8155.0 - Australian Industry, 2000-01  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/08/2003   
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INTRODUCTION

1 The estimates presented in this publication have been derived using a combination of directly collected data from the annual Economic Activity Survey (EAS), conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and business income tax data provided to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). To produce estimates at the state and territory level, this combined dataset was then matched to a number of ABS direct collections to obtain further state dissections.

2 Since 1996-97 the ABS has combined data from the EAS collection and business income tax data provided to the ATO. For information on how the ABS has been using ATO data over recent years to compile economic statistics, refer to the ABS Information Paper: Experimental Estimates, Australian Industry, a State Perspective, 1998-99 (cat.no.8156.0), Appendix 1-Use of ATO Data in Economic Statistics.

3 The national ANZSIC class and the state and territory estimates in Chapter three are considered to be experimental and should be used with care. For discussion and analysis regarding these estimates users should refer to the Technical Note 2: Limitations of Financial Data Analysis.

4 The estimates presented in this publication are for selected industries, and have been sourced from both employing and non-employing business entities. The estimates supplement the relatively small scale EAS collection conducted by the ABS.

REFERENCE PERIOD

5 The estimates presented in this publication are based, where possible, on a June-end financial year.

6 The EAS estimates are based on details obtained from statements of financial performance and position collected from selected businesses, mainly by mail out questionnaires. For 2000-01, businesses were asked to provide data in respect of the financial year ended June 2001. In a minority of cases, where businesses did not account on a June-year basis, details were reported in respect of an accounting year which ended between October 2000 and September 2001.

7 The ATO data are based on business income tax returns lodged with the ATO for the financial year ended June 2001.

SCOPE AND COVERAGE

8 The scope of the EASTAX estimates in this publication consists of all business entities in the Australian economy, except for:

  • Finance and insurance businesses (Note: Services to finance is included in the set of estimates)
  • Businesses classified as Agriculture, Education, Community services, Religious organisations, Interest groups (trade unions, industry associations etc.) or Public order and safety services industries
  • Businesses classified as being in the General government sector (Note:government-owned Public Trading Enterprises are included).

STATISTICAL UNIT

9 The business unit about which information is collected and published for the EAS collection is termed the management unit. This is the highest level unit within a business for which a set of management accounts is maintained. In most cases it coincides with the legal entity owning the business (i.e. company, partnership, trust, sole operator, etc.). However, in the case of large diversified businesses there are often a number of management units, each coinciding with a ‘division’ or ‘line of business’. A division or line of business is recognised where separate and comprehensive accounts are compiled for it.

10 For the ATO, business income tax returns are submitted for legal entities. Management units are generally made up of one or more legal entities, but it is possible for legal entities to be made up of one or more management units.

11 The ABS Business Register provided the population frame from which management units were selected for inclusion in the EAS. It also provided a multi-state indicator which was used as a starting point in the methodology to derive state level estimates from the EASTAX data.

12 For non-employing businesses, which were not included on the ABS Business Register, ATO business income tax records were used as the population frame. All non-employing businesses were assumed to operate in a single state.

13 Since the data in this publication are the result of combining ABS directly collected data with ATO data, the statistical unit has been referred to as a ‘business entity’. As the ABS unit and the ATO unit are not always comparable, to provide a count of the number of business entities is not simply a matter of summing the legal entities in the ABS collected data and the ATO data. Any legal or other entities that are not included in ABS or ATO data files (e.g. shelf companies) are not included in the estimates shown in this publication.

14 Estimates in this publication from the directly collected businesses have been adjusted to allow for lags in the processing of new businesses to the ABS Business Register, and the omission of some businesses from the register.

SAMPLING

15 A sample of approximately 20,000 management units was selected for the directly collected part of the EASTAX collection. Stratified random sampling techniques were used. All management units with employment of 200 or more persons were automatically selected in the sample.

16 To supplement the directly collected data, the survey population was matched to the business income tax file, (refer to Technical Note 1: Methodology).

17 The EASTAX sample was not selected on the basis of state for single state businesses. As a result, an increase in sampling error in some states may have occurred. To some extent, any increase in sampling error will have been offset by the expanded use of business income tax data, which provides an increase in sample size across each state. The sampling error may become more significant at the ANZSIC division and subdivision levels, depending on the number of businesses that each business in the sample represents in that particular state. Refer to Technical Note 2: Limitations of Financial Data Analysis on and the relative standard errors for further details.

CLASSIFICATION BY INDUSTRY

18 This publication presents industry estimates classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 1993 (cat.no.1292.0), commonly known as ANZSIC. Each business unit is classified to a single industry class, even where it operates across more than one state. The industry allocated is based on an estimate of the primary activity of the management unit, irrespective of whether the management unit undertakes a single activity or a range of activities. For example, a management unit which derives most of its income from construction activities would have all of its operations included in estimates for the Construction division, even if significant secondary activities (e.g. quarrying) were undertaken by the management unit. This differs from the approach that might be taken to the collection of statistics on an activity basis.

