3414.0 - Guide to Migrant Statistical Sources, 2011 (Edition 2)  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/03/2011   
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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS (ABS)

NAME OF COLLECTION

Time Use Survey (TUS)

OVERVIEW

The Time Use Survey (TUS) is an irregular national survey which collects information about how people use their time. The first national survey was conducted in 1992, and repeated in 1997 and 2006. The ABS plans to next conduct the Time Use Survey in conjunction with the Survey of Employment Arrangements, Retirement and Superannuation (SEARS) in 2013.

Time use relates to a wide range of topics, so the objectives are varied, including to:

  • measure the daily activity patterns of people in Australia to establish the current Australian time use profile
  • measure the volume of unpaid household, voluntary and community work, in its own right and as a basis for a satellite account for unpaid household work
  • provide information on the differences in patterns of paid work and unpaid household and community work by sex and other characteristics
  • provide information on the ways in which Australians balance work and family obligations
  • provide information on a wide range of other areas of interest, such as family dynamics, caring for people with disabilities and frail older people, caring for children, education activities, leisure activities, fitness and health activities, radio and television listening/watching; use of other technology; transport, public and private household equipment; outsourcing of domestic tasks and patterns of interaction with others
  • allow comparisons between surveys to identify changes in patterns of time use over time.

DATA DETAIL

DATA ITEMS RELEVANT TO MIGRANTS AND ETHNICITY
  • Country of birth
    • Born in Australia
    • Born in other main English-speaking countries
    • Other
  • Country of birth of mother
  • Country of birth of father
  • Year of arrival in Australia
  • First language spoken
  • Main language spoken at home
  • Proficiency in spoken English (has been added for the 2006 survey)

OTHER DATA ITEMS COLLECTED

A full list of data items collected for the Time Use Survey is available in Time Use Survey: User Guide (cat. no. 4150.0). The list applies to the most recently released data.

Further details on scope, geographic coverage, data availability and publications, methodology, classifications and concepts can also be found in Time Use Survey: User Guide (cat. no. 4150.0).

CONTACT DETAILS

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service.

Phone: 1300 135 070
Fax: 1300 135 211
Post: Client Services, ABS, GPO Box 796, Sydney 2001
Email: client.services@abs.gov.au