The Treasurer officially launches the 2006 Census data!
In June this year, the Treasurer, the Hon. Peter Costello MP, gave a keynote speech at the launch of the first results of the 2006 Census of Population and Housing.
The Census data and products released on 27 June 2007 form part of a comprehensive range of statistics which the ABS has developed to meet your information needs.
The valuable data you and the rest of Australia provided is now available online. You can discover information online about the people of Australia and your local community.
All ABS data currently available on our website is free. We encourage you to visit the website and experience the easy-to-use products. They can be accessed from the following link www.abs.gov.au/census.
Michael Beahan
Director
Census Products & Services
But wait there’s more!
Census data is released in stages. The first data was released online in June 2007 through QuickStats, MapStats and Census Tables. More data will become available over the coming months. The additional data will include topics such as employment type, industry of employment, labour force status, occupation, and method of travel to work etc.
Census data will be available through QuickStats, MapStats, and Census Tables, as well as:
- Community Profiles - a series of tables providing key Census characteristics related to people, families and dwellings, covering most topics on the Census form. Available progressively 27 August 2007 to December 2007.
- CDATA Online - the most comprehensive free online product from the 2006 Census range. CDATA Online combines extensive information on Australian society with dynamic mapping software, providing you with an essential tool for planning and researching more effectively. CDATA Online also lets you view the Census data you require in a way that best suits your needs, through tables, graphs and thematic maps. Available late 2007.
- Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 2006 is the best way to investigate the socioeconomic well-being of Australian communities. The ABS has combined multiple Census topics - such as income, educational attainment and occupation – to develop indexes that allow for the ranking of areas, providing a method of determining the level of social and economic well-being of a region. Available March 2008.
The range of free Census data on the ABS website is more extensive than ever before. In addition, other products will be available for purchase. These include:
- Census Datapacks - a series of CD-ROM products, containing all the 2006 Census Community Profile Series data and digital boundaries. This product is a practical solution if you require only the Census data and digital boundaries to import into your existing database or analysis system. Available progressively from 27 August 2007 to December 2007. (Cost:$115.00 each)
- TableBuilder - an exciting new product that, for the first time, will give you remote access to the complete Census Unit Record file. TableBuilder is designed for people experienced in using Census data and will enable you to extract and manipulate an unlimited number of Census tables. With TableBuilder you can create tables, graphs and thematic maps of Census data. Available early 2008.
- 2006 Census Sample File - is a comprehensive confidentialised unit record file of Census variables, containing a small random sample of private households and associated persons, and a sample of persons in non-private dwellings.
We will also be producing publications, which will be available for free online and for purchase as a paper publication. They include:
- The Social Atlas Series - contains informative maps and enlightening commentary highlighting the key social characteristics of our capital cities and selected regional centres in each state. Available early 2008.
- The Statistician’s Report on the 2006 Census – this was last published in 1961 and has been reintroduced for the 2006 Census. This publication provides a comprehensive overview of the 2006 Census, summarising a large volume of Census data and providing extensive written analysis.
Bookmark
www.abs.gov.au and follow the Census link to check out upcoming Census data release dates. Should you have any feedback on our new products, please email us at
census.software@abs.gov.au
Michael Beahan
Director
Census Products & Services
Discover your Census!
The Discover Your Census publication is a useful starting point for developing a greater understanding of Census data. It contains information about each Census product and service, and a glossary of commonly used Census terms.
The publication also includes advice on Information Consultancy services, the staged release strategy, the release schedule, and the change to Place of Usual Residence as the primary basis for releasing data.
Discover your Census is available for free online at
www.abs.gov.au/census.
A message from the ‘Australian Statistician’.
On the 27th of June 2007, we celebrated the first instalment of the dividends that will flow over the next few years from the investment that Australians made in August last year when they completed their 2006 Census form.
This first release of data reminds us of what the Census is all about, and that is putting vital information back into the hands of users’ right across Australia:
- enabling us to look at how as a nation we are changing.
- and informing a very wide range of decisions about investments – both public and private – in services, infrastructure and facilities.
And this is only the first release – there is so much more to come. Today's data is the start of a rich flow of information from our Census, and over the next 12 months the full value of this national count will be realised as more and more facts and figures are released.
The real power of the Census is that it provides snapshots at all levels of society, enabling us to look at the nation as a whole, at individual states or at different regions, right down to community level.
The Census is the definitive source of information about the nation's most important resource, its people.
Good decisions are based on good information, and the Census is a very powerful source of high quality information for a wide range of public and private decisions:
- where we build our schools and hospitals;
- our infrastructure development for roads, airports, etc, to
- private investment decisions, such as where retail outlets and other services are located.
The success of each Census of course depends on the cooperation of the Australian Community and I want to particularly express the gratitude of the ABS to the Australian public for their willing participation in the Census.
Whilst it's true that completing the Census form is a legal obligation, in practice the Census is successful because the community chooses to participate voluntarily and that goes to the heart of the trust and confidence the community has in its national statistical agency. We at ABS place enormous value on maintaining that trust in all we do.
For the first time, the Census output will be predominantly Internet-based. The majority of the data is being made available free of charge on the ABS website.
I urge you all to visit the ABS website
(www.abs.gov.au/census) at the earliest opportunity, to find out all the fascinating facts about your community and your nation, to enjoy the results of the Census and to prosper in putting them to use.
Mr Brian Pink
Australian Statistician
Australian Bureau of Statistics
To view the ‘Australian Statisticians’ full speech given at the Census launch on 27/6/2007, please click on the following link:
Australian Statisticians – Census launch speech.
Contact Us
Census Technical Helpline
1800 676 646
Email: census.software@abs.gov.au
(for help with CDATA 2001, SEIFA 2001 and CLIB2001)
National Information and Referral Service
1300 135 070
(for all other ABS inquiries)
Newspoint Editor
Stephen O’Connor
Phone 02 6252 6013 stephen.oconnor@abs.gov.au
CDATA User Group Manager
Simon Jarman
Phone 02 6252 6015
simon.jarman@abs.gov.au |
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