smoked

A person who at the time of interview reported they had:

• never regularly smoked daily,
• smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, and
• smoked pipes, cigars or other tobacco products less than 20 times in their lifetime.

Newstart Allowance

Newstart Allowance is a payment for people who are looking for work and allows them to participate in activities designed to increase their chances of finding work. Persons must be aged 22 to 64 years to qualify.

Non-Business Related Insolvency

Unless an individual declares their situation to be directly related to a proprietary interest in a business, all other insolvencies, even those for which details are not stated, are classified as non-business related.

Non-Freight Carrying Trucks

Specialist motor vehicles or motor vehicles fitted with special purpose equipment, and having little or no goods carrying capacity (e.g. ambulances, cherry pickers, fire trucks and tow trucks).

Non-Residential Building

A non-residential building is primarily intended for purposes other than long-term residential purposes.

Other Income

Other income (excluding Government pensions and allowances) includes the following data items on the individual income tax return:

• Foreign entities - transfer or trust income.
• Foreign investment fund and/or foreign life assurance policy income.
• Controlled foreign company income.
• Net foreign pension/annuity income.
• Other net foreign source income; and other income.

Other Services

The Other Services industry includes a broad range of personal services; civic, religious, profession and other interest group services; selected repair and maintenance activities; and private households employing staff.

Own Unincorporated Business Income

Own unincorporated business income includes the following data items on the individual income tax return:

• Distributions from partnerships and trusts (including any franked distributions) for primary production activities.
• Distributions from partnerships (including any franked distributions) for non-primary production activities, less foreign income.
• Net personal services income.
• Net income (or loss) from business.

Parenting Payment

Parenting Payment is a payment for persons who are primary carers of children.

Passenger Vehicles

Motor vehicles constructed primarily for the carriage of persons and containing up to nine seats (including the driver's seat). Included are cars, station wagons, four-wheel drive passenger vehicles and forward-control passenger vehicles. Excluded are campervans.

Patent Application

A document filed with IP Australia, disclosing and claiming an invention and requesting the right to exclude others from commercially exploiting it.

Patent Applicant

A person who has submitted an application to IP Australia for a Patent.

Percentiles

When all persons in the population are ranked from the lowest to the highest on the basis of some characteristic such as their income, they can then be divided into equal sized groups. Division into 100 groups gives percentiles. The highest value of the characteristic in the twentieth percentile is denoted P20. The median or the top of the 50th percentile is denoted P50. P20, and P80 denote the highest values in the 20th, and 80th percentiles. Ratios of values at the top of selected percentiles, such as P80/P20, are often called percentile ratios.

Percentile Ratios

Percentile ratios summarise the relative distance between two points in a distribution. To illustrate the full spread of the income distribution, the percentile ratio needs to refer to points near the extremes of the distribution, for example, the P80/P20 ratio. The P80/P50 and P50/P20 ratios focus on comparing the ends of the income distribution with the midpoint.

Personal Insolvency

Refer to Business related insolvency and Non-business related insolvency in this Glossary.

Population Density

The population density for a region is calculated by dividing Estimated Resident Population data by the Land Area to obtain the number of persons per square kilometre.

Public Administration and Safety

The Public Administration and Safety industry engages in central, state, or local government legislative, executive, and judicial activities; in providing physical, social, economic and general public safety and security services; and in enforcing regulations. This industry includes military defence, government representation and international government organisations.

Preschool Program

A preschool program is defined as a structured, play based learning program, delivered by a degree qualified teacher primarily aimed at children in the year before they commence full-time schooling. This is irrespective of the type of institution that provides it or whether it is government funded or privately provided.

Private Dwellings

Houses, flats, home units, garages, tents and other structures used as a private places of residence.

Private Sector Houses

A house is a detached building primarily used for long term residential purposes. It consists of one dwelling unit. Building ownership is classified as either public or private sector and is based on the sector of intended owner of the completed building at the time of approval.

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

The Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry engages in providing professional, scientific and technical services, applying common processes where labour inputs are integral to the production or service delivery. This industry specialises and sells its expertise. Services in this industry include scientific research, architecture, engineering, computer systems design, law, accountancy, advertising, market research, management and other consultancy, veterinary science and professional photography.

