1368.1 - New South Wales Regional Statistics, 2006

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/11/2006 First Issue

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Explanatory Notes Glossary Abbreviations	AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING INTRODUCTION 1 The Census of Population and Housing (the census) is the largest statistical collection undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Its objective is to count the number of people in Australia on census night, identifying their key characteristics and those of the dwellings in which they live. 2 The census is conducted under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. 3 Census data are collected on the characteristics of persons, families and households. In this product, data are presented on the following areas: cultural diversity families migration SCOPE 4 The scope of the census is all persons in Australia on census night. This includes visitors to Australia regardless of how long they have been in Australia or plan to stay. In the 2001 census, this included the external territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. 5 All occupied dwellings are counted in the census with the exception of diplomatic dwellings. Unoccupied private dwellings are also counted with the exception of unoccupied dwellings in caravan parks, marinas and manufactured home estates, and units in accommodation for the retired or aged. 6 Excluded from scope are diplomats and their families, and visitors from overseas who are not required to undergo migration formalities, such as foreign crews on ships. Australian residents out of the country on census night are also excluded from scope. 7 Population counts can be based on the persons place of enumeration, or can be based on their place of usual residence. REFERENCE PERIOD 8 The census is conducted every five years. The 2001 census was enumerated on the night of August 7, 2001. KEY DATA ITEMS 9 Standard classifications are used to code census data including: Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) (cat. no. 1269.0) Australian Standard Classification of Languages (ASCL) (cat. no. 1267.0) Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0) Australian Classification of Religious Groups (cat. no. 1266.0). 10 The following census variables are used in this product: 11 Country of birth: A person's birthplace is coded according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) (cat. no. 1269.0). 12 Dwelling structure: A dwelling is a structure which is intended to have people live in it, and which is habitable on census night. Categories used in this product include: Separate house: A house which stands alone in its own grounds separated from other dwellings by at least half a metre. Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse, etc: These dwellings have their own private grounds and no other dwelling above or below them. Flat, unit or apartment: These dwellings do not have their own private grounds and usually share a common entrance foyer or stairwell. Other: Includes caravan, cabin, houseboat; improvised home, tent, sleepers out (e.g. sheds); and house or flat attached to a shop, office, etc. 13 Family: A family is defined by the ABS as two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying either a couple, parent-child or other blood relationship. 14 Family with dependent children: Includes families with a child under 15 years and/or a child of 15–24 years of age who attends a secondary or tertiary educational institution as a full-time student. 15 Household: A group of two or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling, who regard themselves as a household, and who make a common provision for food or other essentials for living; or a person living in a dwelling who makes provision for his/her own food and other essentials for living without combining with any other person. 16 Household type: Describes the household within a dwelling: Family household: Can contain non-family members (unrelated persons and visitors). Multiple family household: Contain more than one family. A maximum of three families can be coded to a household. Lone person household: Identified as a person who makes provision for their own food and other essentials in living, without combining with any other person to form part of a multi-person dwelling. He/she may live in a dwelling on his/her own, or share a dwelling with another individual or family. Group household: Consists of two or more unrelated people where all persons are aged 15 years or over. There are no reported couple, parent-child, or other blood relationships in these households. 17 Language spoken at home: Persons were asked to indicate whether they speak a language other than English at home. Information was coded according to the Australian Standard Classification of Languages (ASCL) (cat. no. 1267.0). Only one language was coded for each person. 18 Place of enumeration: A count of every person who spent census night in Australia, based on where he/she was counted (as opposed to their place of 'Usual Residence'). 19 Religious affiliation: Answering the question on religious denomination is optional, as provided for in legislation. Responses are coded to the Australian Standard Classification of Religious Groups (cat. no. 1266.0). 