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GLOSSARY

Agriculture data

Statistics on crops and livestock are produced from the annual ABS Agricultural Survey. The scope of the survey is establishments undertaking agricultural activity with an estimated value of agricultural operations of $5,000 or more.

Fruit and Vegetables - The split between Litchfield, Alligator, Finniss and Daly SSDs are based on tree count or area under cultivation rather than actual value.

Australian Taxation Office

Postcode to Statistical Local Area (SLA) concordances have been used to convert the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) postcode data to estimates for SLAs. The concordances are based on the estimated resident population and calculated on SLA boundaries as defined in the Detailed Main Structure of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0). Data should be considered as estimates or indicators only. Care needs to be taken when using the data.

The statistics for each income year were sourced from individual income tax returns and associated business and professional items schedules processed by 31 October of the following year. The statistics are not necessarily complete. For further information please refer to the 'Source of personal tax statistics' section in the 'Personal tax' chapter of the Australian Taxation Office Taxation Statistics Publications.

Wage and salary earners - Persons aged 15 years and over who have submitted a tax return and for whom wage and salary income was the principal source of income for the financial year.

Wage and salary income - Includes all group certificate income and allowances, benefits, earnings and tips including car, travel and other allowances, gratuities, consultation fees, honoraria and commissions, and other payments for service.

Total income - The sum of income from all sources as reported on the individual income tax return for the financial year.

Mean net tax ratio - The mean net tax ratio (or effective rate of tax) is calculated by determining the average of the net tax ratio of each individual paying tax. Data presented in this publication is mean net tax ratio. Prior issues of Northern Territory Regional Statistics presented net tax ratio data. For comparability 2004-05 data can be used to calculate net tax ratio for each region by dividing net tax of the region by taxable income of the region.

Net tax ratio - The net tax ratio of each individual paying tax is calculated by dividing net tax by taxable income for each individual.

Taxation Statistics - Further information about the scope, coverage and definitions of the data items presented in the tables can be found in the ABS publication Experimental Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas, Taxation and Income Support Data - Data Cube (cat. no 6524.0.55.001), released 24th January 2005.

Average annual growth rate

The average annual rate of population growth, r, is calculated as a percentage using the formula below, where is the population at the start of the period, is the population at the end of the period and n is the length of the period between and in years.

Births

Birth - Births are allocated to a Statistical Local Area according to the usual residence of the mother, irrespective of the state or territory in which the birth was registered.

Indigenous birth - An Indigenous birth is the birth of a live-born child where either the mother or the father was identified as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin on the birth registration form. There is an undercoverage of Indigenous births in most states and territories. Therefore, measures of Indigenous fertility and mortality are likely to be conservative estimates. Given the volatility in measures of Indigenous fertility and mortality, caution should be exercised when assessing trends over time.

Total fertility rate - The total fertility rate is the sum of age-specific fertility rates and represents the number of children a female would bear during her lifetime if she experienced current age-specific fertility rates at each age of her reproductive life.

Building data

Building approvals - Statistics of building work approved are compiled from:

• permits issued by licensed Private Building Certifiers or the Building Branch, Northern Territory Department of Planning and Infrastructure, in areas subject to building control by those authorities;
• contracts let or day labour work authorised by Commonwealth, state, semi-government and local government authorities; or
• major building approvals in areas not subject to the normal administrative approval processes (e.g. building on remote mine sites).

Building completions - Statistics of building activity are compiled from the ABS Building Activity Survey. A building is defined as completed when building activity has progressed to the stage where the building can fulfil its intended function.

Other residential building - Defined as a building other than a house, primarily used for long-term residential purposes such as a townhouse, flat, unit or apartment.

Public Housing - The statistical subdivision (SSD) in which an applicant submits a public housing application is used to measure the demand for housing in that area regardless of where the applicant wishes to live.

Census of Population and Housing 2006

A Census of Population and Housing was conducted by ABS on 8 August 2006. The objective of each Census is to measure accurately the number and key characteristics of people in Australia on Census night, and the dwellings in which they live. Data based on where people were on Census night is referred to as place of enumeration counts.

