USING THE CURF


ABOUT THE CURF
RECORD COUNTS
IDENTIFIERS
MULTI-RESPONSE ITEMS
CURF DATA FILES
INFORMATION FILES


ABOUT THE CURF

The 2012 SDAC Basic CURF contains ten separate record level files which are described in the File Structure document on the Summary tab. Subject to the limitations of sample size, the data classifications used, and the conditions of use, it is possible to interrogate the data, produce tabulations and undertake statistical analyses to individual specifications.

The data included in the CURF are released under the provisions of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. This legislation allows the Australian Statistician to release unit record data, or microdata, provided this is done “in a manner that is not likely to enable the identification of a particular person or organisation to which it relates.” Accordingly, there are no names or addresses of survey respondents on the CURF and other steps, including the following list of actions, have been taken to protect the confidentiality of respondents:

• Removal of the following types of large households - households with seven or more people, households with five or more persons with disability and households with six or more carers. This resulted in deletion of records from all levels.
• Excluding some data items that were collected.
• Applying value ranges, collapses or top-coding to some variables.
• Changing some demographic characteristics on a number of person records.

As a result, aggregated data obtained from the CURF will not exactly match estimates previously published in Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2012 (cat. no. 4430.0). Information about the impact of confidentialising actions on the CURF and comparison to published estimates for key populations can be found in Tables 1 and 2 below.

Table 1 shows the change to the total estimated population, and population estimates by state or territory, as previously published and from the CURF. It can be seen that, proportionally, the largest impact of the confidentialising process is in relation to Northern Territory estimates.

Table 1: Published (cat.no. 4430.0) population estimates (weighted) compared to the CURF estimates

	published	CURF
	'000	'000	% change
New South Wales	7 413.6	7 196.5	-2.93
Victoria	5 742.1	5 611.5	-2.27
Queensland	4 624.4	4 518.3	-2.29
South Australia	1 659.8	1 638.3	-1.30
Western Australia	2 399.0	2 346.3	-2.20
Tasmania	508.5	494.8	-2.70
Northern Territory	151.2	145.0	-4.12
Australian Capital Territory	374.4	366.5	-2.10
Total	22 875.2	22 317.2	-2.43

However, Table 2 shows that the impact of the confidentialising actions on high level target population estimates was small.

Table 2: Published (cat.no. 4430.0) disability and carer prevalence, and percentage of population aged 65 years or more, compared to the CURF

	Disability rate		Carer rate		Persons aged 65 years or more
	published	CURF	published	CURF	published	CURF
	proportions (%)
New South Wales	18.2	18.4	11.7	11.5	14.8	15.1
Victoria	19.4	19.6	13.6	13.3	14.4	14.6
Queensland	17.7	17.8	10.5	10.6	13.5	13.7
South Australia	21.5	21.6	13.4	13.3	16.6	16.8
Western Australia	16.3	16.4	10.0	10.0	12.7	13.0
Tasmania	24.6	24.7	14.7	14.4	16.8	17.2
Northern Territory	11.5	11.6	6.4	6.3	7.9	8.1
Australian Capital Territory	15.8	15.9	11.2	10.7	11.2	11.4
Total	18.5	18.6	11.9	11.8	14.3	14.5

Steps to confidentialise the datasets made available on the CURF are undertaken in such a way as to ensure the integrity of the datasets and optimise the content, while maintaining the confidentiality of respondents. Intending purchasers should ensure that the data they require at the level of detail they require are available on the CURF; data obtained in the survey, but not contained on the CURF may be available in TableBuilder or in tabulated form on request. The Data Item Lists document on the Summary tab contains information about the list of data items, which is available as an Excel spreadsheet on the Downloads tab.

RECORD COUNTS

Table 3 shows the number of records on each level for the CURF dataset.

Table 3: Number of records by level for the SDAC 2012 CURF

Level	Counting unit	Number of records
Household level	Household	26,939
Family level	Family	28,800
Income Unit level	Income Unit	33,743
Person level	Person	77,570
All conditions level	Conditions	122,382
Restrictions level	Restrictions	95,891
Specific activities level	Specific activities	198,826
All recipients level	Recipients	5,980
Broad activities level	Broad Activities	85,919
Assistance providers level	Assistance providers	31,259

IDENTIFIERS

There is a series of identifiers that can be used on records at each level of the file.

