2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 2001

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/04/2001

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Contents >> What's new for 2001?

Overview

Users of census data require information that both represents the current demographic and socioeconomic environments and that facilitates meaningful analysis of change over time. The analysis of change requires that the classifications used are comparable from census to census. However, due to the nature of change in society, comparability is not always possible if the current situation is to be reflected in a meaningful way. This section of the Dictionary discusses the changes which have occurred between 1996 and 2001, and indicates the impact these changes have on the range of analyses which can be undertaken.

New topics

New topics for the 2001 Census include ancestry, computer use at home and Internet use. The ancestry question will further the understanding of the origin of Australians. The two questions on use of personal computers and the Internet will help to identify how widespread their use has become and will enable better service delivery, especially in regional and rural areas.

Ancestry

A question on each person’s ancestry was first asked in the 1986 Census. For the 2001 Census the objective of this question is to gain a better understanding of a person’s ethnic background, particularly for recent generation Australians, so that there can be effective delivery of services to particular ethnic communities.
A person’s ancestry, when used in conjunction with the person’s birthplace and whether the person’s parents were born in Australia or overseas, provides a good indication of the ethnic background of first and second generation Australians.
Responses to the Ancestry question are classified using the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG).

Computer Use at Home

Question 20 on the household form asks, ‘Did the person use a personal computer at home last week?’.
Personal computers include:

computers used for private and business purposes;
portable computers e.g. laptops, notebook computers;
personal organisers etc. which can be plugged into larger computers;
computers brought home from work; and
dedicated word processors.

Internet Use

Question 21 on the household form asks, ‘Did the person use the Internet anywhere last week?’. The question identifies whether people used the Internet in the week prior to Census Night, and if so, whether they used it at home, at work or elsewhere.
Internet use includes:

Internet connection used for private and/or business purposes;
Internet connection through a computer or set top box, games machine, mobile phone or other means; and Internet used at other locations e.g. public libraries, Internet cafes, shops, educational institutions, a neighbour’s or friend’s place.

New and revised classifications

It is important for census data to be comparable and compatible with previous censuses and also with other data produced by the ABS and wider community.
The census uses the current Australian Standard Classifications where applicable. These are reviewed on an irregular basis to reflect changes in the Australian social environment. A number of changes have occurred to these classifications since 1996 and these are described below.
Where an Australian Standard Classification is not available, census-specific classifications have been developed by the ABS. The categories of these classifications are reviewed prior to each census. Changes to these classifications are described in the following section: Summary of Changes to Variables — 1996 to 2001.

Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has developed the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) for use in the collection, storage and dissemination of data relating to ancestry, ethnic identity or cultural identity. It will be used in the 2001 Census to classify responses for Ancestry (ANCP). Development of the classification involved extensive consultation with users and producers of cultural diversity data.
ASCCEG is a classification of cultural and ethnic groups based on the geographic area in which a group originated or developed and the similarity of cultural and ethnic groups in terms of social and cultural characteristics.
Information on ancestry, ethnic identity and cultural identity can be used in conjunction with a number of statistical variables related to a person’s origins, including: Country of Birth, Birthplace of Mother/Father, Language Spoken at Home, Religious Affiliation, Proficiency in Spoken English, and Year of Arrival in Australia. A major advantage of such information is that it is able to measure an association with ethnic or cultural groups which does not equate directly to country of birth, language or religion and cannot be readily identified using these variables.
ASCCEG is new and does not replace a previous classification. Ancestry was not included in the 1996 Census and therefore comparisons can not be made with 1996 Census data.
The ABS publication Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) (Cat. no. 1249.0) released October 2000 is available on the Internet at www.abs.gov.au. Select Statistics then Statistical Concepts Library.

Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC)

In the 1996 Census, Birthplace of Individual (BPLP) was classified using the Australian Standard Classification of Countries for Social Statistics (ASCCSS). For 2001 this has been replaced by the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC).
The main changes from ASCCSS to SACC relevant to the Census can be summarised as follows:

Europe has been split into two major groups: ‘North-West Europe’ and ‘Southern and Eastern Europe’.
The minor group ‘United Kingdom and Ireland’, has been split with ‘Ireland’ becoming a single country minor group.
The new European countries created from former Soviet Republics have been included in the major group ‘Southern and Eastern Europe’. All these countries are included in the minor group ‘Eastern Europe’ with the exception of Moldova which is included in ‘South Eastern Europe’.
The major group ‘The Middle East and North Africa’ has been renamed ‘North Africa and the Middle East’.
The new countries created from former Soviet Central Asian Republics have been included in the minor group ‘Central Asia’ under the major group ‘Southern and Central Asia’. ‘Central Asia’ includes Afghanistan which was classified to ‘Southern Asia’ in the ASCCSS.
The countries of South-East Asia have been split into two minor groups: ‘Mainland South-East Asia’ and ‘Maritime South-East Asia’.
The countries of North-East Asia have been split into two minor groups: ‘Chinese Asia’ and ‘Japan and the Koreas’.
The two major groups ‘Northern America’ and ‘South America, Central America and the Caribbean’ have been combined to form a single major group: ‘Americas’.
Some name changes have been made. Hong Kong and Macau are referred to in the SACC as Special Administrative Regions e.g. ‘Macau (SAR of China)’.
In the ASCCSS East Timor was included in Indonesia. In the SACC it is classified separately.