Place of usual residence counts are derived from place of enumeration counts after adjustments for temporary visitors are made based on the census question about the "...address at which the person has lived or intends to live for a total of six months or more in (2006)". Adjustments have also been made for residents temporarily absent (but counted elsewhere in Australia) but not for incomplete or imperfect counting.

Care is taken in the specification of tables to minimise the risk of identifying individuals. In addition, a technique has been developed to randomly adjust cell values. Random adjustment of the data is considered to be the most satisfactory technique for avoiding the release of identifiable Census data. When the technique is applied, all cells are slightly adjusted to prevent any identifiable data being exposed. These adjustments result in small introduced random errors. However the information value of the table as a whole is not impaired. The technique allows very large tables, for which there is a strong client demand, to be produced even though they contain numbers of very small cells.

The totals and subtotals in summary tables are also subjected to small adjustments. These adjustments of totals and subtotals include modifications to preserve the additivity within tables. Although each table of this kind is internally consistent, comparisons between tables which contain similar data may show some minor discrepancies. In addition the tables at different geographic levels are adjusted independently, and tables at the higher geographic level may not be equal to the sum of the tables for the component geographic units.

All 2006 Census of Population and Housing data is presented according to the Geographical boundaries defined in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2006 (cat. no. 1216.0).

Climate

Wet season rainfall - Average is based on the period since records have been collected (Darwin 1941; Nhulunbuy 1944; Katherine 1943; Tennant Creek 1969 and Alice Springs 1942) up to and including 2004-05.

Concordance

Note: Preparation of the postcode to SLA concordance is an inexact and ongoing process. Updates to these concordances (current and historical) are made periodically, depending on feedback and resources available to update.

Footnotes: This population-weighted concordance may be used to translate statistics aggregated by postcode to Statistical Subdivision (SSD) aggregations. Resulting statistics will be less accurate if the variable being converted is not distributed across the postcode in the same way that the population is distributed. While this concordance is provided to two decimal places, accuracy to this level is not claimed and should not be assumed. Non-mappable postcodes, such as Post Office Boxes, are generally excluded from this concordance because of their non-spatial nature. Postcodes not part of the current Australia Post post-code-locality listing may be included in this concordance. For the current Australia Post postcode-locality listing see the Australia Post web site <www.auspost.com.au>.

Disclaimer: The concordance product is based on the postcode to SLA concordance created by the Small Area Population Unit, Australia Bureau of Statistics, for the purposes of converting population indicator data. While care was taken in producing this concordance, it is not an official ABS product, and the ABS will not guarantee the accuracy of the concordance. No liability will be accepted by the ABS for any damages arising from decisions or actions based upon this concordance.

Deaths

Death - Deaths are allocated to a Statistical Local Area according to the usual residence of the deceased, irrespective of the state or territory in which the death was registered.

Indigenous death - An Indigenous death is the death of a person who is identified as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin on the death registration form. There is an undercoverage of Indigenous deaths in most states and territories. Therefore, measures of Indigenous fertility and mortality are likely to be conservative estimates. Given the volatility in measures of Indigenous fertility and mortality, caution should be exercised in assessing trends over time.

Standardised death rates - Standardised death rates allow comparison of death rates between populations with different age structures by realting them to a standard populaion. The current standard population is all persons in the 2001 Australian population. The standardised death rate is the overall death rate that would have prevailed in the 2001 population if it had experienced at each age the death rates of the population under study.

Department of Veterans' Affairs

Department of Veterans' Affairs pensions are listed below:

Disability Pension - A compensation payment for injuries or diseases caught or aggravated by war service or certain defence services performed on behalf of Australia. The amount paid is dependent on the level of incapacity suffered as a result of the war-caused or defence-caused injuries and diseases.

Veteran Service Pension - A means-tested payment that can be paid to veterans on the grounds of age or invalidity. It is payable to males aged  60 years or over while the age at which a female may qualify depends upon her date of birth. Eligibility is also subject to Australian residency requirements.

Partner Service Pension - A payment to eligible partners, widows or widowers of veterans who are receiving or are eligible to receive the Service Pension. It is payable to males aged  65 years and over while the age at which a female may qualify depends upon her date of birth.

