1217.0.55.001 - Glossary of Statistical Geography Terminology, 2011
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/03/2011
Page tools:
 Print Page
 Print All
| ||
|
GLOSSARY OF STATISTICAL GEOGRAPHY TERMINOLOGY
o Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) o Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) o Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) o Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) o State/Territory (S/T) o Australia (AUS) o Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA) o Urban Centre/Locality (UC/L) o Section of State Range (SOSR) o Section of State (SOS) o Indigenous Location (ILOC) o Indigenous Area (IARE) o Indigenous Region (IREG) o Significant Urban Areas (SUA) o Remoteness Area (RA) The Non-ABS regions are:
o Postal Area (POA) o Commonwealth Electoral Division (CED) o State Electoral Division (SED) o State Suburb (SSC) o Natural Resource Management Region (NRMR) o Australian Drainage Division (ADD) o Tourism Region (TR). For more information, please refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001). Back to top B Basemap Is a term used when referring to the various layers of digital spatial data such as roads, rivers, railways, cadastre, etc. which form the basis of ABS's and most other Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Borough (B) A type of Local Government Area (LGA) in Victoria. See Local Government Area (LGA). Boundaries See Digital Boundaries. Bounded Locality See Section of State (SOS), Section of State Range (SOSR), Urban Centre/Locality (UC/L). Back to top C Cadastre The cadastre is a physical record of rights and responsibilities for land. In common usage the term cadastre refers to the digital representation of all cadastral boundaries excluding easements and road/ drainage casements for Australia, managed by each State and Territory. Capital City Statistical Division (Capital City SD or may be shown as CCSD) The Capital City Statistical Division (Capital City SD) is a component spatial unit of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). The ASGC will be replaced by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) from July 2011 onwards. A comparable spatial unit within the ASGS will be the Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA). The Capital City SD's are predominantly urban in character and represent the State/Territory capital cities in the wider sense. A Capital City SD is defined to contain the anticipated urban development of a capital city (and its associated urban centres) for a period of at least twenty years. It delimits an area which is stable for general statistical purposes. See Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Statistical Division (SD), Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA). Census Geographic Areas Census Geographic Areas were created so that Census data may be made available for commonly used geographic areas other than those found in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). Census Geographic Areas for the ASGC are formed by an aggregation of whole CDs. Census Geographic Areas will be replaced by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Non-ABS Structures after the 2011 Census. These will be approximated by either Mesh Blocks, SA1s or SA2s. See also Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Commonwealth Electoral Division (CED), Indigenous Area (IARE), Indigenous Location (ILOC), Indigenous Region (IREG), Postal Area (POA), State Electoral Division (SED), State Suburb (SSC). Christmas Island See Other Territories. City (C) A type of Local Government Area (LGA) found in all States and Territories. See Local Government Area (LGA). Cocos (Keeling) Islands See Other Territories. Collection District (CD) Until 2006, the Collection District (CD) was the smallest geographical area for which Census data were available. For 2011, they will be replaced with Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Basic population and dwelling counts will be available at the Mesh Block (MB) level for 2011. Collector Workload (CLW) A Collector Workload (CLW) is a geographic grouping of on average 450 dwellings which define an area in which generally a single Census Collector will deliver and collect Census Forms for the 2011 Census. Every part of Australia is covered by CLWs. These workloads are designed with reference to information obtained from:
o Census collector comments from the previous Census; o local knowledge; o field inspections; and o PSMA Australia national topographic dataset. Commonwealth Electoral Divisions (CED) A Commonwealth Electoral Division (CED) is an area legally prescribed for the purpose of returning one member to the House of Representatives. CEDs are approximated by aggregating the data for Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) that best fit the area. Community Government Council (CGC) A type of Local Government Area (LGA) found in the Northern Territory that was recognised under a Community Government Scheme under the "Local Government Act". CGCs were included in the LGA structure of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) for the first time in the 2003 Edition, but are no longer in use. See Local Government Area (LGA). Coordinates Positions on the surface of the earth are defined by coordinate pairs. Coordinates may be expressed as eastings and northings, i.e. metres east and north of a particular datum point, or as latitudes and longitudes which is an angular measure (in degrees) of position measured from the centre of the earth. Modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can compute the relationship between different types of coordinates and convert one to the other as long as the datum and projection of the coordinate system is known. See Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94). Correspondence/ Concordance Correspondence files (concordances) are used to transfer data from one geography to another. The ABS will prepare a wide range of correspondences to assist with conversion to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). After the 2011 Census of Population and Housing, correspondences will be built using Mesh Blocks (MBs) with 2011 Census counts and will therefore be simpler and more accurate than those the ABS currently produces. Back to top D Destination Zones (DZNs) Destination Zones (DZNs) are the spatial unit used to code Place of Work (POWP). In 2011 the boundaries have been defined by each State/Territory Transport Authorities as an aggregation of 2011 Mesh Blocks. The DZNs do not align with Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). In previous Censuses DZNs have aggregated to Study areas. With the introduction of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), Study areas have been replaced with Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s), which form the smallest unit for which the ABS publishes POWP statistics. See also Place of Work (POWP). Digital Boundaries Digital boundaries facilitate the analysis and display of statistical data through their use in various software packages. Statistical data from other ABS collections, or from other sources, can be used in conjunction with these boundaries. Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) boundaries have been constructed and maintained using the authoritative spatial data supplied by PSMA Australia Limited (www.psma.com.au). The data quality and spatial accuracy of these boundaries are closely linked to the digital base map upon which they were based. They do not necessarily align with any other digital base maps. When using these boundaries, users should be aware that, as a result of limitations of scale and accuracy of the original base map, they are not exact in area and extent. They therefore should not be used for highly detailed spatial analysis involving attributes that are highly dependent on area and extent factors. Currently all digital boundaries produced by the ABS are compatible with Geocentric Datum Australia 94 (GDA94). Dissemination of boundaries: The ABS provides boundaries on the website in MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif) and ESRI Shapefile (.shp) format. Copyright on boundaries: The copyright and intellectual property rights for ABS digital boundaries are retained solely by the Commonwealth of Australia and are administered by the ABS. Individuals or organisations may use these boundaries freely, provided they acknowledge the ABS as the source and do not make any changes. See also ESRI Shapefile (.shp), Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94), MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif), PSMA Australia Limited. District Council (DC) A type of Local Government Area (LGA) in South Australia. See Local Government Area (LGA). Back to top E Electronic Structures These are a product in the format of comma delimited text files that list the codes and labels of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Main Structure, Statistical District Structure, Statistical Region Structure, and the Alphabetic List of Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) within States/Territories. The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) does not include electronic structures; instead hierarchical structure tables are released. For more information, please refer to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) - Electronic Structures (cat. no. 1216.0.15.001). ESRI Shapefile (.shp) A shapefile stores non-topological geometry and attribute information for the spatial features in a data set. The geometry for a feature is stored as a shape comprising a set of vector coordinates. Shapefiles handle single features that overlap or that are non-contiguous and can support point, line, and area features. Area features are represented as closed loop polygons. The ABS provides digital boundary files free of charge in both MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif) as well as ESRI Shapefile (.shp) format. See also MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif). External Territories Those Australian Territories (e.g. Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island, Heard Island) that are not included in the definition of Geographical Australia. See Geographical Australia. Back to top G Gazetted Suburbs/Localities Official Suburbs and Localities as gazetted by the relevant authority in each State. Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94) All boundaries released by the ABS after August 2001 are based on the Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA94). GDA94 provides an internationally compatible coordinate system for all geographic data. See Coordinates, Digital Boundaries. Geocoding Geocoding is the process of giving something a latitude and longitude, thereby describing its position on the surface of the earth. In the case of statistical data this generally means assigning a latitude and longitude to a statistical unit such as a household or business. See also Georeference, G-NAF. Geographic Australia The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) uses the Geographic definition of Australia, as set out in section 17(a) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 which currently defines Australia or the Commonwealth as meaning: '…the Commonwealth of Australia and, when used in a geographical sense, includes the Territory of Christmas Island and the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, but does not include any other external Territory'. Included in this definition of Geographic Australia are the: States of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania; Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Territory of Christmas Island and Jervis Bay Territory. Jervis Bay Territory was previously included with the ACT for statistical purposes. However, because of its administrative association with the ACT and it's relatively small size it did not meet confidentiality requirements for statistical output. Following the granting of self-government to the ACT in May 1989, this situation was reviewed. From the 1 July 1993 edition of the previous Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Jervis Bay Territory, along with the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Territory of Christmas Island formed part of a new category, Other Territories, at the S/T level. This convention has continued with the ASGS. The ASGS excludes Macquarie Island although it is legally part of Tasmania. Macquarie Island is an extremely isolated sub-Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean. It has no permanent population. Any population on Macquarie Island, for example scientific expeditions, is recorded in the Census of Population and Housing and is included in the Migratory - Offshore - Shipping SA2 for Tasmania. Georeference Georeferencing is the process of determining in which geographical area an individual statistical unit such as a household or business lies. Coding is generally the first step in aggregating spatial statistics. See also Geocoding, G-NAF. GIS A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a combination of software, hardware, data and people which allows the display, manipulation, analysis and output of spatial (map) data. GISCA The Geographical Information System Cooperative of Adelaide (GISCA) is an acronym for the National Key Centre for Social Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GISCA operates from the Adelaide University and was a key player in the development of ARIA+, the basis for the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. See also Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Structure. G-NAF G-NAF (Geocoded National Address File) is an authoritative geocoded address index for the whole country which lists all valid physical addresses in Australia. It