QUALITY DECLARATION - SUMMARY
INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
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
Water use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0), presents statistics from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) or five-yearly Agricultural Census and associated agricultural surveys. It contains detailed statistics on agricultural water use and irrigation activity - including details of pastures and crops irrigated and volume of water applied. The data are collected on a NRM region, Murray-Darling Basin and state/territory basis and then aggregated to derive Australian totals.
TIMELINESS
Water Use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0) is published within 12 months of the end of the reference period and follows the release of Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0).
ACCURACY
Data from the 2007-08 ARMS are based on a response rate of 87.4% and have been extensively quality assured. The resultant value estimates have been checked against earlier years and relevant other sources, including contact with data providers, to ensure the accuracy of the estimates produced.
COHERENCE
The Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) was conducted for the first time in 2007-08 as a result of changes to the ABS Agricultural survey program. The ARMS combines the annual Agricultural Survey with a benchmark survey of land management practices by agricultural businesses, and a survey of management responses to adverse seasonal conditions experienced by affected agricultural businesses.
The 2007–08 Agriculture Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and 2006–07 Agricultural Survey and 2005–06 Agricultural Census were conducted using new, and expanded, frames based on the Australian Taxation Office's Australian Business Register (ABR). Detailed explanatory and technical notes relating to this change in frame were included in the 2005-06 PDF release of Water Use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0).
The expanded frame means that estimates relating to water use for the 2005–06 Agricultural Census and subsequent surveys may not be directly comparable with earlier years. The range and level of detail of water use estimates was reduced for the 2007–08 ARMS as compared to previous years. It is therefore recommended that care be taken when comparing estimates across different reference periods.
It is also recommended that users take care when comparing related, but different, estimates from within the ARMS collection. The definition of some data items can result in apparently similar items representing different concepts due to scope differences.
INTERPRETABILITY
The ARMS, Agricultural Surveys and Agricultural Censuses provide a broad range of data about Australian agricultural commodities through a suite of standard products or as data customised for individual requirements. Detailed explanatory notes are provided with each publication to assist users in determining and specifying their data requirements and to understand the concepts underlying the data.
ACCESSIBILITY
An extensive range of data are available from a variety of agriculture based collections on the ABS website <www.abs.gov.au>.
If the information you require is not available as a standard product or service, the ABS Consultancy Services can assist with customised services to suit your requirements. Inquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
Quality Declaration 
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