File level identifiers

The identifiers ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID, ABSCID, ABSRSID, ABSSAID, ABSRCID, ABSBAID and ABSAPID appear on all levels of the file (as they are needed to create a hierarchical CSV file). Where the information for the identifier is not relevant for a level, it has a value of 0.

Each household has a unique twelve digit random identifier, ABSHID. This identifier appears on the Household level and is repeated on every other level. On the family level, each family within the household is numbered sequentially. The item ABSFID containing this family number also appears on the income unit and person level. The combination of household and family identifier uniquely identifies the family. On the income unit level, each income unit within the family is numbered sequentially. This income unit number is also stored at the person level, as ABSIID. A combination of household, family and income unit identifiers uniquely identifies an income unit. Records from the establishments component do not exist at the family and income unit levels. A person identifier (ABSPID) is assigned to each person within a combination of household, family and income unit identifiers. It should be noted that this is NOT the person number within a household, hence there may be more than one person with ABSPID=1 in a household. On the person level, the combination of household, family, income unit and person identifier (ABSPID) uniquely identifies the person. This information is also recorded on each lower level.

The broad areas of activity level and the assistance providers level also have an identifier (ABSBAID and ABSAPID, respectively) which, when combined with ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID and ABSPID, enables information to be copied between levels nine and ten.

1. Household = ABSHID
2. Family = ABSHID, ABSFID
3. Income Unit = ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID
4. Person = ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID
5. All conditions = ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID, ABSCID
6. Restrictions = ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID, ABSRSID
7. Specific Activities = ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID, ABSSAID
8. All recipients =ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID, ABSRCID
9. Broad Activities = ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID, ABSBAID
10. Assistance providers = ABSHID, ABSFID, ABSIID, ABSPID, ABSBAID, ABSAPID

Collection component identifiers

The person level contains two items indicating whether the data were collected in the household or cared accommodation component. These items are POPESTAB and DWELTYPE. The item DWELTYPE has the categories 'Private dwelling' and 'Special dwelling' for all dwellings in the household component and 'Not applicable' for the cared accommodation component. The item POPESTAB has the category 'Living in an establishment' for the cared accommodation component and 'Not in this population' for the household component. These items can be copied from the person level to other levels of the file as required.

Copying information across levels

Identifiers can be used to copy information from one level of the file to another. The following SAS code (or equivalent) can be used to copy information from a lower level to a level above:

PROC SORT DATA=DAC12RES; * Restrictions level file;
BY ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID ;
RUN ;

DATA SUMMARY (KEEP=ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID MENTUND) ;
SET DAC12RES;
BY ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID ;
RETAIN MENTUND ;
IF FIRST.ABSPID THEN MENTUND=2 ; * Initialise variable – Does not have learning or understanding difficulties or mental illness ;
IF RESTRCT=7 OR RESTRCT=14 THEN MENTUND=1 ; * Has learning or understanding difficulties or mental illness ;
IF LAST.ABSPID THEN OUTPUT ;
RUN ;

PROC SORT DATA = DAC12PER; * Person level file ;
BY ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID ;
RUN ;

DATA MERGE_FILE ;
MERGE SUMMARY (IN=A) DAC12PER (IN=B) ;
BY ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID ;
IF B AND NOT A THEN MENTUND=2 ; * Records which are not on the SUMMARY file ;
RUN ;

The SUMMARY file only keeps the last record for each person on the DAC12RES file so the merge is a one to one match of person records on the SUMMARY file with records on the DAC12PER file. Some DAC12PER records will have no matching records on the SUMMARY file (as the person has no restrictions). For these records the statement 'If B and not A then MENTUND=2 ;' will allocate the code 2 because they don't have any restrictions. This method allows summary information from one level (e.g. Restrictions) to be used on the level above it in the hierarchy (e.g. Person). The item generated above can now be cross classified by any number of items on the person level file.

The following SAS code (or equivalent) can be used to copy information from a higher level to a level below:

PROC SORT DATA=DAC12RES; * Restrictions level file;
BY ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID;
RUN ;

PROC SORT DATA = DAC12PER; * Person level file;
BY ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID;
RUN;

DATA MERGE_FILE ;
MERGE DAC12RES (IN=A) DAC12PER (KEEP=ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID SEX AGEPB IN=B);
BY ABSHID ABSFID ABSIID ABSPID;
IF A AND B THEN OUTPUT; * Only keeps records which are present on both files;
RUN;

Unlike the previous merge, this merge will match one DAC12PER record to many DAC12RES records. The statement 'If A and B then OUTPUT;' ensures that only records present on both files are kept. If this statement was not used then DAC12PER records without a corresponding DAC12RES record would appear with a missing value for all DAC12RES data items. Note that the data items copied from the DAC12PER level will now have the counting unit for the level they have been added to, restrictions in this case.

