NOTES ON SPECIFIC DATA ITEMS
Geographic items
To enable CURF users greater flexibility in their analyses, the ABS has included one Socio-economic Index for Area (SEIFA) and several sub-state geography items on the expanded 2006 CURF. Conditions are placed on the use of these items. Tables showing multiple data items, cross tabulated by more than one sub-state geography at a time, are not permitted due to the detailed information about small geographic regions that could be presented. However, simple cross-tabulations of population counts by sub-state geographic data items may be useful for clients in order to determine which geography item to include in their primary analysis, and such output is permitted.
Income items
Continuous income items (expanded CURF)
The person level records contain information on income by source (continuous) and total weekly income (continuous and in deciles). The household level records contain information at a broader level, derived from the income of all persons aged 15 years and over in the household (household gross weekly income and equivalised gross income are continuous and in deciles). Users should use the household income variables, as persons included in family and household level variables may not have person level records on the CURF files (refer to section 'Persons 15 years and over' in this chapter). As a result, users deriving family or household level income measures from the person level file will not derive the correct amounts.
When analysing income at person level, it is necessary to exclude the reserved values of 99,999,998 for 'Not known' and 99,999,999 for 'Not stated' for income items for specific sources. When analysing income totals at person and household level, it is necessary to exclude the reserved value of 99,999,998 for 'Not known or not stated'. Note that if more than one contributing income item at the person level has a value of 'Not known' or 'Not stated', then 'Total weekly cash income' and derived deciles are set to 'Not known or not stated', as it was not possible to derive an accurate total. Similarly, if more than one contributing person record in a household has a value of 'Not known or not stated', then household income (both equivalised and gross), and derived income deciles are set to 'Not known or not stated'.
The person level income items are:
- weekly income from unincorporated business (OINCO05A);
- weekly income from wages and salary (OINCO11A);
- weekly income from government cash pensions (OINCO11B);
- weekly income from rental income (OINCO08);
- weekly income from dividends and interest (DIVINTWK);
- weekly income from other cash sources (OINCO10); and
- total weekly cash income (OINCO12).
The relevant household level income items are:
- household equivalised gross weekly income (EQUIVINC); and
- household gross weekly income (OINCO16).
Income deciles (expanded and basic CURFs)
When analysing income deciles at person or household level, it is necessary to exclude the reserved value of 00 for 'Not known or not stated'. Refer to the section above 'Continuous income items (expanded CURF)' for more details on how the 'Not known or not stated' values are derived from individual income components.
The person and household level income items in deciles are:
- Total weekly cash income deciles (PERSDEC);
- Household equivalised gross weekly income (EQUIVDEC); and
- Household gross weekly income deciles (HHDEC) (expanded CURF only).
Multiple response items
There are two data items at the person level on the 2006 TUS CURFs that have multiple responses. In these instances respondents were able to select one or more response categories, and the output data items are multi-response in nature. This section describes these items and provides some information on how to use them.
On the basic and expanded CURFs, the data items are:
- relationship of carer to recipient living in household (RELCRHA-RELCRHC); and
- relationship of primary carer to recipient living in household (RLPCRHA-RLPCRHC )
The item 'Relationship of carer to recipient living in household' captures multiple responses where a person provides care to more than one person with a disability in their household. The first response is captured in the first, or 'A', position (RELCRHA), and additional responses are in the second and then third, or 'B' and 'C', positions (RELCRHB, RELCRHC). If a person does not care for anyone then they will have a value of 99 'not applicable' in the first position (RELCRHA). The 'Null response' (value of 0) is a default code and should not be used in data analysis. The item 'Relationship of primary carer to recipient living in household' is set up in the same way.
Imputation flags
Imputation was undertaken for income from wages and salary income only, and an imputation flag (IMPFLAGP) exists at the person level to indicate whether an individual record had income from wages and salary imputed. A value of 1 'partially imputed' indicates that income from wages and salary for that record was imputed. On the expanded CURF this flag can be used to determine if 'Weekly income from wages and salary', and also if 'Total weekly cash income' includes an imputed wages and salary component. On the expanded and basic CURFs, the flag can also be used to indicate if 'Total weekly cash income deciles' includes an imputed wages and salary component. An imputation flag also exists at the household level (IMPFLAGH) to indicate whether a household contains one or more person records which had a wages and salary item imputed, and this can be used in a similar manner.
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