War Widow(er) Pension - A pension that is paid to compensate widowed partners of veterans who have died as a result of war service or eligible defence service. War widow(er) pensions are not affected by other income except from other compensation payments.

Further information is available from the Department of Veterans' Affairs website.

Education

Teaching staff - Teaching staff includes all classroom and executive teachers (e.g. principals, full-time and part-time teachers, exchange and visiting teachers, resource teachers, teacher librarians, assistant teachers, part-time instructors, student counsellors, teachers employed through the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) Program and other 'Commonwealth employed' staff that are not under the jurisdiction of the Chief Executive Officer of the NT Department of Employment, Education and Training.

Total number of teaching staff - The actual number of teaching staff, including full-time and part-time staff.

FTE of teaching staff - FTE is the full-time equivalent of teaching staff numbers, calculated by adding the FTE of full-time staff and the FTE of part-time staff (part-time FTE is calculated as a proportion of full-time FTE).

Student enrolment - The total number of students officially enrolled on the collection date and who have attended school within a four week period preceding the collection date. Students are allocated to a region based on the postcode of the location the student nominates as his or her permanent home residence.

FTE of student enrolment - FTE is the full-time equivalent of student enrolment numbers. It is calculated by adding the FTE of full-time students and the FTE of part-time students (part-time FTE is calculated as a proportion of full-time FTE).

Student enrolment by level - 'Year' is not necessarily the number of years the student has been at school but is a measure of their level of education.

Primary Special - Students who have been panelled through Student Services as having special needs, sensory impaired students, high support needs students and students attending special purpose schools.

Ungraded Secondary - Students who are aged  12 years or over and undertaking a Special Category Curriculum and includes students in Secondary Support Units (i.e. Aboriginal/Indigenous Units, Secondary Indigenous Education Units).

Secondary Special - Students who have been panelled through Student Services as having special needs, sensory impaired students, high support needs students and students attending special purpose schools.

Estimated resident population

The estimated resident population (ERP) is the official ABS estimate of the Australian population which is based on the concept of usual residence. The ERP for 30 June 2006 is based on the results of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing held on 8 August 2006. It is calculated by adjusting Census counts by place of usual residence by:

• adding the estimated net Census undercount and Australian residents estimated to have been temporarily overseas at the time of the Census;
• subtracting overseas visitors in Australia at the time of the Census; and
• adjusting for births and deaths and interstate and overseas migration during the period 30 July to  8 August 2006.

To meet the demand for accuracy and timeliness there are preliminary, revised and final estimates of the resident population. Preliminary estimates are available seven months after the reference date, revised estimates are available a year later and final estimates are available after each Census for the preceding intercensal period. The estimates in this publication are preliminary for ERP data from September quarter 2005 to June quarter 2006 (inclusive), revised for ERP data for September quarter 2001 to June quarter 2004 and final for all ERP data up to and including June quarter 2001.

Experimental estimated resident Indigenous population

ABS produces experimental estimates of the Indigenous population. The estimates are considered experimental in that the standard approach to population estimation is not possible because satisfactory data on births, deaths and internal migration are not generally available and because of the intercensal volatility in Census counts of the Indigenous population. This volatility can in part be attributed to changes in the propensity of persons to identify as being of Indigenous origin. The latest experimental estimates at 30 June 2001 are based on 2001 Census of Population and Housing usual residence counts and make allowances for instances in which Indigenous status is unknown and for net under-enumeration. An adjustment is also made from 7 August 2001 back to 30 June 2001 for natural increase (births less deaths).

Users should be aware that Census characteristics data cannot be reconciled with experimental estimates of the resident Indigenous population because they represent Census counts which are not adjusted for under-enumeration or the other factors discussed above. (The 2001 Census count of Indigenous people in the NT was 50,785 and the experimental Indigenous ERP at 30 June 2001 was 56,875.) Users should therefore be careful when using these two data sources together. Experimental estimated resident Indigenous data are presented in (page 21) of Australian Demographic Statistics, June 2005 cat. no 3101.0.

