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Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods was originally released in 2001 in both electronic and paper versions (cat. no. 6102.0). The paper publication will not be rereleased. However, the web version (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001) is being updated on an ongoing basis. This chapter was updated on 15 December, 2005.

INTRODUCTION

25.1 This chapter provides an overview of the survey methodology used in ABS business surveys, particularly the labour-related business surveys. It should be used in conjunction with Chapter 17 which provides a broad overview of ABS survey methodology, and Chapters 24-31 which provide more detail on aspects of survey design relevant to specific labour-related business surveys.


ABS BUSINESS REGISTER

25.2 The ABS maintains a register of businesses and other organisations (government departments, non-profit organisations etc.) operating in Australia (referred to as the ABS Business Register) which is the source of population frames for most ABS surveys of businesses. The largest businesses have complex operating structures, but the vast majority of businesses on the business register have simple operating structures. Information recorded on the business register includes: location of the business (state/territory), sector (public/private), industry in which the business is mainly engaged, type of entity (e.g. company, trust, partnership, etc.) and its employment. The register is regularly updated to add new businesses, record ceased businesses as 'dead' and change information about existing businesses.

25.3 The source of information for the majority of businesses on the ABS Business Register is the Australian Business Register (ABR), which is maintained by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The ABR was established by the ATO as part of the implementation of The New Tax System (TNTS) which was introduced from 1 July 2000. The ABR contains details of businesses and other organisations which have registered for and received an Australian Business Number (ABN) from the ATO. To register for an ABN, an applicant must be either a company or an entity carrying on an enterprise. Businesses with an annual turnover of $50,000 or more and non-profit institutions with an annual turnover of $100,000 or more must register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) (and receive an ABN), while those with a lower turnover may choose to register. Most businesses, whether employing or non-employing, need to register with the ATO for GST and other taxation obligations including (for employers) Pay As You Go Withholding (PAYGW).

25.4 Previously, the ABS Business Register used ABS data to update information relating to businesses, and information from the ATO to identify new businesses and businesses no longer operating. Following the introduction of TNTS, the ABS moved to use the Australian Business Register, together with additional information from the ATO, as the source of information for the majority of businesses included on the ABS Business Register. Additional information is collected and recorded by the ABS for some businesses (generally those with more complex operating structures). Changes to the ABS statistical infrastructure arising from TNTS are described in Information Paper: Improvements in ABS Economic Statistics [Arising from The New Tax System] (cat. no. 1372.0). The impact of the infrastructure changes on labour market series (e.g. job vacancies, average weekly earnings) are noted in the chapters describing specific labour-related surveys. Changes to the ABS statistical infrastructure impacted initially on September quarter 2002 collections.


SCOPE OF THE ABS BUSINESS REGISTER

25.5 The ABS Business Register includes most businesses with an ABN on the ABR. To be included on the ABS Business Register businesses must have an ABN and be registered with the ATO for at least one type of tax obligation. The relatively insignificant economic activity of businesses which fall below the threshold for needing an ABN, and have chosen not to apply for an ABN, and illegal economic activity, remain outside the conceptual scope of the ABS Business Register.


STATISTICAL UNITS DEFINED ON THE ABS BUSINESS REGISTER

25.6 The ABS uses a statistical units model to describe the characteristics of businesses, and the structural relationships between related businesses on the ABS Business Register. The units model is also used to break groups of related businesses into relatively homogeneous components that can provide information to the ABS. The statistical units model described below was introduced in mid 2002.

25.7 The new units model allocates businesses on the ABS Business Register to one of two sub-populations. The vast majority of businesses are in what is called the ATO Maintained Population (ATOMP), while the remaining businesses are in an ABS Maintained Population (ABSMP). Together, the ATOMP and the ABSMP make up the ABS Business Register population.


