1362.3 - Regional Statistics, Queensland, 2004

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/10/2004 Final

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Explanatory Notes Glossary	EXPLANATORY NOTES INTRODUCTION 1. This publication brings together a range of ABS and non-ABS data to provide users of Regional Statistics, Queensland with information on key social and economic variables for regional Queensland. 2. Data presented are obtained from a wide variety of collections, both ABS and non-ABS. When analysing the data, care needs to be taken as time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope and coverage may differ. Some main data concepts and definitions are included below. For more detailed information, including technical notes, please refer to the relevant source publications that are listed in the Bibliography. REGIONS 3. The regions specified are local government areas as defined in Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), (cat. no. 1216.0). Legal local government areas (LGAs) are spatial units which represent the geographical areas of incorporated local government councils such as cities (C), towns (T), shires (S), Aboriginal community councils (AC) and Island community councils (IC). 4. Statistical divisions (SDs), which are groupings of whole or partial LGAs, are designed to be relatively homogeneous regions characterised by identifiable social and economic units within the region. North West Statistical Division includes unincorporated islands. 5. Statistical districts are predominantly urban areas, the boundaries of which are designed to contain the anticipated urban spread of the area for at least 20 years. They generally contain a population of 25,000 or more. 6. The regions used for the publication of labour force statistics are based on standard geographical regions and are mostly identical in terms of spatial definitions with the statistical regions of the ASGC. 7. Remoteness areas as defined in the ASGC 2001 Edition measure the remoteness of a point based on the road distances to the nearest ABS defined Urban Centres, where one must travel to access a full range of services. The six Remoteness Areas are: Major Cities of Australia; Inner Regional Australia; Outer Regional Australia; Remote Australia; Very Remote Australia and Migratory. 8. To allow comparisons across differing spatial classifications, the data have been standardised to fit the ASGC structure for 2003. This process is known as geographic concordance. In applying the concordances it is assumed that the particular characteristics of any data item are uniformly distributed across the spatial area. 9. While care was taken in producing the concordances for non-ABS data, the concorded data are not an official ABS product and the ABS will not guarantee the accuracy of concorded data. No liability will be accepted by the ABS for any damages arising from decisions or actions based upon the data. 10. The area in square kilometres of statistical areas is derived from digitised statistical boundaries from the 2001 census. There have been improvements to the digital base maps used to map statistical geography. Detailed survey plans used to identify the 15 Aboriginal Community Councils and 17 Torres Strait Island Communities in the 2002 ASGC provided more detailed alignment along the coastline for some of these regions resulting in a slight decrease in area from the 2001 ASGC to the 2003 ASGC used in this publication. 11. ABS data in this publication relate to the period 1998 to 2003. Where possible, data are presented according to the ASGC 2003 edition. Exceptions are: ASGC 2001 Edition applies to labour force ASGC 2002 Edition applies to births, deaths, building, education, individual income, local government finances and tourist accommodation. SELECTED DATA ITEMS Population estimates 12. This publication contains estimates of the resident population for statistical divisions in Queensland for each year at 30 June from 1998 to 2003. The estimates are based on results of the 2001 Census of Population and Housing, and were calculated for post-census dates by a linear regression model using independent indicators of population change. 13. Resident population estimates for the period 1998-2001 have been revised to final status using the 2001 census results. Estimates are preliminary for 2003 and revised for 2002. For further information see Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0). 14. Figures are shown to the nearest unit without rounding. Accuracy to the last digit is not claimed and should not be assumed. Income support customers 15. The figures shown under the heading 'Income support customers' have been compiled by the Australian Government Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS). The social security system in Australia provides, subject to eligibility criteria, income support for people who are retired, have a disability or medical condition which prevents them from working, are unemployed, have children in their care or are not in a position to provide for themselves because of special circumstances. It also provides a framework to support access to employment for those with the ability to participate in the workforce. Total income support customers for June 2002 were provided to the ABS on a different basis to the June 2001 data and are not comapable. 