contains approximately 12.6 million physical addresses, each linked to its own geocode (specific latitude and longitude of the address). Data used to build G-NAF comes from contributors including the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), Australia Post and Australia's government mapping agencies and land registries. See also Georeference, Geocoding, PSMA Australia Limited Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA) The Greater Capital Cities Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) represent the socioeconomic area of each of the eight State and Territory Capitals. The Capital City boundaries are built from aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) to facilitate the comparison of labour force data with other economic data such as the Consumer Price Index, released on GCCSAs. The GCCSA boundaries represent a broad socioeconomic definition of each city, they contain not only the urban area of the city, but also non-urban areas where much of the population has strong links to the capital city, through for example, commuting to work. For the 2011 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), there are 16 GCCSA regions. There are 8 regions representing each of the Australian State and Territory capital cities and 8 regions covering the rest of each S/T. There is only one GCCSA for the ACT and one for the Other Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. For more information, please refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001). Back to top H Heard Island This Island is an Australian External Territory situated to the south west of Australia. This island is not within the scope of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) or the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), however for Census purposes temporary residents of this island are counted in offshore, shipping and migratory Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) for Tasmania. See also Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1). Back to top I Incorporated Australia That part of Geographical Australia over which incorporated local government bodies has responsibility. The areas over which the local government bodies have jurisdiction are known as Local Government Areas (LGAs). See Local Government Area (LGA), Unincorporated Australia. Indigenous Area (IARE) Indigenous Areas (IAREs) are aggregates of one or more Indigenous Locations (ILOCs) and ideally have a minimum of 250 Indigenous usual residents. IAREs aggregate to Indigenous Regions (IREGs), and cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. See Indigenous Location (ILOC), Indigenous Regions (IREG), Indigenous Structure. Indigenous Location (ILOC) Indigenous Locations (ILOCs) are aggregates of one or more Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) and ideally have a minimum of 100 Indigenous usual residents. ILOCs aggregate to Indigenous Areas (IAREs), and cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. See Indigenous Area (IARE), Indigenous Region (IREG), Indigenous Structure. Indigenous Region (IREG) Indigenous Regions (IREGs) are aggregates of Indigenous Areas (IAREs). Indigenous Regions aggregate to the State and Territory level and cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. The IREGs have replaced ATSIC Regions which were used to disseminate data from the 1996 and 2001 Censuses. See also Indigenous Area (IARE), Indigenous Location (ILOC), Indigenous Structure. Indigenous Structure The Indigenous Structure is part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) ABS Structures. The Indigenous Structure is conceptually similar to the previous Indigenous Geography published as a Census Geographic Area in 2006 and includes:
o Indigenous Locations (ILOCs) o Indigenous Regions (IREGs). See also Indigenous Area (IARE), Indigenous Location (ILOC), Indigenous Region (IREG). Inner Regional Australia Inner Regional Australia is a category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. Inner Regional Australia is defined as 'CDs with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 0.2 and less than or equal to 2.4'. Inner Regional Australia includes towns such as Hobart, Launceston, Mackay and Tamworth. Remoteness categories will continue as part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure and will be recalculated after the 2011 Census. See Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Area (RA), Remoteness Structure. Back to top J Jervis Bay Territory See Other Territories. Back to top L Linge Linge is the methodology and criteria used for delimiting Urban Centres/Localities (UC/Ls) for each Census which is based on that developed by Dr G.J.R Linge from the Australian National University. For more information, please refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). Local Government Area (LGA) A Local Government Area (LGA) is a geographical area under the responsibility of an incorporated local government council, or an incorporated Indigenous government council. The LGAs in Australia collectively cover only a part of Australia. The main areas not covered by LGAs are northern parts of South Australia, a large part of the Northern Territory, the western division of New South Wales, all of the Australian Capital Territory and the Other Territories. The number of LGAs and their boundaries can change over time. Their creation and delimitation is the responsibility of the respective State/ Territory governments, and are governed by the provisions of State/ Territory local government and other relevant Acts. The types of LGAs in each State and the Northern Territory are:
o Victoria (Vic.): Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Boroughs (B) and Shires (S); o Queensland (Qld): Cities (C), Shires (S), Towns (T) and Regional Councils (R); o South Australia (SA): Cities (C), Rural Cities (RC), Municipalities/Municipal Councils (M), District Councils (DC), Regional Councils (RegC) and Aboriginal Councils (AC); o Western Australia (WA): Cities (C), Towns (T) and Shires (S); o Tasmania (Tas.): Cities (C) and Municipalities (M); and o Northern Territory (NT): Cities (C), Towns (T), Municipalities (M) and Shires (S). See also Incorporated Australia, Unincorporated Australia. Locality Locality is a term used by different people to mean different things and assumptions should not be made about what the term means in any given usage. An increasingly important official use of the term is for the areas defined by Geographical Naming Authorities as Suburbs/Localities (See Gazetted suburbs/localities). The ABS definition of locality relates to the Urban Centre/Locality (UC/L) Structure where a Locality is generally defined as a population cluster of between 200 and 999 people. See Urban Centre/Locality, Locality to Statistical Local Area (SLA) Correspondence. Locality to Statistical Local Area (SLA) Correspondence The Locality to Statistical Local Area (SLA) Correspondence is a file to assist coding to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). The correspondence facilitates the coding of addresses to SLA or Local Government Area (LGA) on the basis of State, Locality and Postcode. It effectively replaces the localities file of the National Localities Index (NLI) which was discontinued after the ASGC 2007. The Locality to SLA Correspondence file is available on request from ABS Geography by emailing <geography@abs.gov.au>. Lord Howe Island This island is part of the Mid-North Coast Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) of New South Wales. In context of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Lord Howe Island is part of the Mid-North Coast Statistical Division (SD) of NSW. Back to top M Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is an extremely isolated sub- Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean. Macquarie Island is excluded from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) although it is legally part of Tasmania. See Geographic Australia. Main Structure The Main Structure is the term used to denote the central hierarchy of regions in both the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) and the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). In the ASGS it comprises:
o Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) o Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) o Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) o Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) o State/Territory (S/T). In the ASGC it comprises:
o Statistical Local Area (SLA) o Statistical Subdivision (SSD) o Statistical Division (SD) o State/Territory (S/T). For more information, please refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0) and Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001). Major Cities of Australia Major Cities of Australia (not to be confused with Major Urban) is a category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. Major Cities of Australia is defined as 'CDs with an average ARIA index value of 0 to 0.2'. The 'Major Cities of Australia' class includes most capital cities, as well as major urban areas such as Newcastle, Geelong and the Gold Coast. Remoteness categories will continue as part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure and will be recalculated after the 2011 Census. See Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Area (RA), Remoteness Structure. Major Statistical Region (MSR) Major Statistical Regions (MSRs) form part of the Statistical Region Structure within the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). MSRs divide each of the five larger States, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia into two geographical areas: one equates with the Capital City Statistical Division (Capital City SD) and the other with the balance of the State. Due to population size limitations, Tasmania, Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Other Territories each consist of only one MSR corresponding to the whole of the State/Territory. MSRs are replaced by Greater Capital Cities Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). For more information refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). See also Statistical Region (SR), Statistical Region Structure (SR Structure), Statistical Region Sector (SRS). Major Urban Major Urban is currently a category of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Section of State (SOS) Structure. This category provides for three sub-categories of urban areas (Urban Centres from the UC/L Structure) based upon population ranges of 1,000,000 or more, 250,000 to 999,999, and 100,000 to 249,999. Major Urban will continue to be a category within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure. See Section of State (SOS), Section of State Range (SOSR). MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif) MapInfo Interchange Format (.mid .mif) is a file type for digital boundary files that can be imported directly into MapInfo Professional and other common GIS or desktop mapping packages. The .mid .mif files are text format and can be edited and manipulated for import to less common GIS and CAD systems. Mesh Block (MB) Mesh Blocks (MBs) were developed using recommendations from a panel of experts. The MB is the smallest unit within the new Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Their boundaries are contiguous and cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. There are approximately 347,600 Mesh Blocks. MBs are small enough that they can aggregate reasonably accurately to many different geographical regions, administrative, management and political boundaries. Thus, by coding statistics to MBs, it will be possible to produce summary statistics for a whole range of geographical regions not currently represented in statistical geography. For further information see Information Paper: Mesh Blocks, Australia, 2003 (cat. no. 1209.0) and Information Paper: Draft Mesh Blocks, Australia, 2005 (cat. no. 1209.0.55.001). Metropolitan The ABS does not define Metropolitan and non-Metropolitan Areas. To be sure what the terms mean in a particular instance you need to contact the source of the information. In general the terms are used to mean the Capital City Statistical Divisions (Capital City SDs) and the Rest of State. A Capital City/Rest of State division will be available under the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). See Capital City Statistical Division (Capital City SD). Migratory SA1s Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Structures such as Section of State (SOS) and the Remoteness Structure contain a category titled 'Migratory'. This category is composed of off-shore, shipping and migratory Collection Districts (CDs). Similarly, the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) also has a similar Migratory category of Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Migratory SA1s contain people who are enumerated on an overnight journey by train or bus. There is one Migratory SA1 for each State and the Northern Territory. See Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1). Municipality/Municipal Council (M) A type of Local Government Area (LGA) in South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory. See Local Government Area (LGA). Back to top N National Localities Index (NLI) The National Localities Index (NLI) was last released in 2007. The NLI is no longer produced and instead the Locality to Statistical Local Area (SLA) Correspondence is released. For more information, please refer to Locality to SLA Correspondence. Natural Resource Management Region (NRMR) Natural Resource Management Regions (NRMRs) are based on catchments or bioregions. The Australian government, in association with State and Territory governments, has identified 56 regions covering all of Australia. They are used to