Experimental projected Indigenous population

The base population for these projections is the 30 June 2001 Census Collection District experimental Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population estimates, which are amalgamated into Indigenous Regions based on the boundaries of the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Regions at 30 June 2004. These projections are for the period 2002 to 2009 and use the Northern Territory level of fertility, mortality, internal and overseas migration and unexplained growth assumptions described in Experimental Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (cat. no. 3238.0). Indigenous Regions are ascribed the rates assumed for the Northern Territory.

The projections for both High series and Low series assume:

• female fertility rates (birth rates of Indigenous mothers) decline annually by 1%;
• no change in mortality during the projection period. This means that the estimate of Indigenous life expectancy at birth is projected to be constant at the 1996-2001 level;
• constant numbers of net interstate movements as measured in the period 1996-2001 in the 2001 Census;
• zero net overseas migration with no departures throughout the projection period; and,
• unexplained growth in the Indigenous population (i.e. the increase in the Indigenous population observed between the 1996 and 2001 censuses which cannot be attributed to natural increase) either continues at the rate observed in the 1996-2001 period (high series) or does not occur (low series). Under the high series, the Northern Territory's share of the total Indigenous population would decline from 12.4% in 2001 to 10.8% in 2009. Under the low series, the Northern Territory's share would decline from 12.4% in 2001 to 12.1% in 2009.

Further Information about the scope, coverage and definitions of the data items presented in the table can be explored in the ABS publication, Information paper, Information Paper: Experimental Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas, Taxation and Income Support Data 1995-96 and 2000-01 (cat. no 6524.0).

Grocery Price Survey

In response to a recommendation of the 1999 Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Northern Territory Food Prices, NT Treasury implemented a Grocery Price Survey that measures the cost of an average basket of goods at selected supermarkets across the NT. The basket comprises 132 items including food (except takeaway), household supplies and personal care products, and is weighted to reflect typical weekly household purchasing patterns. The survey is conducted on a six-monthly basis at 14 supermarkets in Darwin, one in Katherine, three in Alice Springs, one in Yulara and one in Nhulunbuy. To allow comparison to be made with urban areas of similar size to Darwin and Alice Springs the survey includes six supermarkets in Queensland, four in Cairns and two in Mount Isa.

Due to minor technical changes to the survey methodology, prices for December 2003 may vary slightly from those previously published.

Hospital separations

Separation - Separation is the term used to refer to the episode of care, which can be a total hospital stay (from admission to discharge, transfer or death) or a portion of a hospital stay beginning or ending in a change of type of care (e.g. from acute to rehabilitation). 'Separation' also means the process by which an admitted patient completes an episode of care by being discharged, dying, transferring to another hospital or changing type of care.

Weighted separation - An average measure of resource consumption using admitted patient episodes in hospital.

Imports and exports

Imports and exports are classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC),2006 (cat. no. 1292.0).

Labour force data

DEWR small area labour force estimates - The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has implemented a procedure for deriving small area labour market estimates, based on the Structure Preserving Estimation (SPREE) methodology. The purpose of SPREE is to produce estimates that reflect the regional disparities of Centrelink data, while being consistent with ABS Labour Force Survey estimates. There are two assumptions made in applying the SPREE methodology. First, it is assumed that recipients of unemployment benefits are uniformly distributed within postcodes. Second, it is assumed that there have been no changes to postcode and SLA boundaries since the 2001 Census of Population and Housing. The reliability of these estimates compared with the Census estimates has been found to vary with the size of the population in small area regions, and these estimates should be treated with caution.

Labour force status - Identifies whether a person aged 15 years or over is employed, unemployed or not in the labour force.

Employed - Includes those people who, during the reference period, worked for payment or profit, who had a job from which they were on leave or were otherwise temporarily absent, who were on strike or stood down temporarily or who worked as unpaid helpers in a family business. CDEP participants are classified as employed in the labour force.

Unemployed - Includes people who did not have a job but were actively looking for work (either full-time or part-time) and were available to start work.

Not in the labour force - Includes people aged 15 years or more who were not employed or unemployed as defined above. This category includes people who were retired, pensioners and people engaged in home duties.