16. The statistics compiled by FaCS on Australia's welfare customers are classified according to the postcode district in the postal address held on departmental records. Estimates were confidentialised by FaCS before supplying the data at postcode level. The figures shown in this publication have been converted from postcode areas to local government areas using geographic concordances based on 2003 ASGC. Further information can be obtained in the publications Australian Government Department of Family and Community Services, Customers - a statistical overview and Australian Government Department of Family and Community Services, Customers by Postcode (cat. no. 109.06). Building approvals 17. Statistics of building work approved are compiled from: permits issued by local government authorities and other principal certifying authorities contracts let or day labour work organised by commonwealth, state, semi-government and local government authorities major building approvals in areas not subject to normal administrative approval (e.g., building on remote mine sites). 18. Building approvals data include: all approved new residential building valued at $10,000 or more approved alterations and additions to residential building valued at $10,000 or more all approved non-residential building jobs valued at $50,000 or more and specifically exclude construction activity not defined as building (e.g., construction of roads, bridges, railways, earthworks, etc.). Tourist accommodation 19. From the March quarter 1998, the scope of the Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) has included licensed hotels, motels and guest houses and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms or units. For 2003 the scope of the STA has been expanded to include other types of establishments which provide predominantly short-term non-residential accommodation to the general public: holiday flats, units and houses of letting entities with 15 or more rooms or units; caravan parks with 40 or more powered sites and visitor hostels with 25 or more bed spaces. 20. Details of the composition of tourism regions, including maps, are available on request from the ABS and the concordance between statistical local areas of the ASGC and the Queensland Tourism regions may be found in the electronic datacube Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data, Queensland, (cat. no. 8635.3.55.001). The Great Barrier Reef Tourism Region consists of the islands from Lizard Island in the north to Lady Elliot Island in the south: establishments on these islands are included in on-shore Tourism Regions. Great Barrier Reef (TR) data is not included in Queensland totals because the data for the establishments on these islands have already been included in the figures for other Tourism Regions. 21. In the June quarter 2003 the ABS identified 132 hotels, motels and guest houses and serviced apartments which had been operating for a number of quarters but were not on the STA frame. These additional establishments were included in the STA from the June quarter 2003. This resulted in a break in time series between the March and June quarters 2003. Particular care needs to be taken for all calculations of percentage changes that cross the break in series. 22. The inclusion of these 132 establishments added $31.9 million (2.7%) to the total takings from accommodation for the June quarter, 285,689 room nights occupied (2.8%) and 5,918 guest rooms available (2.9%). 23. For further information, please refer to the Explanatory Notes and Appendices of the December quarter 2003 edition of Tourist Accommodation, Australia (cat. no. 8635.0). Motor vehicle registrations 24. Data for motor vehicles on register were extracted from the Motor Vehicle Census, 2003 by postcode of the registered owner. The postcode data have been concorded to local government area based on the 2003 ASGC. Further information can be obtained in Motor Vehicle Census, Australia (cat. no. 9309.0). 25. Motor vehicles data exclude Australian Government Government owned vehicles. Income 26. The taxable income data have been obtained from the Australian Taxation Office with the statistics being aggregated from the residential postcode address of the taxpayers. Individual income tax records have not been released to the ABS, rather the data obtained has previously been aggregated and confidentialised to protect the identity of individuals. 27. Both Individual taxable income data and Wages and salary data have been concorded to LGAs based on the 2002 ASGC. Crime 28. The statistics contained in this publication were obtained from the Queensland Police Service at the Police Division geographic level. The data are subject to the counting rules and boundaries of Queensland Police Service. For more information refer to the Queensland Police web site www.police.qld.gov.au/pr/services/statsnet/0102/01_02.shtml. 29. Users may wish to refer to the Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR) web site <http://www.oesr.qld.gov.au> to obtain 'Small area crime profiles, data. Schools and students 30. The statistics contained in this publication have been derived from information provided by Education Queensland and concorded to LGAs based on the ASGC 2002 edition. The statistics are for numbers of government and non-government schools and students, as defined by Education Queensland. Schools include primary, secondary, combined primary and secondary schools as at the first Friday in August each year. For more information refer to Education Queensland. Labour force 31. This report contains original (unadjusted) estimates of employed and unemployed persons for labour force statistical regions. Historically, these series have shown a high degree of variability which is inherent in data from the labour force survey relating to small labour markets. Care should therefore be taken in the interpretation of regional estimates. 32. The purpose of the Labour Force Survey is to provide timely information on the labour market activity of the usually resident civilian population of Australia aged 15 years and over. For further information refer to Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods, Australia (cat. no. 6102.0). 