administer and report on aspects of environmental policy including sustainable farming and biodiversity. Norfolk Island Norfolk Island is outside the scope of Geographic Australia. See Geographic Australia. Back to top O Off-Shore SA1 Off-Shore SA1s contain people who are enumerated on off-shore oil rigs, drilling platforms and the like. There is one Off-Shore SA1 for each State and the Northern Territory. Census data from respondents who completed their Census forms in the Australian Antarctic Territory are coded to an additional Off-Shore SA1 in Tasmania. Other Territories Prior to the 1996 Census, no external territories were included in geographical Australia, although Census data were collected for Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Following amendments to the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 - 1973 effective from July 1992, the two external territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands became part of geographical Australia. The other Australian external territories (Norfolk Island, and minor islands such as Heard Island and McDonald Island), remain outside the scope of the Census. Since the 1996 Census, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and the Jervis Bay Territory (previously linked to the Australian Capital Territory for statistical purposes) comprise a pseudo 'ninth State/Territory' of Australia. They are included in State 9 'Other Territories', with each of the three areas having a unique Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) code. Prior to the 1986 Census, separate Censuses of the islands were conducted by the Department of Home Affairs, or its equivalent. For the 1986 and 1991 Censuses, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island were included as part of the Australian Census, but their data were excluded from statistical counts for Australia. Norfolk Island and the other external Territories were out of scope for the Census. See Geographic Australia. Other Urban Other Urban is a category of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Section of State (SOS) Structure. This category provides for five sub-categories of urban areas (Urban Centres from the UC/L Structure) based upon population ranges of 50,000 to 99,999, 20,000 to 49,999, 10,000 to 19,999, 5,000 to 9,999 and 1,000 to 4,999. Other Urban will continue to be a category within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure. See Section of State (SOS), Section of State Range (SOSR). Outer Regional Australia Outer Regional Australia is a category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. Outer Regional Australia is defined as 'CDs with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 2.4 and less than or equal to 5.92'. Outer Regional Australia includes towns and cities such as Darwin, Whyalla, Cairns and Gunnedah. Remoteness categories will continue as part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure and will be re-calculated after the 2011 Census. See Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Area (RA), Remoteness Structure. Back to top P Place of Work (POWP) Place of Work (POWP) data provide information on where a person goes to work. The address of the person's workplace in the week prior to Census Night is coded to a Destination Zone using an index provided by the State Transport Authorities. Destination Zones do not concord with Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s), but they do aggregate to Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s). Journey to work data are used by transport authorities, associated bodies, organisations and other interested people to plan public transport systems, and for the development and release of residential and commercial land. See Destination Zones (DZNs). Postal Area (POA) Postal Areas (POAs) are ABS approximations of Australia Post Postcodes originally created by allocating whole Collection Districts (CDs) on a 'best fit' basis to Postcodes. The last POAs created using this approximation was 2006. From 2011 onwards Postal Areas POAs will be created by allocating whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) on a 'best fit' basis to Postcodes. Postal Areas exclude non-mappable Australia Post Postcodes such as:
o some delivery route Postcodes, which are also covered by other Postcodes (a situation which often occurs in rural areas); and o some Postcodes which, because of the application of the 'best fit' principle, do not get an CD allocated to them. This means that there are more Australia Post Postcodes than Postal Areas. See Australia Post Postcode. Postcode See Australia Post Postcode, Postal Area (POA). PSMA Australia Limited PSMA Australia Limited is an unlisted public company that has evolved to facilitate access to seamless national spatial datasets derived from government data sources. The vast majority of digital spatial data and basemap used by the ABS is supplied by PSMA Australia. ABS has a contract with PSMA for the supply, maintenance and regular updating of this data. Back to top R Region See Statistical Region (SR). Regional Council (RegC) A type of Local Government Area in South Australia. See Local Government Area (LGA). Remote Australia Remote Australia is a category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. Remote Australia is defined as 'CDs with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 5.92 and less than or equal to 10.53'. Examples of Remote Australia include Alice Springs, Mount Isa and Esperance. Remoteness categories will continue as part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure and will be recalculated after the 2011 Census. See Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Area (RA), Remoteness Structure. Remoteness Area (RA) Within the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), the Remoteness Structure classification comprises six categories called Remoteness Areas (RAs). Each RA is created from the grouping of Collection Districts (CDs) identifying a (non-contiguous) region in Australia having a particular degree of remoteness. The categories range from 'Major Cities of Australia' to 'Very Remote Australia'. Remoteness categories will continue as part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Within the ASGS, the remoteness classification will comprise six categories or Remoteness Areas (RAs), being a grouping of Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) instead of CDs. See Remoteness Structure. Remoteness Structure The Remoteness Structure is part of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) and was created to classify Collection Districts (CD) which share common characteristics of remoteness into broad geographical regions called Remoteness Areas (RAs). The degree of remoteness of each CD was determined using the Accessibility/Remoteness Index (ARIA) of Australia. CDs have then been grouped into the appropriate category of Remoteness to form