STATE PROPORTIONS

19 Refer to Technical Note 1: Methodology, for details on the process used to derive state proportions from EASTAX data. Outlined below are some of the assumptions users should be aware of when using the state level estimates presented in this publication.

20 Differences in scope, coverage and business classifications exist between the ABS collections used to obtain state dissection information for businesses. In some instances, state dissections have been based on quarterly rather than annual data due to the unavailability of annual state estimates.

21 Sales-based proportions obtained for each multi-state business have been used to apportion EASTAX estimates of Total income, Total expenses and Operating profit before tax (OPBT) data across the states for that business. Similarly, Wages-based proportions have been used to apportion Labour costs across states.

22 ABS collections used to obtain state proportions for multi-state businesses are not always consistent in the wording of the state-based questions. For example, the Wholesale Industry Survey collects estimates of income from the sales of goods and services on the basis of the state or territory from which the goods were despatched, while the Retail Industry Survey collects estimates of income from the sales of goods and services on the basis of where the final purchase occurred. These different treatments are necessary depending on the industries in scope of each collection. Wherever possible, the state dissections for a particular industry have used the data source best suited to that industry. In some cases employment has been used as a proxy for obtaining state proportions.

23 Due to the nature of their activity, some businesses find it difficult to respond to state-based questions. Examples include businesses in the Communication Services industry, and to a lesser extent the Transport and Storage industry, where the activity of the business is not necessarily confined by state boundaries. As much state information as possible was collected for each selected business, however, it is recognised that some identified single state businesses may actually operate across more than one state. In most cases, the effect on the estimates due to this factor is minimal - refer to Technical Note 1: Methodology.

ROUNDING

24 Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sums of the component items and totals. Published percentages are calculated prior to rounding of figures and therefore some discrepancy may occur between those percentages and those that could be calculated from rounded figures.

REVISIONS

25 There are small changes in totals from those in Australian Industry, 1999-2000 (cat.no.8155.0) and Experimental Estimates, Australian Industry, a State Perspective (cat.no.8156.0) due to revisions in estimates. The 1998-99 and 1999-2000 estimates have been revised due to improved editing practices and additional information from providers.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS AND PRODUCTS

26 Users may wish to refer to a number of ABS products that provide a range of related data to that presented in this publication. These include:

National estimates
  • Business Operations and Industry Performance, Australia, 2000-2001 (cat.no.8140.0)
  • Business Operations and Industry Performance, Australia, Preliminary, 2000-2001 (cat.no.8142.0)
  • Summary of Industry Performance, 1998-99 (cat.no.8140.0.40.002)
  • Industry Concentration Statistics, 1998-99 (cat.no.8140.0.40.001)
  • Electricity, Gas, Water and Sewerage Industries, Australia, 1999-2000 (cat.no.8208.0)
  • Manufacturing Industry, Australia, 2000-2001 (cat.no.8221.0)
  • Mining Operations, Australia, 2000-01 (cat.no.8415.0)
  • Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat.no.5206.0)
  • Business Indicators, Australia (cat.no.5676.0)

State estimates
  • Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, 2000-01 (cat.no.5220.0)
  • Information Paper: Experimental Estimates, Australian Industry, a State Perspective, 1998-99 (cat.no.8156.0)
  • Information Paper: Use of Business Income Tax Data for Regional Small Business Statistics - Experimental Estimates, Selected Regions, Australia (cat.no.5675.0)
  • Information Paper: Improvements to Australian Bureau of Statistics Quarterly Business Indicators (cat.no.5677.0)
  • Wholesale Industry, Australia, 1998-99 (cat.no.8638.0)
  • Retail Industry, Australia, 1998-99 (cat.no.8622.0)
  • Electricity, Gas, Water and Sewerage Industries, Australia, 1999-2000 (cat.no.8208.0)
  • Manufacturing Industry, Australia, 2000-2001 (cat.no.8221.0)
  • Mining Operations, Australia, 2000-01 (cat.no.8415.0)

27 A range of individual service industry publications are also produced by the ABS. In general, these publications contain considerable detail about the employing sector of each industry.

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS
  • Summary of Industry Performance, Australia, Data Report - Electronic Delivery (cat.no.8140.0.55.002) provides a one page summary of each industry's structure, income statement, balance sheet, economic values, business averages and performance ratios to the ANZSIC subdivision (two digit) level. For most ANZSIC subdivisions, separate tables are also available by size of business.
  • Industry Concentration Statistics, Data Report - Electronic Delivery (cat.no.8140.0.55.001) provides the proportions of sales, persons employed and industry value added that are concentrated among the 20 largest enterprise groups operating in each industry. The 'largest 20' are further subdivided by groups of four, grouping the first four enterprise groups, the second four and so on.

28 Both the Summaries of Industry Performance and Industry Concentration Statistics can either be purchased separately as a product, or accessed through the ABS web based information service, AusStats. AusStats is a subscription service, providing access to a comprehensive range of ABS material. It is available online, via the World Wide Web, and is a part of the ABS web site where both free and charged data are integrated.