33. The labour force survey is designed primarily to produce reliable national, state and territory estimates. While statistical region estimates will add to the state total, they will show less stability than for similar estimates at the state level. Due to small sample size, sub-state estimates are subject to higher relative standard errors (particularly for estimates of unemployment). 34. The ASGC version used for labour force data is updated every 5 years. The data in this publication relates to ASGC 2001 edition. Changes have been made to labour force dissemination regions from November 2002 as part of the periodic redesign of the sample. 35. Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates of persons employed, unemployed and not in the labour force are calculated in such a way to add up to independent estimates of the civilian population aged 15 years and over (population benchmarks). These population benchmarks are revised every five years following the Census of Population and Housing. From February 2004, LFS estimates were compiled using revised population benchmarks based on results from the 2001 Census. LFS estimates from the period January 1999 to January 2004 were also revised based on the updated population benchmarks. 36. The population benchmarks used by the LFS are classified by state/territory of usual residence, capital city/rest of state, age and sex. In addition to these population benchmarks, from February 2004 the LFS will use population benchmarks for labour force region by sex. The introduction of regional benchmarks is expected to improve the quality of estimates for labour force regions without compromising the quality of estimates at national, state and territory level. For further information refer to Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) and Labour Force Survey Sample Design, November 2002 (cat. no. 6269.0). State Supplementary Survey 37. The Queensland State Supplementary Survey is conducted in October each year as part of the Labour Force Survey. The topics for the 2003 survey concerned bicycle usage and household telephone connections in Queensland. As with regional estimates from the Labour Force Survey (described above) the regional information on this topic in Chapter 4 is subject to higher relative standard errors than state estimates. Care should therefore be taken in the interpretation of these regional estimates. Further information about the 2003 survey can be obtained in Bicycle Usage, Queensland (cat. no. 9215.3) and Telephone Connections, Queensland (cat. no. 8159.3) . Housing 38. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) is the state’s professional association for the real estate industry and exists to support member real estate agents with information, products and resources. 39. REIQ provided data on housing sales, median prices and average prices to the ABS for the year 2003. 40. The base data are sourced from the Queensland Valuation and Sales database, maintained by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines. REIQ produce various types of output from the source data. Any queries about these data should be directed to REIQ. Indigenous councils 41. The LGA tables in this publication include the 15 Aboriginal councils and the 17 Island councils in their respective SDs. They can be identified by (AC) after the name for Aboriginal council (e.g., Doomagee (AC)), and by (IC) for Torres Strait Island council (e.g., Badu (IC)). Full details of the relevant ASGC changes can be found in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification, 2003 (cat. no. 1216.0). A list of the addresses of local governments and Aboriginal and Island councils in Queensland may be accessed from http://www.dlgp.qld.gov.au/local_govt/directories/. Local government finances 42. Local government finances data were supplied by the Organisational Development Unit of the Queensland Department of Local Government and Planning (DLGP). Audited accounts for the 2002-03 financial year for each local government authority in the state were further validated by DLGP prior to the extraction of information for the ABS. The income data in the tables are total operating income, which comprises net rates and charges and other operating income. Total operating income does not include capital grants and subsidies not tied to specific purposes. Expenses include total operating expenses before interest and excluding depreciation. Any queries about these data should be directed to the DLGP. Health and Public Hospitals 43. Queensland Health supplied health and public hospitals data to the ABS after concording the information to statistical divisions. Similar information is compiled for budget reporting purposes to the State Government at the Queensland Health service district level of geography. Any queries about these data should be directed to Queensland Health. Internet Activity 44. The ABS publication Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0) contained table number 5.1, Internet Activity by Statistical Division (SD). This table has been removed from the March 2003 issue of this publication as there are major reservations about the quality of Internet activity data at the SD level contained within the table. The data included in this table are derived from Point of Presence (POP) information supplied by Internet Service Providers. Changes in technology, infrastructure and access protocols has made the collection of regional data based on POPs difficult. Many ISPs cannot provide the data at the level requested in the survey instrument. For these ISPs, national-level data has been apportioned to regions by the ABS, based on data for those ISPs who can report accurately. Consequently, the table may not accurately reflect the location and Internet activity of subscribers, and there are some obvious inconsistencies at the SD level. 