2011 CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING


THANK YOU TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Australian Bureau of Statistics would like to thank local governments around Australia for contributing to the success of the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. For example, many local Councils have helped by encouraging their communities to participate in the Census, and some have also supported ABS with venues for Census recruitment and training activities.

The data collected on Census night will be processed and made available in mid-2012 so that decision makers, communities and local governments can plan for the future. Because of your help, together we’ll be able to shed some light on the issues that matter to all Australians.


CENSUS OUTPUT PLANS

2011 Census products

Information on the proposed range of Census products and services was released in July 2010 in the ABS Information Paper: Census of Population and Housing -- Proposed Products and Services, 2011 (cat. no. 2011.0). Proposed data products include:

• QuickStats, a simple at-a-glance summary of Census statistics for your selected area.
• Community Profiles, detailed Census data for a selected area in a series of tables in Excel format.
• TableBuilder Basic, create your own tables of Census data and view graphs and maps for a range of areas.
• TableBuilder Pro, the ultimate Census analysis tool for the advanced user.
• DataPacks to take away large volumes of Census data and digital boundaries to import into your systems.

For updates on the 2011 Census products please refer to the Census page on the ABS website.Output geographies

From July 2011 the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) is being progressively replaced by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Data from the 2011 Census will be released using the ASGS.

The Census of Population and Housing: Outcomes from the 2011 Census Output Geography Discussion Paper, 2011 (cat. no. 2911.0.55.003) released in February 2011, advised of the latest plans for releasing data from the 2011 Census on the new ASGS. A wide range of Census data for local government areas (LGAs) will continue to be provided by the ABS for the 2011 Census, including Place of Work, Address 1 Year Ago and Address 5 Years Ago. Data for LGAs will continue to be supported and will be available for all Community Profiles (including Time Series for 2001, 2006 and 2011), all DataPacks as well as in QuickStats, TableBuilder Basic and in TableBuilder Pro. The final range of products that will be available for the various levels of ABS and non-ABS geography are included in the section, 'Products by Geographic Availability'.

This paper also confirmed that the ASGC statistical local area (SLA) geography will be supported as a transitional unit for 2011 Census data, however 2016 Census data will not be available for SLAs.

Data release plans

The Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0) released in May 2011 is invaluable for Census users as a comprehensive reference guide designed to assist in determining and specifying data requirements and to understand the concepts underlying the data. It provides background information about classifications and also classification indexes by topic, mnemonic, release phase and category, for easy reference. The Dictionary also provides information about what's new in the 2011 Census. It describes the new geography for the 2011 Census, classifications that have changed since 2006, and new and changed variables for 2011.

Data from the 2011 Census will be released in two stages. The Census Dictionary, 2011 (cat. no. 2901.0) details which data items will be available as part of the first data release and those that require more detailed processing that will be included in the second data release. The key dates for the release of 2011 Census results are June 2012 (first release) and October 2012 (second release) with a third release in early 2013 for other products . Exact dates will be specified and advertised in advance. Please refer to the indicative product release timetable in the ABS Information Paper: Census of Population and Housing -- Proposed Products and Services, 2011 (cat. no. 2011.0).