Professionals

Professionals perform analytical, conceptual and creative tasks through the application of theoretical knowledge and experience in the fields of arts, media, business, design, engineering, the physical and life sciences, transport, education, health, information and communication technology, the law, social sciences and social welfare.

Protected Land Areas

Protected Land areas are areas of land especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity.

Quartiles

Quartiles are groupings that result from ranking all persons who lodged tax returns in ascending order according to total income, and then dividing them into four equal groups, each comprising 25% of the reference population. In this publication Australia's quartile ranges are used to compare the income distributions of regions to Australia.

Registered Marital Status

Registered Marital Status records a person's formal registered marital status.

Relative Root Mean Square Error

The errors associated with the modelled estimates for small areas fall into four categories. Sampling error, non-sampling error, modelling error, and prediction error. The relative root mean square error (RRMSE) provides an indication of the deviation of the modelled estimate from the true value. The RRMSE is primarily a measure of prediction error, but in its calculation it also inherits some aspects of modelling and sampling error.

Relative Standard Error

The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of sampling variability which is obtained by expressing the standard error as a percentage of the estimate to which it refers. For example, if the estimate is 0.5 and the standard error is 0.05, then the relative standard error will be 10%. The relative standard error is a useful measure in that it provides an immediate indication of the percentage of errors likely to have occurred due to sampling and thus avoids the need to refer also to the size of the estimate.

Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services

The Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services industry engages in renting, hiring, or otherwise allowing the use of tangible and intangible assets (except copyrights), and providing related services.

Residential Building

Buildings primarily used for long-term residential purposes. Residential buildings are categories as houses or other residential buildings.

Rest of State

Under the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), Rest of State is any area not defined as being part of the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs). In the case of Australian Capital Territory, there is no Rest of State balance.

Retail Trade

The Retail Trade industry is engaged in the purchase and/or on-selling, the commission based buying, and the commission-based selling, of goods, without significant transformation, to the general public. The Retail Trade industry also purchases and on sells goods to the general public using non-traditional means, including the internet.

Sales Workers

Sales Workers sell goods, services and property, and provide sales support in areas such as operating cash registers and displaying and demonstrating goods.

Self Assessed Health Status

A person's general assessment of their health as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor.

Service Pension

A service pension can be paid to war veterans on the grounds of age or invalidity, and to eligible partners, widows and widowers.

Shares

A share is a contract between the issuing company and the owner of the share which gives the latter an interest in the management of the corporation and the right to participate in profits. The "value of shares" excludes the value of shares held by individuals in their own incorporated business. Such shares are included in "value of own incorporated business".

Small-Scale Solar Panel System

A residential or commercial installation that generates electricity from solar energy, is no more than 100kW in capacity and has met the appropriate regulations.

Social Marital Status

Social marital status records a person's relationship status based on their current living arrangements - where a couple relationship exists in the household and the type of relationship is identified.

Solar Water Heater

A system that is installed has met the appropriate regulations and is capable of generating hot water from the sun.

State/Territory

States and Territories are geographic areas and political entities with fixed boundaries. States and Territories consist of one or more Statistical Area Level 4. In aggregate, they cover Australia without gaps or overlaps.

Statistical Area Level 2

Statistical Areas Level 2 are a medium-sized general purpose areas. SA2s aim to represent a community that interacts together socially and economically. Most are designed to have a population of between 3,000 and 25,000 people.

Statistical Area Level 3

Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3) are geographical areas built from whole SA2s. SA3s are designed to provide a regional breakdown of Australia. They generally have a population of between 30,000 and 130,000 people. In the major cities, they represent the area serviced by a major transport and commercial hub. In regional areas, they represent the area serviced by regional cities that have a population over 20,000 people. In outer regional and remote areas, they represent areas which are widely recognised as having a distinct identity and have similar social and economic characteristics.

Statistical Area Level 4

Statistical Areas Level 4 are geographical areas built from whole SA3s. The SA4 regions have been designed for the output of a variety of regional data, including data from the 2016 Census of Population and Housing. SA4s tend to have populations of between 100,000 to 300,000 people. In metropolitan areas, SA4s tend to have larger populations (300,000 – 500,000 people).

Superannuation

A long-term savings arrangement which operates primarily to provide income for retirement.