45. Users should use the statistics with caution. The data can be considered to be broad indicators of activity, but they should not be used as definitive measures of Internet penetration or usage below State/Territory level. The ABS also cautions users against comparing March 2003 data with similar data published in issues of the publication, Internet Activity, Australia (cat. no. 8153.0). The ABS recommends that users do not base business decisions on data at the SD level. 46. ABS comment on regional Internet activity is confined to those data items where regional movements were consistent with state and national trends. Single location businesses 47. An extract from the Australian Business Register for 30 June 2001 included counts of entities with Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) operating from a single location at the postcode geographic level in Queensland. The data were concorded by the ABS to the respective ASGC geographic levels of SD, S Dist. and LGA used in this publication. Small businesses 48. Small businesses are defined as businesses with total income or expenses between $10,000 and $5m. The estimates of small businesses are not directly comparable with other ABS small business statistics due to differences in definition, scope, coverage, and timing. 49. The data have been compiled from files provided by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) of completed tax returns for companies, partnerships, trusts and individuals declaring business income. The introduction of The New Tax System, including the Goods and Services Tax, occurred during 2000-01. The impact of The New Tax System on small business tax returns has not been quantified and users are advised to interpret changes with care. 50. The data provide information on the economic activity of small business at a regional level, but do not provide a complete measure of economic activity in a region. Tax-exempt businesses, some government activity and businesses not within the scope of the small business definition are excluded. Small business statistics cover 76% of all businesses but only 24% of business income reported to the ATO, with considerable variation in coverage between industries. 51. Small business accounts for the majority of business income in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing ANZSIC division, and more than 40% of all business income in the Construction, Accommodation, cafes and restaurants and Property and business services divisions. In the Mining and Communication services divisions, small business accounts for less than 10% of business income and is less representative of the industry. 52. Despite these limitations, the data are valuable because they offer a viable regional time series on the status and movement of small business. Environmental Issues 53. This information presents results from a supplementary survey run in association with the March 2003 Monthly Population Survey. The Monthly Population Survey is based on a multi-stage area sample of private dwellings (approximately 37,000 houses, flats, etc.) and a list sample of non-private dwellings (hotels, motels, etc.). The proportion of Australian dwellings selected this way is approximately 0.5%. For this survey, half the private dwelling sample (i.e., 18,500 dwellings) was used. Information was obtained by interviews with responsible adult members of selected households, who answered questions on behalf of the person whose next birthday was closest to the date of the interview. The information obtained related to the week before the interview (i.e., the reference week). 54. The survey covers rural and urban areas across all states and territories of Australia. Also excluded were some 175,000 persons living in remote and sparsely settled parts of Australia. The exclusion of these persons will have only a minor impact on any aggregate estimates that are produced for individual states and territories. Persons aged 18 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings were included in the surveys except for members of the Australian permanent defence forces, certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from censuses and surveys, overseas residents in Australia, members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependents) stationed in Australia and residents of other non-private dwellings such as hospitals, motels and gaols. Census of Population and Housing 2001 - Selected data 55. The 2001 Census provides the most extensive range of free data ever available via the ABS web site. Users can access Census Snapshots and Basic Community Profiles to the level of statistical local areas, and Indigenous Profiles to the level of Indigenous areas free of charge. For further details, visit https://www.abs.gov.au/census. To make census products readily available, the ABS also has a cooperative arrangement with the State Library and over 80 tertiary and public libraries throughout Queensland. FURTHER INFORMATION 56. Current publications and other products released by the ABS are listed in the Catalogue of Publications and Products (cat. no. 1101.0). 57. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the web site which details products to be released in the week ahead. You can also receive free email notifications of the latest ABS products by subscribing to the email notification service on the ABS web site. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.