Labour force participation rate - Is the number of persons in the labour force expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over. The participation rate is calculated excluding persons who did not state their labour force status.

Unemployment rate - The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Law and Justice

Apprehension - Apprehension incorporates all recorded law enforcement action against a person for suspected unlawful acts. It includes enforcement action by way of arrest and summons. The statistics are generated by counting the number of apprehension reports. Many factors can influence crime statistics such as changes in the age composition of the population, legislation, police enforcement practices and reporting by the public to police.

Juvenile apprehension - Refers to all recorded law enforcement action against a juvenile for suspected unlawful acts. Since 1 June 2000 'juvenile' has been defined in the NT as a person aged 10-17 years. Prior to 1 June 2000 'juvenile' was defined as a person aged 10-16 years.

Criminal cases lodged and finalised - Lodgements are counted at the case level when a case has more than one offence associated with it. The defendant is only counted against the most serious offence which may include offences such as breach of justice order (e.g. breach of bail, parole or domestic violence order), subverting the course of justice, possessing or supplying contraband within prisons and failure to lodge tax.

Offence - An offence is an act considered prima facie to be in breach of the criminal law. Offence data has been classified according to the Australian Standard Offence Classification (ASOC) (cat. no. 1234.0).

Defendants adjudicated, Supreme Court - Defendant cases judged or decided upon by the Supreme Court as to whether or not the defendant is guilty of the charge(s) laid against them.

Traffic offences and traffic infringement notices - These figures are not a unique count of traffic offences as one infringement may contain more than one offence. Traffic offence data cannot be reconciled with traffic infringement notice data because this information is recorded on two different systems. Traffic infringement notice data also includes speed camera offences which are not recorded in the traffic offence data.

People Smugglers - are foreign nationals convicted under federal legislation of the transportation of illegal migrants to Australia. The influx of people smugglers started in August 1999 when they represented 4% (or 22 prisoners) of the prison population. By September 2001 they represented 21% (or 144 prisoners) of the NT prison population. Since 2001 the number of people smugglers has declined to 2% (or 14 prisoners) of the prison population in June 2003. People Smugglers are counted as non-Indigenous prisoners.

Protective Custodies - Many factors can influence crime statistics such as changes in the age composition of the population, legislation, police enforcement practices and reporting by the public to the police. Caution should be taken when interpreting these statistics.

Mean

The mean, or average, is calculated by summing the values of all observations in a data set and then dividing the number of observations in the set.

Median

A median is a measure of central tendency. It is a mid-value which divides a population distribution into two, with half the observations falling below it and half above. Unlike averages (means), medians are not usually skewed by extreme observations.

Minerals

Other nonmetallic minerals include barite, crushed rock, gravel, limestone, quicklime, vermiculite, soil, sand, dimension stone/sandstone and salt.

Northern Territory Economy

Community Government Council (CGC) - A local government authority constituted under the NT Local Government Act to provide local government services. CGCs have gazetted boundaries and are legally constituted as Local Government Areas.

Incorporated Association (IA) - A body constituted under the NT Incorporations Act with roles and responsibilities similar to local government municipal councils. IAs are funded by both the NT and Australian governments to provide local government services in geographic areas not included in any other Local Government Area. IAs do not have clearly defined boundaries.

Local Government Finance - Local Government Finance data is sourced from state/ territory Local Government Grants Commissions, or equivalent. The ABS quality assures this data primarily at the state/territory level. Clients should be advised that unit record data remains largely as reported by councils to the relevant Grants Commission. This approach can result in the sum of the data released at the unit level differing from published state and territory totals. Further information is available from Government Finance Statistics, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 5512.0).

Baraunga Manyallaluk, Gulin Gulin & Weemol and Wugularr merged in 2004 to form Nyirranggulung Mardrulk Ngadberre Regional Council.

Notifiable diseases

The list of Notifiable diseases changes from year to year. Caution should be taken in interpreting the data.

Bloodborne diseases - includes Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis D, Hepatitis E and Human T-Lumphotropic virus type 1.