There is no electronic file available that links ASCCSS and SACC. However, in most cases it is possible to recompile 2001 birthplace data on a 1996 basis at country level.
The ABS publication Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) (Cat. no. 1269.0) released September 1998 and Revision 2.01 released December 1999 are available on the Internet at www.abs.gov.au. Select Statistics then Statistical Concepts Library.

Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED)

There has been a major revision to the qualifications/education classification. The Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) replaces the Australian Bureau of Statistics Classification of Qualifications (ABSCQ) which was used in the 1996 Census. ASCED is the classification used for the following 2001 Census variables:

Highest Level of Schooling Completed (HSCP)
Non-School Qualification: Field of Study (QALFP)
Non-School Qualification: Level of Education (QALLP)

It is intended that an electronic file that links ASCED to ABSCQ will be produced.

An ABS publication Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (Cat. no. 1272.0) will be released July 2001 in both hardcopy and CD-ROM. An Information Paper Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (Cat. no. 1271.0) released December 2000 is available on the Internet at www.abs.gov.au. Select Statistics then Statistical Concepts Library.

Highest Level of Schooling Completed

This classification, based on the new ASCED classification, replaces the Age Left School classification used in the 1996 Census. In past censuses, Age Left School was collected as a surrogate for Highest Level of Schooling Completed which could not be collected directly because of the differences in the education systems within Australia. Testing for the 2001 Census found that the standard designation of levels in Australian schools is well established and that Highest Level of Schooling Completed can now be collected directly.
Highest Level of Schooling Completed data are an important adjunct to data on Highest Non-School Qualification, as well as an important indicator of educational need or disadvantage. This information is particularly important because of the extent of change occurring in education participation and in labour market adjustment.
Data on Highest Level of Schooling Completed are required for:

assessing the usefulness of extension courses or other educational programs; and
as an indicator of disadvantage because it shows the level of education reached by people with no other educational qualifications.

Summary of changes to variables — 1996 to 2001

The following list details the changes made to census variables since 1996. The types of change are:

New	the variable is new for the 2001 Census
Deleted	the variable is excluded from the 2001 Census
Mnemonic	the variable's mnemonic has changed for the 2001 Census
Name	the variable's name has changed for the 2001 Census
Classification	the Australian Standard Classification on which the variable is based has changed
Categories	the categories within the variable have changed for the 2001 Census

Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Origin (ABLP)
Mnemonic and Name: Variable name and mnemonic have been changed to Indigenous Status (INGP).

Age (AGEP)
Categories: Previous Census output categories were ‘0–98 singly’ and ‘99 and over’. The upper limit has been extended to ‘0–99 singly’, and ‘100 and over’.

Age Left School (ALSP)
Deleted: The 1996 variable Age Left School has been dropped for the 2001 Census. A review of education concepts found that Age Left School is an inadequate approximation of educational attainment at school. This variable has been replaced by Highest Level of Schooling Completed.
See Highest Level of Schooling Completed (HSCP).

Ancestry (ANCP)
New: A question on each person’s ancestry has been reintroduced for the 2001 Census. Responses are classified according to the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG).

Australian Citizenship (NATP)
Mnemonic: The mnemonic for this variable has been changed to CITP.

Birthplace of Father (Male Parent) (BPMP)
Classification and Name: The 2001 Census output categories for this variable have been condensed to ‘Australia’ and ‘Overseas’. In previous Censuses, BPMP was coded to individual country of birth.
The name has been condensed to ‘Birthplace of Male Parent’.

Birthplace of Individual (BPLP)
Classification: In the 1996 Census, Birthplace of Individual was classified using the Australian Standard Classification of Countries for Social Statistics (ASCCSS). For 2001 this has been replaced by the new Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC).
The main changes from ASCCSS to SACC relevant to the Census are outlined in the previous section.

Birthplace of Mother (Female Parent) (BPFP)
Classification and Name: The 2001 Census output categories for this variable have been condensed to ‘Australia’ and ‘Overseas’. In previous Censuses, BPFP was coded to individual country of birth.
The name has been condensed to ‘Birthplace of Female Parent’.

CD of Usual Residence Census Night (CDUCP)
New: This is a new variable for 2001 representing an extension of ‘usual residence’ coding to the Collection District (CD) level. In previous Censuses, coding and output of usual residence data were limited to Statistical Local Area (SLA) level and above.

