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EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 Registration of births is the responsibility of state and territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages and is based on the data provided on an information form completed by the parents of the child. This form is the basis of the data provided to the ABS, by the Registrars, for compilation into the aggregate statistics in this publication. Most data items are collected in all states and territories and therefore statistics at the national level are available for most characteristics. Some states, however, collect additional information.

2 In the main, statistics in this publication refer to births registered by state and territory Registrars during the calendar year shown. There is usually an interval between the occurrence and registration of a birth, and as a result of this delay some births occurring in one year are not registered until the following year or even later. This can be caused by either a delay by the parents in submitting a completed form to the registry, or a delay by the registry in processing the birth.

3 Hospitals and birth clinics notify state and territory registries of recent births on a regular basis. For those births known to a registry that are not registered within a prescribed time period, a reminder letter is sent to the parent(s) of the child to follow-up the birth registration. In 2005 the New South Wales Registry introduced improvements to follow-up procedures which may explain, for New South Wales, the relatively high proportion of births registered in 2005 that occurred in 2005 (89.7%), compared to the proportion of births registered in 2004 that occurred in 2004 (84.8%).

Year of occurrence of births registered in 2005
	1999 and earlier	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
State or territory of registration	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
New South Wales	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	9.4	89.7
Victoria	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.5	8.7	89.6
Queensland	1.1	0.6	0.6	0.6	1.0	10.7	85.4
South Australia	1.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.3	7.3	90.9
Western Australia	1.0	0.2	0.4	0.4	0.6	8.4	88.9
Tasmania	2.4	0.9	0.1	-	-	2.3	94.3
Northern Territory	0.1	-	-	-	-	7.4	92.5
Australian Capital Territory	0.2	-	-	0.3	0.3	9.0	90.2
Australia(a)	0.6	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.5	9.0	89.0
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Includes Other Territories.

4 To protect confidentiality, small values are suppressed or randomised.

STATES AND TERRITORIES

5 As a result of an amendment made in 1992 to section 17(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901-1973 (Cwlth) the Indian Ocean territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands have been included as part of geographic Australia, hence another category of the state and territory classification has been created. This category is known as 'Other Territories' and includes Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay Territory.

6 Prior to 1993 births to mothers usually resident in Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands were included with Off-Shore Areas and Migratory in Western Australia, while births to mothers usually resident in Jervis Bay Territory were included with the Australian Capital Territory. In 2005 there were 28 births to mothers usually resident in Jervis Bay Territory, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

7 In the main, statistics for states and territories have been compiled and presented in respect of the state or territory of usual residence of the mother. However, in the following table data have been presented on a state or territory of registration basis. Births which took place outside Australia are excluded from the statistics. Births to mothers who were usual residents of Australia's Other Territories (Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay Territory) are registered in other Australian states.

Births, State or territory of usual residence of mother and state or territory of registration
	State or territory of registration
State or territory of usual residence	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
New South Wales	84 210	1 058	446	40	21	7	3	804	86 589
Victoria	115	63 013	51	67	17	14	3	8	63 287
Queensland	782	77	50 745	17	20	5	11	4	51 661
South Australia	30	42	17	17 648	14	-	47	-	17 800
Western Australia	36	13	16	18	26 144	-	25	-	26 253
Tasmania	24	30	6	4	5	6 238	3	-	6 308
Northern Territory	20	11	31	33	11	-	3 553	-	3 659
Australian Capital Territory	60	10	6	-	3	-	-	4 128	4 206
Australia(a)	85 282	64 256	51 318	17 827	26 255	6 266	3 642	4 945	259 791
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Includes Other Territories.

8 In 2005 there were 364 births to women who usually lived overseas. These have been included in this publication with state or territory of usual residence classified according to the state or territory in which the birth was registered.

Births, Babies born in Australia to non-resident mothers
State or territory of registration	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
New South Wales	231	312	331	338	398	380	281
Victoria	8	17	19	22	24	20	23
Queensland	111	108	108	116	92	61	38
South Australia	15	8	8	4	5	9	-
Western Australia	16	21	24	16	24	18	8
Tasmania	13	7	6	4	5	-	3
Northern Territory	9	6	8	6	5	3	5
Australian Capital Territory	5	4	7	5	4	-	7
Australia	408	483	511	511	557	491	364
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

SUB-STATE/TERRITORY FERTILITY RATES

9 Age-specific and total fertility rates for sub-state/territory regions (for example, Statistical Divisions) presented in table 6.6 of the publication and the accompanying spreadsheet tables 2 to 4 are calculated as average rates over three years ending in the reference year. Rates for states, territories and Australia in all other tables are based on individual years of birth registration data.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDEXES FOR AREAS (SEIFA), 2001

10 The ABS has developed summary measures, or indexes, derived from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing to measure different aspects of socio-economic conditions by geographic areas. Two of these indexes are included in table 6.6 of the publication:

• Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage/Disadvantage; and
• Index of Education and Occupation.