Superannuation and Annuities Income

Superannuation and annuity income includes the following data items on the individual income tax return:

• Australian annuities and superannuation income streams.
• Australian annuities and superannuation income streams - lump sum in arrears.
• Australian superannuation lump sum payments.
• Bonuses from life insurance companies and friendly societies.

Standardised death rate

Expressed per 1,000 or 100,000 persons, the standardised death rate enables the comparison of death rates between populations with different age structures by relating them to a standard population.

Technicians and Trade Workers

Technicians and trade workers perform a variety of skilled tasks, applying broad or in-depth technical, trade or industry specific knowledge, often in support of scientific, engineering, building and manufacturing activities.

Tenure Type

Whether a household rents or owns the dwelling in which they were enumerated on Census night, or whether the household occupies it under another arrangement.

Total Fertility Rate

Sum of age-specific fertility rates (live births at each age of mother per 1,000 females of the estimated resident population of that age) divided by 1,000. It represents the number of children a female would bear during her lifetime if she experienced current age-specific fertility rates at each age of her reproductive life.

Total Income

Total income is the sum of all income derived from employee income, own unincorporated business, superannuation and annuities, investment and other income (excluding Government pensions, benefits or allowances)

Total Personal Income (Weekly)

Indicates the total income that the person usually receives each week for all employed people aged 15 years and over.

Total Residential Building

Total residential building is comprised of houses and other residential buildings. it does not include dwellings in non-residential building.

Trademark

A trademark can be a letter, number, word, phrase, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or any combination of these, which is used to distinguish goods and services of one trader from those of another.

Trademark Applicant

A person who has submitted an application to IP Australia for a Trademark.

Transfers

The record of sale for established houses and attached dwellings taken from the residential property sales dataset.

Transport, Postal and Warehousing

The Transport, Postal and Warehousing industry is engaged in providing transport of passengers and freight by road, rail, water or air. Other transportation activities such as postal services, pipeline transport, and scenic and sightseeing transport are included in this industry.

Trusts

Any type of managed fund which involves the pooling of investors' money in order for a trustee or professional manager to administer that fund. Examples include listed and unlisted public unit trusts, cash management trusts, property trusts and family trusts used only for investment purposes.

Unemployment

People aged 15 and over who were not employed during the reference week and had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week or were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

People aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:

• had actively looked for full time or part time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week; or
• were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

Unemployment Rate

For any group, the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force in the same group.

Unpaid Child Care

This consists of time spent in the previous two weeks caring for a child or children aged less than 15 years without being paid. This includes people caring for their own children, whether they usually live with them or not. It also includes people looking after other children, such as grandchildren, the children of other relatives, or the children of friends or neighbours. Care for a child given through an organisation or club is excluded. Respondents were asked to indicate whether care was given for their own child and/or another child.

Unpaid Work

Persons who did any voluntary work in the last twelve months, or in the last two weeks (prior to completing the Census) provided:

• unpaid child care
• unpaid assistance to a person with a disability
• other unpaid care, help or assistance to others

Usual residence

Usual residence within Australia refers to that address at which the person has lived or intends to live for six months or more in a given reference year i.e. the calendar year around the 30 June reference date.

Value of Building

Statistics on the value of building work approved are derived by aggregating the estimated 'value of building work when completed' as reported on building approval documents provided to local councils or other building approval authorities. Conceptually these value data should exclude the value of land and landscaping but include site preparation costs. These estimates are usually a reliable indicator of the completed value of 'houses'. However, for 'other residential buildings' and 'non-residential buildings', they can differ significantly from the completed value of the building as final costs and contracts have not been established before council approval is sought and gained.

Voluntary Work for an Organisation or Group

This includes help willingly given in the form of time, service or skills, to a club, organisation or association. Unpaid voluntary work can include:

• assisting at organised events and with sports associations
• helping with organised school events and activities
• assisting in churches, hospitals, nursing homes and charities
• other kinds of volunteer work (e.g. emergency services)

Wholesale Trade

The Wholesale Trade industry is engaged in the purchase and on selling, the commission based buying, and the commission-based selling of goods, without significant transformation, to businesses.

Working Age Population

The working age population (aged 15-64 years) measure is used to give an estimate of the total number of potential workers within a region.

Youth Allowance

Youth Allowance is a payment for young people who are studying, undertaking training or an Australian Apprenticeship, looking for work, or sick. Persons must be aged 15 to 24 years to qualify.