non-contiguous areas within each State. In 2006 ARIA+ was recalculated using 2006 Census statistics, and the results are used to recreate the 2006 ASGC Remoteness Structure based on aggregations of Census Collection Districts. It is envisaged that ARIA+ will be recalculated after the 2011 Census and the results will be used to construct the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure based on aggregations of Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). For more information refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). See also Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Area (RA). Rural The ABS defines "Rural" in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Section of State (SOS) Structure as areas which are not part of any "Urban" area. The Bounded Locality and Rural Balance categories of SOS thus make up "Rural" Australia. See Rural Balance, Section of State (SOS). Rural Balance Rural Balance is a category of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Section of State (SOS) Structure. This category provides for those areas not included in the other four categories of the SOS Structure (i.e. Major Urban, Other Urban, Bounded Locality and Migratory). Rural Balance will continue to be a category within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Section of State (SOS) Structure. See Section of State (SOS). Rural City (RC) A type of Local Government Area (LGA) in Victoria and South Australia. See Local Government Area (LGA). Rural Remote and Metropolitan Areas (RRMA) Classification This classification was defined for the then (Commonwealth) Departments of Primary Industry and Energy and Human Services and Health in 1994 based on 1991 Census data. Although the ABS contributed to the development of the classification and the underlying index of remoteness, Rural Remote and Metropolitan Areas (RRMA) is not an ABS classification. The classification has not been revised since 1994. The classes defined in RRMA are Metropolitan Areas (Capital City and Other Metropolitan Centres), Non-metropolitan Zones (Rural Zone and Remote Zone). The Rural and Remote Zones are further subdivided into Large Rural Centre, Small Rural Centres, Other Rural Area and Remote Centre and Other Remote Area. These categories are defined on population size of the largest Urban Centre within the Statistical Local Area (SLA) based on 1991 population. The population of these Urban Centres have changed considerably since 1991 making the classification, in the absence of a complete revision, less relevant as time passes. Back to top S Section of State (SOS) The Section of State (SOS) was originally an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Structure created using population counts to define Collection Districts (CDs) as urban or rural and to provide, in aggregate, statistics for urban concentrations and for bounded localities and balance areas. The SOS Structure will continue within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) and will instead use population counts to define Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) as urban or rural and to provide the statistics for urban concentrations, bounded localities and balance areas. SOS represents an aggregation of non-contiguous geographical areas of a particular urban/rural type. Sections of State categories comprise Major Urban (population clusters of 100,000 or more), Other Urban (population clusters of 1,000 to 99,999), Bounded Locality (200 to 999), Rural Balance (remainder of State/Territory) and Migratory, and in aggregate cover the whole of Australia. See also Section of State Range (SOSR). Section of State Range (SOSR) This geographical classification represents a further break down of the Section of State (SOS) categories. Major urban is broken down into a further 3 Section of State Range (SOSR) categories of urban centres based on the population ranges of: 1,000,000 or more, 250,000 to 999,999 and 100,000 to 249,9999. Other urban is broken down into a further 5 SOSR categories of urban centres based on the population ranges of: 50,000 to 99,999, 20,000 to 49,999, 10,000 to 19,999, 5,000 to 9,999 and 1,000 to 4,999. Bounded Localities is further divided into 2 SOSR categories based on a population range of: 500 to 999 and 200 to 499. The SOS Rural Balance is not further broken down by SOSR. See Section of State (SOS). Shipping SA1s Shipping Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) contain people who are enumerated aboard ships in Australian waters. This includes commercial cargo vessels, passenger liners, ocean going passenger/car ferries, and dredges. People enumerated on board commercial vessels between Australian ports are also attributed to Shipping SA1s. Foreign crews on ships are excluded from Census enumeration. See also Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1). Shire (S) A type of Local Government Area (LGA). See Local Government Area (LGA). Significant Urban Areas (SUA) Significant Urban Areas (SUA) represent aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) to define and contain major urban and near-urban concentrations of over 10,000 people. They include the urban population, any immediately associated populations, and may incorporate together one or more closely associated Urban Centre and Locality and the areas between. They are designed to include any likely growth over the next 20 years. SUAs do not cover the whole of Australia, and may cross State boundaries. Spatial Data Spatial data is data about an object or feature on, above or below the surface of the earth. They are data that can be mapped, including data about natural resources, the environment, social services and infrastructure as well as digital versions of topographic maps and hydrographic charts. Special Purpose ASGS Codes Special purpose codes are used where there is insufficient information to code to a physical geographic area. For example responses with no fixed address or instances of incomplete location inform. They have been created for each hierarchical level within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Main Structure. These codes are not spatial. They do not have a region associated with them in the various ASGS digital boundary sets. In the Main Structure, special purpose codes relate to States/Territories, SA4s, SA3s, SA2s and SA1s. They are also included in other ASGS areas such as Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA) and in Non-ABS structures. State/Territory (S/T) The State/Territory (S/T) is the largest spatial unit in both the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) and the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). There are six States and five Territories: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory and the external Territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Jervis Bay Territory, and the Territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are