QUALITY DECLARATION - SUMMARY

INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs) are released in accordance with the conditions specified in the Statistics Determination section of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (CSA). This ensures that confidentiality is maintained whilst enabling micro level data to be released. More information on the confidentiality practices associated with CURFs can be found at the "How is CURF data confidentialised?" page.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.


RELEVANCE

The survey of Education and Work CURF is a Basic CURF. It contains information about a range of key indicators relating to the educational participation and attainment, along with data on people's transition between education and work for all persons aged 15 to 64 years and persons aged 65 to 74 who are employed or marginally attached to the labour force.

The level of detail provided for selected data items are:

Data Item	Basic CURF
Age	Single years: 15–24; 5 year groups 25–74
Geography	Single states except for Tasmania, NT, ACT, Other Territories which are combined in Balance of Australia.
Country of birth	Australia, Main English Speaking Countries, Other

TIMELINESS

The survey of Education and Work is conducted throughout Australia every May. The first Education and Work CURF was released in 2001. A CURF for this survey is available every second year and is released approximately eight months after the data have been collected. The previous CURF, released in March 2008, contained information from the 2007 survey. The next Education and Work CURF will be released in early 2012 based on May 2011 data.


ACCURACY

The Education and Work CURF contains individual person level data (unit record). Along with unit record data, the CURF contains finer levels of detail of data items than what is otherwise published. For more information on the level of detail provided in the CURF, please see the data item listing.

Steps to confidentialise the data made available on the CURF are taken in such a way as to maximise the usefulness of the content while maintaining the confidentiality of respondents to ABS statistical collections. As a result, it may not be possible to exactly reconcile all the statistics produced from the CURF with published statistics.

For more information on the survey methodology see Technical Manual: Education and Work, Basic CURF, Australia, May 2009 (cat.no. 6227.0.30.002).


COHERENCE

The ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey; sound survey practice requires ongoing development to maintain the integrity of the data. Minor changes were made to the survey in 2009 to enhance the quality of the data and to reflect any changes in the education or other relevant system.

In 2009 the scope of the survey was extended to include persons aged 65 to 74 years who were employed or marginally attached to the labour force. Persons were determined to be marginally attached to the labour force if they were not in the labour force in the reference week, wanted to work and: were actively looking for work but did not meet the availability criteria to be classified as unemployed; or were not actively looking for work but were available to start work within four weeks or could start work within four weeks if child care was available.


INTERPRETABILITY

The Technical Manual: Education and Work, Basic CURF, Australia, May 2009 (cat.no. 6227.0.30.002) is a key source for consultation when using this CURF. It includes survey objectives, methods and design; survey content; data quality and interpretation; output data items; and information about the availability of results; comparability with previous surveys; and the content of the CURF file. Further information can also be found in the Explanatory Notes section of the Survey of Education and Work, Australia, May 2009 (cat. no. 6227.0) release.

ACCESSIBILITY

CURF microdata are not available to the public without special access being granted. All CURF users are required to read and abide by the 'Responsible Access to ABS Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs) Training Manual'. Application to access a particular CURF microdata can be completed and submitted for approval by following the steps listed in the 'How do I apply for CURFs' Frequently Asked Questions. A full list of available CURFs can be viewed via the 'List of Available CURFs'.

The Basic CURF can be accessed on CD-ROM, in addition to being accessed through the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL) and the ABS Data Laboratory (ABSDL). The Expanded CURF can only be accessed through RADL and ABSDL.

More detail regarding types and modes of access to CURFs can be found on CURF Access Modes and Levels of Detail web page.

If you have any questions regarding access to CURF Microdata please contact the Microdata Access Strategies Section at <microdata.access@abs.gov.au> or call (02) 6252 7714.