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Household Expenditure Survey

CONTACT

Living Conditions Section
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra
Telephone (02) 6252 6174

DESCRIPTION

The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) collected detailed information about the expenditure, income, assets, liabilities and household characteristics of households resident in private dwellings in Australia. Expenditure items collected included expenditures on childcare, preschool, primary or secondary school fees, tertiary education, private tuition, and HECS debts. These expenditures are coded to the Household Expenditure Classification, which is detailed in an Excel data cube available in Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing: User Guide, 2003–04 (ABS cat. no. 6503.0).

Detailed dissections are also provided for households, families, and income units. These enable cross-tabulation of expenditures by family composition, life cycle group, age of youngest or oldest dependent child, household labour force status, or other characteristics.

Scope

All expenditures by those resident in private dwellings are in-scope, including personal, income unit, family, and household expenditure. The survey collected information from usual residents of private dwellings such as houses, flats, home units, caravans, garages, tents and other structures that were used as places of residence at the time of interview. Long-stay caravan parks were also included. The sample design for the survey covered about 98% of the people living in Australia.

Reference Period

July 2003 to June 2004. HES data are presented as average weekly household expenditure estimates.

Frequency of Collection

Every 5 years

Method of collection

Information was collected from each sampled household in three separate processes, by two interview sequences and a personal expenditure diary. A household-level questionnaire collected information on household characteristics, expenditure common to all household members, and irregular or infrequent expenditure. An individual questionnaire collected information on income and other personal characteristics of each usual resident aged 15 years or over. Finally, a personal diary was used, by each usual resident aged 15 years or over, to record their expenditure over two weeks. The 2003-04 HES was integrated with the 2003-04 Survey of Income and Housing (SIH), with the HES sample (6,957 households) a subset of the SIH sample (11,361 households).

DISSEMINATION

Release schedule

The results of the 2003-04 Household Expenditure Survey were released in February 2006.

Publications

Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003–04 (Reissue) (ABS cat. no. 6530.0)
Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Detailed Expenditure Items, 2003-04 (Reissue) (ABS cat. no. 6535.0.55.001)

Geography

Data are available for Australia, the states, and the capital cities in each state and territory.

Data Service

Customised tables are available on request. A set of 18 summary tables for each state or territory are available in Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003–04 (Reissue) (ABS cat. no. 6530.0).

Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing - Confidentialised Unit Record Files, Technical Paper, 2003-04 (ABS cat. no. 6540.0.00.001)
Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing - Confidentialised Unit Record Files, 2003-04 (ABS cat. no. 6540.0)

Other information

Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing: User Guide, 2003–04 (ABS cat. no. 6503.0)


DATA ITEMS – EDUCATION

Person characteristics

• Enrolment status (full-time, part-time, not enrolled)
• Education institution attending (secondary school, TAFE, University, other)
• Current study type (for qualification, not for qualification)
• Highest year of school completed
• Level of highest non-school qualification
• Main field of highest non-school qualification
• Main field of highest educational attainment

• Number of students aged 15–24 years
• Number of students aged 25 years or above
• Number attending preschool
• Number attending primary school (government, Catholic, other non-government)
• Number attending secondary school (government, Catholic, other non-government)
• Number attending tertiary institutions full-time
• Number attending tertiary institutions part-time

• Preschool
• Formal child care services not elsewhere classified (n.e.c.)
• Informal child care services
• Child care services not further defined (n.f.d.)

• Primary school fees (excluding school sports fees) – including Pre-Year 1
• Primary school sports fees – including Pre-Year 1
• Secondary school fees (excluding school sports fees)
• Secondary school sports fees

• HECS
• Higher education institution fees n.f.d.
• TAFE course fees
• Fees paid to other educational institutions n.f.d.
• Private education tuition fees
• Education fees for primary and secondary school n.f.d.