2006 REMOTENESS AREA CORRESPONDENCES PRODUCT BRIEF


Introduction

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provides a range of correspondence files that enable users to convert data from one type of geographic area to another.

The Remoteness Area (RA) correspondence files provided in this publication are all population based correspondences.

Population based correspondences are produced when both geographic areas being compared, are made up of whole base units, in this case Census Collection Districts (CDs). 2006 population based correspondences are calculated on the population of 2006 CDs. The CD was the smallest geographical unit used for the collection and dissemination of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing data. CDs covered the whole of Geographic Australia without gaps or overlaps and CDs were the building blocks for all 2006 ABS geographies.

A population based correspondence can be used to translate statistics aggregated by the “From Area” to the “To Area” aggregations. The population ratio is calculated by summing the populations of the CDs of the “From Area” within a “To Area” and expressing this as a percentage of the total populations of the CDs of the “From Area”.


File Naming Convention for Standard Correspondences

Character	Meaning
1	"C" for Calculated Ratio file
2	“P” for Population Based Calculation
3 - 6	Year of To Area
7 -9	Type of To Area "RA"
10	"_"
11 - 14	Year of From Area
15 - 17	Type of From Area eg, "POA" (Note 1)

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Note 1: In some cases the Area type is two characters, eg “CD”, adjust character count appropriately – See Appendix 1 for a list of the different acronyms.


For example
“CP2006RA_2006SSC.txt” is the text file containing the information corresponding 2006 SSC TO 2006 RA.


File Format for Standard Correspondences

Correspondence files are comma-delimited text files. The file structure, from left to right, is listed below.

Field Name	Type
To area Code	Character
To area Name	Character
From area Code	Character
From area Name	Character
Ratio	Number
Percentage	Number

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Field Names will vary from file to file but are consistent in nature. The field name is constructed from the area type and date. For example the code field from the 2006 SLA file will have the name "SLA_MAINCODE_2006", and the name field from the 2006 SLA file will have the name "SLA_NAME_2006".

It is important to note the placement/ positioning convention as it is similar to the file naming convention.

Ratio - figures expressed as part of 1.

Percentage - figures expressed as a percentage ranges from 0 to 100.


Examples

The examples are from the population based correspondence CP2006RA_2006SLA.txt. There are a few different ways in which one can interpret the data from a population based correspondence file.

It can be used to find out what “From Areas” population make up a specific “To Area”. In this case one can determine what 2006 SLAs population make up the 2006 RA for NSW of Very Remote Australia.

RA_2006_CODE	RA_2006_NAME	SLA_2006_MAINCODE	SLA_2006_NAME	RATIO	PERCENT
14	Very Remote Australia	125108859	Lord Howe Island	1	100
14	Very Remote Australia	135107900	Walgett (A)	0.0412	4.12
14	Very Remote Australia	135151150	Bourke (A)	0.3104	31.04
14	Very Remote Australia	135151200	Brewarrina (A)	0.3863	38.63
14	Very Remote Australia	135151750	Cobar (A)	0.0614	6.14
14	Very Remote Australia	160101700	Central Darling (A)	0.6902	69.02
14	Very Remote Australia	160108809	Unincorp. Far West	0.4932	49.32

As the “From Area” and “To Area” naming convention is mathematically based, files are interpreted as “To Area” = “From Area” multiplied by ratio.

The estimated value for 2006 NSW Very Remote Australia from 2006 SLA data would be:

14 (Very Remote Australia) = 125108859 (Lord Howe Island) data multiplied by 1

plus

14 (Very Remote Australia) = 135107900 (Walgett (A)) data multiplied by 0.0412

plus

14 (Very Remote Australia) = 135151150 (Bourke (A)) data multiplied by 0.3104

plus

14 (Very Remote Australia) = 135151200 (Brewarrina (A)) data multiplied by 0.3863

plus

14 (Very Remote Australia) =135151750 (Cobar (A)) data multiplied by 0.0614

plus

14 (Very Remote Australia) =160101700 (Central Darling (A)) data multiplied by 0.6902

plus

14 (Very Remote Australia) = 160108809 (Unincorp. Far West) data multiplied by 0.4932,49

Alternatively the same population based correspondence file can be used to find out what “To Areas” the “From Areas” population are divided into. In this case one can determine what different RAs the population from Bourke (A) falls within.

RA_2006_CODE	RA_2006_NAME	SLA_2006_MAINCODE	SLA_2006_NAME	RATIO	PERCENT
13	Remote Australia	135151150	Bourke (A)	0.6896	68.96
14	Very Remote Australia	135151150	Bourke (A)	0.3104	31.04

This outlines that 68.96% of the Bourke (A) SLA’s 2006 population falls within Remote Australia (NSW) and 31.04% of Bourke (A) SLA’s 2006 population falls within Very Remote Australia (NSW).


Contact

For enquiries please contact the ABS by email at:

geography@abs.gov.au


Appendix 1

Statistical Geography Acronyms

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Acronym	Area
CD	Census Collection District
LGA	Local Government Area
POA	Postal Area
RA	Remoteness Classification
SD	Statistical Division
SLA	Statistical Local Area
SSC	State Suburb
SSD	Statistical Sub Division
UCL	Urban Centres and Localities
SOS	Section of State
SED	State Electoral Division
CED	Commonwealth Electoral Division
STE	State and/or Territory

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Copyright: Commonwealth of Australia administered by the ABS