Gastrointestinal diseases - Campylobacteriosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Gastroenteritis (involving one or more related cases by an institution or food handler), Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome, Hepatitis A, Listeriosis, Rotavirus Infection, Salmonellosis (including paratyphoid), Shigellosis, Typhoid, Yersiniosis and Amoebiasis.

Sexually transmissible diseases - Chlamydial Infection, Donovanosis (Granuloma inguinale), Gonococcal Conjunctivitis, Gonococcal Infection, Gonococcal Neonatal Ophthalmia, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (In 2002, HIV was classified as a Bloodborne disease), Syphilis, Syphilis - Congenital, Trichomoniasis, Lumphogranuloma venereum, Chancroid.

Vaccine preventable diseases - Diptheria, Haemophilus Infection type b (invasive), Measles, Pertussis, Pneumococcal Disease (invasive), Rubella, Meningococcal Infection, Poliomyelitis, Congenital Rubella Syndrome.

Vectorborne diseases - Arbovirus Infection (not otherwise specified), Barmah Forest Virus Infection, Dengue Virus Infection, Malaria, Murray Valley Encephalitis, Ross River Virus Infection, Typhus, Kunjin Virus.

Other notifiable diseases - Acute post-Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis, Rheumatic Fever, Adverse Vaccine Reaction, Non-tuberculous Mycobacterial Disease, Chlamydial Conjunctivitis, Haemophilus Influenzae (not type b), Influenza, Legionellosis, Melioidosis, Meningococcal Infection, Tuberculosis, Leprosy, including quarantineable diseases (Cholera, Viral Haemorrhagic fever), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Off-Shore Areas & Migratory

Includes people who are enumerated on offshore oil rigs, drilling platforms and the like, aboard ship in Australian waters, or on an overnight journey by train or bus.

Population

Household composition - Includes those households that contained only persons aged under 15 years, households which were temporarily unoccupied at the time of the Census but were normally occupied, and households which could not be classified elsewhere due to insufficient information being provided on the Census form.

Population projections

Population projections are not intended as predictions or forecasts but are illustrations of growth and change in the population which would occur if certain specified assumptions about future demographic trends prevailed over the projection period. The projections are based on a combination of assumptions for future levels of births, deaths and migration.

Population projections for Australia, the states and territories and capital cities/balances of state are published every two to three years. The latest projections are based on the results of the 2001 Census of Population and Housing and relate to the period 2004 to 2101. For further information about these projections and the assumptions used refer to Population Projections, Australia, 2004 to 2101 (cat. no. 3222.0).

The latest projections for SLAs and regions in the NT are based on the results of the 1996 Census of Population and Housing and relate to the period 1999 to 2021. The following assumptions were used to generate these projection results.

Series A (high) assumes:

• the total fertility rate declines from 2.20 births per female in 1998 to 2.16 in 2007 and then remains constant to 2021;
• a net overseas migration gain of 938 people in 1999-2000, 844 in 2000- 01 then an annual net gain of 721 from 2001-02 to 2021; and
• net interstate migration increases from -600 in 1999-2000 to 1,500 in 2003-04 and then remains constant to 2021.

• the total fertility rate declines from 2.20 births per female in 1998 to 1.97 in 2008 and then remains constant to 2021;
• a net overseas migration gain of 938 people in 1999-2000, 756 in 2000-01 then an annual net gain of 574 from 2001-02 to 2021; and
• net interstate migration increases from -600 in 1999-2000 to nil in 2002-03 and then remains constant to 2021.

• the total fertility rate declines from 2.20 births per female in 1998 to 1.97 in 2008 and then remains constant to 2021;
• a net overseas migration gain of 938 people in 1999-2000, 687 in 2000-01 then an annual net gain of 429 from 2001-02 to 2021; and
• net interstate migration decreases from -600 in 1999-2000 to -1,500 in 2003-04 and then remains constant to 2021.

For further information regarding these population projections refer to Population Projections, Northern Territory, 1999 to 2021 (cat. no. 3222.7).