grouped as one spatial unit at the S/T level in the category of Other Territories. S/Ts consist of one or more Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) in the ASGS or one or more Statistical Divisions (SDs) in the ASGC. In aggregate, they cover Australia without gaps or overlaps. State Electoral Divisions (SED) A State Electoral Division (SED) is an area legally prescribed for the purpose of returning one or more members to the State or Territory lower houses of parliament. SEDs are approximated by aggregating the data for Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) that best fit the area. State Suburb (SSC) State Suburbs (SSCs) are a Census-specific area originally created by allocating whole Collection Districts (CDs) on a 'best fit' basis to suburb. The last SSCs created using this approximation was in 2006. From 2011 onwards SSCs will be created by allocating whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). It is available for the whole of Australia, but in rural areas SSCs poorly represent the gazetted localities. Note that the Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) are aligned closely with suburbs in urban areas. Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) The Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) is the second smallest geographic area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), the smallest being the Mesh Block (MB). The SA1 has been designed for use in the Census of Population and Housing as the smallest unit for the processing and release of Census data. For the 2011 Census, SA1s will also be the basis of output for most data, the exception being some Place of Work destination zones. For 2011, SA1s also serve as the basic building block in the ASGS and are used for the aggregation of statistics to larger Census geographic areas. An SA1 is represented by a unique seven digit code. SA1s are designed to remain relatively constant over several Censuses. Future change will largely be dealt with by splitting existing SA1s. For the 2011 Census, there are approximately 55,000 SA1s throughout Australia (this includes the Other Territories of Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay). SA1s cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. Special SA1s:
o Shipping SA1s contain people who are enumerated aboard ships in Australian waters. This includes commercial cargo vessels, passenger liners, ocean going passenger/car ferries, and dredges. People enumerated on board commercial vessels between Australian ports are also attributed to Shipping SA1s. Foreign crews on ships are excluded from Census enumeration. o Off-Shore SA1s contain people who are enumerated on off-shore oil rigs, drilling platforms and the like. There is one Off-Shore SA1 for each State and the Northern Territory. Census data from respondents who completed their Census forms in the Australian Antarctic Territory are coded to an additional Off-Shore SA1 in Tasmania. o Migratory SA1s contain people who are enumerated on an overnight journey by train or bus. There is one Migratory SA1 for each State and the Northern Territory. For more information, please refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001). Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) The Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) is an area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), and consists of one or more whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Wherever possible, SA2s are based on officially gazetted State suburbs and localities. In urban areas SA2s largely conform to whole suburbs and combinations of whole suburbs, while in rural areas they define the functional zone of a regional centre. SA2s cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. For more information, please refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001). Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) Statistical Areas Level 3 (SA3s) are built from aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) to represent regions of between approximately 30,000 people and 130,000 people and cover the whole of Australia. These boundaries reflect a combination of widely recognised informal regions as well as existing administrative regions such as State Government Regions in rural areas and Local Government Areas (LGAs) in urban areas. SA3 boundaries fit within whole Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) boundaries. For more information, please refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001). Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) are designed to reflect one or more whole labour markets for the release of Labour Force Survey data. SA4s are required to have a population over 100,000 people in order to enable accurate labour force survey data to be generated on each SA4. For this reason, in rural areas SA4s generally represent aggregations of multiple small labour markets with socioeconomic connections or similar industry characteristics. Large regional city labour markets (150,000 people) are generally defined by a single SA4. Within major metropolitan labour markets SA4s represent sub-labour markets. SA4s are aggregations of whole Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) boundaries and fit within whole State and Territory boundaries. For more information, please refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001). Statistical District (S Dist) A Statistical District (S Dist) is an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area which bounds a large predominantly urban area outside the Capital City Statistical Divisions (SDs). An S Dist consists of one or more urban centres in close proximity to each other, with a total population of 25,000 or more. The boundaries of S Dists are defined to contain the anticipated urban spread of the area for a period of at least twenty years. S Dists consist of one or more Statistical Subdivisions (SSDs) and may cross Local Government Area (LGA) boundaries. S Dists can, and in three cases do, straddle Statistical Division (SD) and State/Territory boundaries. The Gold Coast-Tweed S Dist encompasses an urban area which lies partly in Queensland and partly in New South Wales. The Albury-Wodonga S Dist straddles the New South Wales/Victorian border. The Canberra-Queanbeyan S Dist is partly in the Australian Capital Territory and partly in New South Wales. For more information, please refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). Statistical Division (SD) A Statistical Division (SD) is an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area which represents a large, general purpose, regional type geographic area. SDs represent relatively homogeneous regions characterised by identifiable social and economic links between the inhabitants and between the economic units within the region, under the unifying influence of one or more major towns or cities. They consist