ADDRESS ON CENSUS NIGHT
JUSTIFICATION
The collection of information regarding household address on Census Night is essential for the conduct of an accurate and high quality Census.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality of the information provided is carefully guarded. The Census and Statistics Act 1905 requires that no identifiable information about an individual be made available to any other person, government agency or private organisation.
Following recommendations from the House of Representatives Standing Committee, the Government decided that for the 2001 Census all people would be given the option of having their name-identified responses retained for 99 years (Time Capsule). After 99 years, the name-identified data will be made public for future generations. This option was again included in the 2006 Census and will be a permanent feature of future Censuses.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Census counts of where people spent Census Night, classified by statistical areas, are available from every national Census.
PURPOSE
Household address is essential for the conduct of a high quality post-enumeration survey which is used to measure the level of under-enumeration in the Census. This measure is an important component in the estimation of resident population for each of the states, territories and local government areas as required by the A New Tax System (Commonwealth State Financial Arrangements) Act 1999 and the Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995. It is also used to determine the number of seats allocated to each state and territory in the House of Representatives in accordance with the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
Household address is the best way for the ABS and its Census Collectors to ensure that all forms they deliver are returned or that an eCensus form has been lodged.
The household address on Census Night is used to confirm the geographic code allocated to the household.
Census counts by place of enumeration also provide valuable information which can be used in assessing the service population of a local area at a point in time, namely Census Night.
POSSIBLE CHANGES FOR 2011 CENSUS
For the 2011 Census, there will be changes to the geographic outputs for the Census. For more information about the proposed directions, see 'Geographic Outputs' (in Results and Output)
The quality of address information will be much more important for the 2011 Census as all addresses will need to be coded to mesh block through an automatic coding system. Building name will be required if an accurate street address is unknown (e.g. for some specialised dwellings such as nursing homes, educational facilities) to facilitate the geographical coding of the address to mesh block level.
2006 CENSUS QUESTION
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