12 The Index of Education and Occupation is designed to reflect the educational and occupational structure of areas. An area with a high score would have a high concentration of people with higher educational qualifications or undergoing further education, with a high percentage of people employed in skilled occupations. A low score indicates an area with concentrations of either people with low educational attainment, people employed in unskilled occupations, or the unemployed.

13 Further information can be found in the Information Paper: Census of Population and Housing - Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, Australia, 2001 (cat. no. 2039.0).

INDIGENOUS BIRTHS

14 This publication includes data on the numbers of Indigenous births for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The data are regarded as being of sufficient quality to publish. Indigenous births for the Australian Capital Territory and Other Territories are included in the totals for Australia.

15 The populations used to calculate Indigenous fertility rates for 2005 are obtained from Experimental Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991 to 2009 (cat. no. 3238.0), low series, based on the 2001 Census of Population and Housing. The populations used to calculate Indigenous fertility rates for 2001 are the final 2001 experimental estimates of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population based on the 2001 census.

COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS BIRTH REGISTRATIONS

16 There are several data collection forms on which people are asked to state whether they are of Indigenous origin. Due to a number of factors, results collated from these forms are not always consistent. The way in which a person identifies, or is identified, as Indigenous on a specific form can change over time leading to unexpected changes in Indigenous statistics. Responses to Indigenous status questions can be influenced by a range of factors, including the perception of how information will be used, education programs about identifying as Indigenous, who completes the question on behalf of others, and emotional reaction to identifying as Indigenous.

17 The ABS has released experimental estimates and projections of the Indigenous population from 1991 to 2009 based on the results of the 2001 Census of Population and Housing. These estimates are recommended for analysis of Indigenous demographic indicators instead of previous published estimates.

18 Currently there are four estimates of annual numbers of Indigenous births. Each is based on a different collection, assumptions and methods.

• 2001 census-based population estimates, covering the period 1991 to 2001. After deriving experimental Indigenous resident population as at 30 June 2001 from the 2001 census, estimates were survived back one year at a time to 30 June 1991 using a reverse survival technique based on experimental Indigenous life tables (see Experimental Estimates and Projections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991 to 2009, cat. no. 3238.0 for further information).
• 2001 census-based population projections, covering the period 2002 to 2009. There are two series of projections; a low series and a high series. In the low series, the number of births each year is estimated using the propensity to identify found in the 2001 census. The high series uses an alternative assumption of an increasing propensity to identify based on the change between 1996 and 2001 in propensity to identify (see Experimental Estimates and Projections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991 to 2009, cat. no. 3238.0 for further information).
• Birth registrations: this publication is based on the registration of births with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory.
• Perinatal Data Collection: this data is primarily about babies born in hospitals and their mothers (see Appendix 1 for more information).

20 On this basis, implied coverage of Indigenous births in Australia for 2001-2005 was 95%, and ranged from 76% in the Australian Capital Territory to 108% in the Northern Territory.

RELATED PRODUCTS

21 Other ABS products which may be of interest to users include:

Australian Demographic Statistics, cat. no. 3101.0 - issued quarterly
Australian Demographic Trends, cat. no. 3102.0
Australian Historical Population Statistics, cat. no. 3105.65.001
Causes of Death, Australia, cat. no. 3303.0 - issued annually
Deaths, Australia, cat. no. 3302.0 - issued annually
Demographic Estimates and Projections: Concepts, Sources and Methods, Statistical Concepts Library, cat. no. 3228.0
Experimental Estimates and Projections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991 to 2009, cat. no. 3238.0
Population Projections, Australia, cat. no. 3222.0

23 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are listed in the Catalogue of Publications and Products (cat. no. 1101.0). The catalogue is available from any ABS office or the ABS web site. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the web site which details products to be released in the week ahead.

24 As well as the statistics included in this and related publications, additional information is available from the ABS Demography Theme Page.