Computer Use at Home (COMP)
New: This is a new variable for 2001. It identifies whether people used a personal computer at home in the week prior to Census Night.

Furnished/Unfurnished (FUFD)
Deleted: There is no longer a requirement for this information and as a result the variable has been excluded from the 2001 Census.

Highest Level of Schooling Completed (HSCP)
New: Highest Level of Schooling Completed is a new variable for 2001 and replaces the Age Left School variable used in previous Censuses. Output categories include ‘Year 8 or below’ through to ‘Year 12 or equivalent’, ‘Still at school’ and ‘Did not go to school’.

Hours Worked (HRSP)
Categories: There are no changes to the standard output categories for this variable for the 2001 Census. However 2001 data can be made available through the Customised Table Service for ‘0’ through to ‘99’ hours singly.

Internet Use (NETP)
New: This is a new variable for 2001. It identifies whether people used the Internet in the week prior to Census Night and, if so, whether they used it at home, work or elsewhere.

Method of Travel to Work (TPTP)
Mnemonic and Categories: The mnemonic for this variable has changed to MTWP for 2001.
The output categories have been expanded to allow for changes to the 2001 Census form. The form contains separate categories for ‘ferry’ and ‘tram’ (previously combined into ‘ferry/tram’), and a new category ‘truck’ has been introduced. These changes have resulted in the availability of an additional 103 output categories for this variable for the 2001 Census.

Number of Bedrooms in Private Dwelling (BEDD)
Categories: There are no changes to the standard output categories for this variable for the 2001 Census. However, 2001 data can be made available through the Customised Table Service for ‘5’ through to ‘99’ bedrooms singly.

Number of Children Ever Born (TISP)
Deleted: This information is not collected in the 2001 Census. It is considered to be required only every 10 years.

Number of Motor Vehicles (VEHD)
Categories: There are no changes to the standard output categories for this variable for the 2001 Census. However, 2001 data can be made available through the Customised Table Service for values of ‘0’ through to ‘99’.

Number of Motorbikes and Scooters (MCYCD)
New: This is a new variable for 2001. It identifies the number of registered motorbikes and motor scooters owned or used by household members, garaged, parked at or near private dwellings on Census Night.

Post-School Educational Qualification: Field of Study (QALFP)
Classification and Name: For the 2001 Census, QALFP is coded to the new Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) which replaces the Australian Bureau of Statistics Classification of Qualifications used for the 1996 Census.
The new classification includes non-school qualifications such as Certificate Level qualifications which may be attained while the person is still attending school. The name of this variable has been changed to ‘Non-School Qualification: Field of Study’.

Post-School Educational Qualification: Level of Attainment (QALLP)
Classification and Name: QALLP is coded to the ‘Australian Standard Classification of Education’ (ASCED), which replaces the ‘Australian Bureau of Statistics Classification of Qualifications’ used for the 1996 Census.
The new classification includes non-school qualifications such as Certificate Level qualifications which may be attained while the person is still attending school. The name of this variable has been changed to ‘Non-School Qualification: Level of Education’.

Post-School Educational Qualification: Year Completed (QALYP)
Categories and Name: QALYP is no longer restricted to ‘post-school’ qualifications due to changes to QALFP and QALLP.
In line with QALFP and QALLP, the name for QALYP has changed to ‘Non-School Qualification: Year Completed’ for the 2001 Census.
Data are generally published in standard ranges but data can be made available in single years, from 1914 through to 2001, through the Customised Table Service.

Proficiency in English (ENGP)
Name: The variable name has changed to ‘Proficiency in Spoken English’.

Proficiency in English/ Language (ENGP01)
Name: The variable name has changed to ‘Proficiency in Spoken English/Language’.

Relationship in Non-Private Dwelling (RLNP)
Name: The variable name has changed to ‘Residential Status in a Non-Private Dwelling’. The mnemonic remains the same.

Religion (RELP)
Name: The variable name has changed to ‘Religious Affiliation’.

Work Destination Study Area (DZSP)
Name and Mnemonic Categories: The variable name has changed to ‘Journey to Work: Study Area’ and the mnemonic has changed to JTWSAP.
Prior to 2001, Journey To Work study areas were restricted to some major urban areas in each state, and JTW information was only available for those people who lived and worked in the same study area. For 2001 the study areas have been expanded to encompass all of Australia.

Work Destination Zone (DZNP)
Name and Mnemonic: For the 2001 Census the variable name has changed to ‘Journey to Work: Destination Zone’ and the mnemonic has changed to JTWDZNP.

Year of Arrival in Australia (YARP)
Categories: The standard categories have been updated to include the years from 1997 to 2001. Data are also available in single years from 1890 through to 2001 through the Customised Table Service.