of one or more Statistical Subdivisions (SSDs) and cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. They do not cross State or Territory boundaries and are the largest statistical building blocks of States and Territories. In New South Wales, proclaimed New South Wales Government Regions coincide with SDs except for North Coast, which consists of the SDs of Richmond-Tweed and Mid-North Coast. In the remaining States and Territories, SDs are designed in line with the ASGC general purpose regional spatial unit definition. For more information, please refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). Statistical Geography See also Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) and/or Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Statistical Local Area (SLA) The Statistical Local Area (SLA) is an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area. SLAs are Local Government Areas (LGAs), or parts thereof. Where there is no incorporated body of local government, SLAs are defined to cover the unincorporated areas. SLAs cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. SLAs have been made available in 2011 to provide a bridging unit between the ASGC and the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). As of 1 July 2011, the ASGS will progressively replace the ASGC as the standard geographical framework for ABS data. The ASGC will formally cease to be an ABS standard from the 1 July 2012, but it will not be replaced entirely by the ASGS until 2014 in all ABS collections. For more information, please refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). Statistical Region (SR) The Statistical Region (SR) is an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area within the Statistical Region Structure. The SR has sufficient population to be suitable for the presentation of both Population Census and Labour Force statistics within the frameworks for standard statistical outputs from these collections. SRs cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. For more information and a list of the Statistical Regions in each State/Territory, refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). See also Statistical Region Structure (SR Structure). Statistical Region Sector (SRS) Statistical Region Sectors (SRSs) are subdivisions of SRs and are a part of the Statistical Region Structure. They consist of one or more adjoining Statistical Local Areas (SLAs). See also Statistical Region (SR), Statistical Region Structure (SR Structure). Statistical Region Structure (SR Structure) The Statistical Region Structure is part of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) and is used for the production of standard statistical outputs from Population Censuses and Labour Force surveys. The SR Structure has six levels of hierarchy in Census years, comprising in ascending hierarchical order: Collections Districts (CDs)-Statistical Local Areas (SLAs)-Statistical Region Sectors (SRSs)-Statistical Regions (SR)-Major Statistical Regions (MSRs)-State/Territories (S/Ts). For more information, please refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). See also Main Structure, Major Statistical Region (MSR), Statistical Region (SR), Statistical Region Sector (SRS). Statistical Subdivision (SSD) The Statistical Subdivision (SSD) is an Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) defined area which represents an intermediate level, general purpose, regional type geographic unit. SSDs consist of one or more Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) and cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. For more information and a list of the SSDs in each State/Territory, please refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). Back to top T Territory See State/Territory (S/T), Geographical Australia. Tourism Regions The ABS and other organisations publish tourism data by Tourism Regions (TR). TRs are not defined by the ABS and are therefore identified as a Non-ABS region in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). This will be the first time that TRs have been fully integrated into official ABS statistical geography. The TRs are updated annually. They will consist of a group of Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s). In the past they consisted of a group of Statistical Local Areas (SLAs). TRs consist of aggregates of whole SA2s and cover the whole of geographic Australia. There are several TRs within each State/Territory except for the ACT which only has the TR of Canberra. The TRs do not include the Other Territories (OT) or the Off-Shore Areas and Migratory SA2s. Town (T) A type of Local Government Area (LGA) in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. See Local Government Area (LGA). Back to top U Unincorporated Australia Unincorporated areas are those areas which are not under the responsibility of an incorporated local government. The major areas of Australia not covered by incorporated bodies are the northern parts of South Australia, the far west of New South Wales, large areas of the Northern Territory and all of the Australian Capital Territory and Other Territories. See also Incorporated Australia, Local Government Area (LGA). Urban Centre/Locality (UC/L) An Urban Centre is generally defined as a population cluster of 1,000 or more people. A 'Bounded Locality' is generally defined as a population cluster of between 200 and 999 people. People living in Urban Centres are classified as urban for statistical purposes while those in 'Bounded Localities' are classified as rural (i.e. non-urban). The Urban Centre and Locality (UC/L) Structure of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) is used for the production of standard statistical outputs from the Population Censuses. Each UC/L is bounded (i.e. a boundary for it is clearly defined) and comprised of one or more whole Collection Districts (CD). UC/Ls are defined for each Census and are current for the date of the Census. The criteria for bounding UC/Ls are based on the Linge methodology. UC/Ls will continue to be defined under the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), but using Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) instead of CDs. See also Linge, Section of State (SOS). Back to top V Very Remote Australia Very Remote Australia is a category in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure. Very Remote is defined as 'CDs with an average ARIA+ index value greater than 10.53'. Very Remote Australia represents much of central and western Australia and includes towns such as Tennant Creek, Longreach and Coober Pedy. Remoteness categories will continue as part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure and will be recalculated after the 2011 Census. See Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA), Remoteness Area (RA), Remoteness Structure. Back to top Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
|
|