These projections were calculated using revised estimated resident population data at 30 June 1999 as the base population. The Projections are based on assumptions agreed to by the Northern Territory Statistical Liaison Committee. All SLAs in these projections are based on the boundaries which existed at the 2001 Census (ASGC 2001). The actual boundaries for a given SLA, or for other geographic regions such as Local Government Areas (LGAs) derived from this SLA, may change over time making the projections no longer comparable with other data.

Regional Overview

The following sources contributed to Table 1.1- Regional Overview:

• Building Approvals Collection
• Department of Employment, Education and Training
• Charles Darwin University
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Small Area Labour Markets
• NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services
• Births and Deaths Collections
• Estimated Resident Population

• Births and Deaths Collections
• Estimated Resident Population
• Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Small Area Labour Markets
• Department of Employment, Education and Training
• Charles Darwin University

A road traffic accident is an unpremeditated event which results in property damage or the death of/injury to a person and is attributable to the movement of a vehicle on a public road (including vehicles entering or leaving a public road).

Fatality - Where a person is killed outright or dies within 30 days of being involved in a motor vehicle accident, and their death was directly attributed to injuries sustained in the accident.

Injury - Where a person sustained some degree of injury as a direct result of a motor vehicle accident. The three levels of injury in the Northern Territory are:

• treated and admitted to hospital;
• treated but not admitted to hospital; and,
• injured but did not seek treatment.

Rates are calculated using the 2001 Census of Population and Housing based Estimated Resident Population figure corresponding to the relevant year.

Rounding

Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and the totals shown.

Tourism

Tourism NT information is derived from Tourism Research Australia's National Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS). Data from these surveys can be provided by the SLA level and the tourism region level. However, this publication provides data by tourism areas. Tourism areas are based on the boundaries of Regional Tourism Associations (RTAs) across the Northern Territory. The areas are as defined:

The Top End Area includes the Darwin, Kakadu and Arnhem tourism regions.

The Katherine Area includes the Katherine and Daly tourism regions.

The Barkly Area includes the Tablelands tourism region only.

The Center Area includes the Alice Springs, Petermann and MacDonnell tourism regions.

As the NVS and IVS are subject to sampling variability, annual average data over a three year period is used to increase the amount of responses on which visitor estimates are based, improving reliability. This is particularly necessary when profiling NT tourism regions. Some data within tables 13.1- Visitor Profile and 13.2 - Visitor Expenditure are annotated 'not for publication' (np) and are not published as sampling variability is too high for practical purposes.

Tourist Accomodation, Australia (cat. no. 8365.0): The ABS Region definition is as follows: The Darwin Tourism Region equates to Darwin SD and Environs, Katherine Tourism Region equates to Katherine Region, Alice Springs Tourism Region equates to the township of Alice Springs only, Other includes balance of Central Region (Statistical Local Areas of Petermann, Sandover-Bal and Tanami), Darwin Region Balance, East Arnhem Region and Barkly Region (Table 13.3, 13.4 and 13.5).

Visitor - Tourism Research Australia defines a visitor as someone who has travelled at least 40 kilometres from their usual place of residence and who will spend at least one night away from home. Also, to be included the trip must be short-term. A short-term trip is defined as at least one night but less than 90 nights spent in the NT (Table 13.1).

Visitor expenditure - Estimates of visitor expenditure are based on the amounts visitors say they have spent while in the NT. Thus, the expenditure is a direct expenditure estimate only.

Visitor nights - Estimates of visitor nights take into account the total number of nights people spend in the NT. For example, if a family of four spends 10 nights in the Territory this family represents four visitors and 40 visitor nights.

Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Client figures refer to the number of individuals enrolled in courses or modules with each client being counted only once regardless of the number of courses or modules they may be enrolled in. Course enrolment figures exclude students enrolled in module only activity. Students enrolled in more than one course are counted more than once in course enrolment figures. (Table 5.3).

Data published in Table 5.3 is based on the application of ABS 2004 ASGC concordance (SSD to postcode). This may result in totals not adding up between similar categories i.e. clients by sex / clients by Indigenous status and course enrolments by sex / course enrolments by Indigenous status. In editions prior to 2006 of this publication the data was based on the NT Government's postcode apportionment approach and care should be taken when making comparisons between data published this year and before 2006 (Table 5.3).