ABOUT THIS RELEASE
This publication is part of the Demography Working Paper series.
State level ERP is calculated for the Census date (6 August) using Census counts by place of usual residence, and then adjusting for both net under-enumeration of the Census and residents temporarily overseas on census night (RTOs). The 6 August ERP is then backdated to 30 June, removing the effects of estimated births, deaths and both overseas and interstate migration for the period 30 June to 6 August. Quarterly estimates of ERP are then compiled by updating the ERP figures for the previous quarter with estimated births, deaths, overseas migration and interstate migration data for the reference quarter.
Births and deaths are calculated using birth and death registrations, while overseas migration is calculated using data collected from passenger cards, visa and passports by those travelling into and out of Australia. Data on interstate migration, however, are not directly available, but instead need to be estimated using administrative by-product data. As such, interstate migration remains the greatest individual source of potential error to state and territory population estimates.