20 Usual residence: Usual residence data provides information on the usually resident population of an area, and on internal migration patterns at the state and regional levels. The 2001 census asked three questions on usual residence: where the person usually lives; where the person usually lived one year ago; and where the person usually lived five years ago. GEOGRAPHY 21 The 2001 census was coded according to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2001 (cat. no. 1216.0). In this product data are presented for each Local Government Area in NSW. COLLECTION METHODOLOGY 22 Development phase - Before one census is completed, development work on the next census begins. This includes consultation with census users on content changes. Field testing of census topics is conducted before each census along with a dress rehearsal to test collection and processing procedures. 23 Frame - A collection district (CD) is the basic geographic unit of collection in the census. A CD is generally a census workload area that one census collector can cover to deliver and collect forms. On average there are about 200 dwellings per CD. However urban CDs may contain more, and rural areas fewer, dwellings. Forms are delivered to, and collected from, private and non-private dwellings in Australia by census collectors. 24 Collection - Data are collected via self-enumeration questionnaires. Census collectors deliver forms to each dwelling before census day and each household is asked to fill in the details required on the form on census night. Assistance is available from the collector and the Census Inquiry Service (which includes a telephone interpreter service). Collectors are required to collect forms after census night and visually scan each form to ensure it has been completed. If a respondent refuses to complete the form either a follow up letter is sent or the Group Leader attempts to convince the respondent to comply. Some cases may progress to a Notice of Direction and subsequent prosecution if the notice is not complied with. 25 Processing - For the 2001 census, Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) was used to capture the data from census forms together with the use of automatic coding (AC) and computer assisted coding (CAC) in the processing phase. 26 A Data Processing Centre (DPC) was established to undertake the processing of data as follows: receipt and register of forms - a check was undertaken to ensure that all completed census forms were received at the DPC data capture - the responses to the questions on the forms were coded automatically, or where this was not possible, semi-automatically editing - editing was undertaken to reduce the inconsistencies in census data imputation - missing responses for sex, age, marital status and usual residence were imputed quality assurance - processes were implemented at the DPC to maximise the accurate and consistent recording of information from the census forms. ACCURACY 27 Since the 1966 census, each census has been followed by a Post Enumeration Survey (PES), conducted by specially trained interviewers. A sample of two-thirds of 1% of private dwellings from all states and territories is chosen for the survey. The results provide an assessment of the coverage of the census by field operations including the extent of dwellings missed by census collectors. The 2001 census missed 1.8% of people who were present in Australia on census night. The net undercount in the 2001 census was higher than that for the 1996 census (1.6%), but the same as the 1991 census (1.8%). 28 Census data are subject to errors by respondents or mistakes in collection or processing. The main kinds of error are as follows: miscounting - although the census aims to count each person, some people are missed or counted more than once partial non-response - people who are included in the census do not always answer all the questions which apply to them respondent error - editing procedures are used to detect and correct obvious errors made by individuals completing the census form (e.g. a six year old in the labour force). However, not all errors can be detected in the editing process and some remain in the final data processing error - errors which may occur during the processing of the census are minimised by means of quality assurance procedures random adjustment - cells containing small values are randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid releasing information about particular individuals, families, or households. 29 When census data are tabulated, cells containing small values are randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid releasing information about particular individuals, families or households. The effect of random adjustment is statistically insignificant. COLLECTION HISTORY 30 New South Wales was the first colony to conduct a census in 1828. Prior to this, population counts were known as musters. Each of the colonies conducted its own census until 1886. While the first simultaneous census of all Australian colonies occurred in 1881, the first national census was taken in 1911. It was followed by others in 1921, 1933, 1947 and 1954. Since 1961, censuses have been conducted regularly every five years (1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001). 31 Some topics have remained constant over time such as age, marital status and religion. Other topics have been included and excluded in different censuses (for further information see Metadata). METADATA 32 Further information about the census is available from the ABS in publications such as How Australia Takes a Census (cat. no. 2903.0), the Census Dictionary (cat. no. 2901.0) and the Information Paper: 2001 Census of Population and Housing, Nature and Content (cat. no. 2008.0) PUBLISHED DATA 33 For further information about published census data see the ABS Catalogue of Publications and Products (cat. no. 1101.0) or visit the ABS web site. UNPUBLISHED DATA 34 Unpublished data are available via a consultancy from the ABS. For further information, please contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.