ATO MAINTAINED POPULATION

25.8 As outlined above, most businesses and organisations in Australia need to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN), and are then included on the ABR. Most of these businesses have simple structures and the unit registered for an ABN satisfies ABS statistical requirements. For these businesses, which comprise the ATOMP, the statistical unit is the 'ABN unit'.

25.9 All information required to support the ATOMP on the ABS Business Register is sourced from the ATO. This information is updated on a quarterly basis. During the quarterly update, new businesses and businesses ceasing to operate are identified. Changes to data items for ongoing units are also identified.


ABS MAINTAINED POPULATION

25.10 For the population of businesses where the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS statistical requirements, the ABS maintains its own units structure through direct contact with the business. These businesses constitute the ABS Maintained Population. This population consists typically of large, complex and diverse businesses. The ABS units model for the ABSMP consists of three inter-related unit types:

Enterprise Group	This is a unit covering all the operations in Australia of one or more legal entities under common ownership and/or control. It covers all the operations in Australia of legal entities which are related in terms of the current Corporations Law (as amended by the Corporations Legislation Amendment Act 1991), including legal entities such as companies, trusts, and partnerships. Majority ownership is not required for control to be exercised.
Enterprise	The enterprise is an institutional unit comprising (i) a single legal entity or business entity, or (ii) more than one legal entity or business entity within the same Enterprise Group and in the same institutional sub-sector (ie. they are all classified to a single Standard Institutional Sector Classification of Australia sub-sector). For further information on Standard Institutional Sector Classification of Australia (SISCA) refer to Chapter 16.
Type of Activity Unit (TAU)	The TAU is comprised of one or more business entities, sub-entities or branches of a business entity within an Enterprise Group that can report production and employment data for similar economic activities. When a minimum set of data items are available, a TAU is created which covers all the operations within an industry sub-division (and the TAU is classified to the relevant sub-division of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification). Where a business cannot supply adequate data for each industry, a TAU is formed which contains activity in more than one industry sub-division. For further information on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) refer to Chapter 16.

• all enterprise groups with employment of 100 or greater for which the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS statistical purposes;

• large Not for Profit Institutions (NPIs);

• all commonwealth and state government units and local government units for which the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS statistical purposes;

• multi-state ABN units with employment of 200 or more (not included above) for which state benchmarks are required;

• significant mining and manufacturing Unincorporated Joint Ventures (UJV); and

• agriculture units.

• Employing businesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (ANZSIC Division A). Units in this industry are excluded, primarily because a very high proportion of agricultural enterprises have no employees. It would be disproportionately costly to survey a sufficient number of these businesses to obtain a sample of employees large enough to adequately represent this industry.

• Private households employing staff (ANZSIC Group 970). There is incomplete coverage of private households employing staff on the ABS Business Register as not all such households are required to register with the Australian Taxation Office. It is because of their incomplete coverage on the business register that these units are excluded from the scope of the labour-related business surveys.

• Foreign embassies, consulates etc. in Australia (ANZSIC Group 813). Practical collection difficulties and the low numbers of Australian employees involved have resulted in the exclusion of this industry group from the labour-related business surveys. Furthermore, the System of National Accounts does not consider these agencies to be resident units of the Australian economy, with the result that the associated compensation of employees (including those employees who are usual residents of Australia) is not a component of Australian GDP.

• units that contribute significantly to estimates;

• newly selected units (e.g. in ongoing surveys); and

• units that did not respond in the previous survey cycle.

• the required level of accuracy from the survey;

• the numbers of nil and defunct units on the survey frame (estimated from data obtained from other surveys);

• the expected level of non-response (estimated from previous surveys); and

• total cost and available resources.

• the probability of selection for each survey unit (probability weighting);

• adjustments to agree with population benchmarks - to correct for imbalances in the characteristics of the selected sampled units (post-stratification, ratio estimation);

• adjustments to account for problems with the survey frame - such as missing units (new business provisions); and

• adjustment for non-response - to correct for further imbalances in the characteristics of responding sample units (post-stratification).