QUALITY DECLARATION
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, noting that the Census and Statistics (Information Release and Access) Determination 2018 came into effect on 15 August 2018 and has replaced the Statistics Determination 1983. 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 on the About CURF Microdata 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 directly collected component of the Business Longitudinal Database (BLD) CURF comes from the Business Characteristics Survey (BCS). The BLD CURF also includes financial data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP).
The BLD CURF is designed to enable longitudinal micro level analysis. While the sample is stratified by industry division and employment size, it is not designed to produce cross-sectional or population estimates and, therefore, users are discouraged from doing so. The major consideration when allocating the sample in the first year of each panel is to ensure that enough live sample will be available at the end of five years to facilitate longitudinal analysis.
The BLD CURF includes data directly collected by the BCS, covering topics such as innovation practices and barriers; use of information technology; market share and competition, barriers to business performance; employment arrangements; and skills utilised within the business. These details are provided for the reference periods included within the BLD. No geographic information is included in the BLD.
Microdata from the BLD are available as an Expanded CURF. The Data Item List shows the level of detail available in microdata format and can be accessed from the Downloads tab.
For more information on the survey methodology, concepts and definitions see the Summary tab.
TIMELINESS
This is the sixth iteration of the BLD CURF. It contains data from a sample of the in-scope Australian business population, and is referred to as a panel. Panel six contains five years of data (from 2010-11 to 2014-15) for 2,001 units selected from a survey frame created in June 2011. A new panel was initiated each year, and data is released after five years worth of data has been collected. The data from panel seven is also scheduled for release in 2019 and will cover the reference periods 2011-12 to 2015-16.
ACCURACY
The BLD CURF is unique in the fact that it provides longitudinal data on Australian businesses enabling finer level analysis on topics such as business productivity and innovation over time.
Steps have been taken to confidentialise the data on the CURF to ensure businesses cannot be identified, while at the same time maximising the usefulness of the content. Further information about the steps taken to confidentialise microdata can be found in the publication ABS Confidentiality Series, Aug 2017 (cat. no. 1160.0).
ATO data included in the BLD CURF have been supplied to the ABS under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 which requires that such data are only used for statistical purposes. Customs data sourced from DIBP under the Census and Statistics Act 1905, is also included on the CURF. No individual information collected under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 is provided back to the ATO or DIBP for administrative or regulatory purposes. Please note that this data is "as reported" to the regulatory bodies and any discussion of data limitations or weaknesses are in the context of using the data for statistical purposes, and are not related to the ability of the data to support the ATO's or DIBP's core operational requirements. The ABS wishes to acknowledge the assistance of both of these organisations in the development of the BLD.
COHERENCE
This release of the BLD CURF is consistent with the previous iteration for panel five.
INTERPRETABILITY
The information within this publication should be referred to when using the microdata product. It includes details about the survey methodology and how to use the microdata. It also includes a data item list, a test file, definitions of common terminology used, and information on the quality of the microdata.
ACCESSING THE DATA
This Expanded CURF can only be accessed through the ABS DataLab.
Users wishing to access the CURF should read the How to Apply for Microdata page before applying for access. Users should also familiarise themselves with information available via the Microdata Entry Page.
Any questions regarding access to microdata can be forwarded to microdata.access@abs.gov.au or phone (02) 6252 7714.
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