Combining carer and recipient data

Combining carer and recipient data can sometimes be confusing, both in selecting an appropriate item and in understanding the counting unit. For example, if your interest is in people with a disability, and you want to analyse them by their main condition, such as dementia or arthritis, etc., using the item 'Main disabling condition of main care recipient' and the person weight from the person level identifies a population of primary carers whose main recipient co-resides with them and has dementia, or arthritis, or some other condition as a main condition. Using an item such as 'Disability status' with this item provides information on the disability status of persons who are primary carers of people with the specified condition. It is, therefore, important when using items relating to carers and care recipients to pay particular attention to the populations for the items used.

The recipient level includes identifiers for the carer (ABSHID, ABSFID, etc.) as well as for the recipient(s) of care (MAPHHDRX, MAPFAMRX, etc.) to allow for data to be copied from other levels.
Person level carer data can be added using the ABS identifiers as per other levels. The following SAS code (or equivalent) provides an example of how to add person level data for the recipient of care.

DATA DAC12PER;
SET DAC12PER; * Person level file;
RECIPHID = put(ABSHID,13.);
RECIPFID = put(ABSFID,2.);
RECIPIID = put(ABSIID,2.);
RECIPPID = put(ABSPID,2.);
RUN;


DATA DAC12REC;
SET DAC12ALR; * Recipient level file;
RECIPHID = put(MAPHHDRX,13.);
RECIPFID = put(MAPFAMRX,2.);
RECIPIID = put(MAPINCRX,2.);
RECIPPID = put(MAPPSNRX,2.);

RUN;

PROC SORT DATA=DAC12PER;
BY RECIPHID RECIPFID RECIPIID RECIPPID;
RUN;

PROC SORT DATA=DAC12REC;
BY RECIPHID RECIPFID RECIPIID RECIPPID;
RUN;


DATA PERSON_RECIP;
MERGE DAC12REC (IN=A) DAC12PER (IN=B);
BY RECIPHID RECIPFID RECIPIID RECIPPID;
IF A AND B; * Only keeps records which are present on both files;
RUN;

MULTI-RESPONSE ITEMS ON THE CURF

A number of questions included in the survey allowed respondents to provide one or more responses. Each response category for one of these 'multi-response questions' (or data items) is basically treated as a separate data item. On the CURF, these data items have the same general data item identifier (SASName) but are each suffixed with a letter – A for the first response, B for the second response, C for the third response, D for the fourth response and so on.

For example, the multi-response data item 'Purpose for computer use at home in the last 12 months' (with a general SASName of COMPRCM – see data item list), has six response categories. Consequently, six data items have been produced - COMPRCMA, COMPRCMB, COMPRCMC, COMPRCMD, COMPRCME and COMPRCMF.

Each data item in the series (i.e. COMPRCMA -- COMPRCMF) will have two response codes: A 'Yes' response (for the first in the series (code 1), for the second in the series (code 2) etc.) and a 'Null' response (code 0) indicating that the response was not relevant for the respondent. The last data item in the series will represent a 'Not Applicable' response (i.e. value of last character in series) which comprises the respondents not asked the questions (e.g. COMPRCMF with values of 0 or 6).

It should be noted that the sum of individual multi-response categories will be greater than the population or number of people applicable to the particular data item as respondents are able to select more than one response. Multi-response data items can be identified in the data item list as SASNames followed by a range of letters in brackets; for example, COMPRCM(A-F).

CURF DATA FILES

The 2012 Basic CURF can be accessed on CD-ROM, or via the RADL, and is available in SAS, SPSS and STATA formats. The CURF comprises the following files:

ASCII text format files
These files contains the raw confidentialised survey data in hierarchical comma delimited ASCII text format.

DAC12B.CSV contains all levels
DAC12HH.csv contains the Household level data
DAC12FAM.csv contains the Family level data
DAC12IU.csv contains the Income Unit level data
DAC12PER.csv contains the Person level data
DAC12CON.csv contains the All Conditions level data
DAC12RES.csv contains the Restrictions level data
DAC12SPA.csv contains the Specific Activities level data
DAC12ALR.csv contains the All Recipients level data
DAC12BRA.csv contains the Broad Activities level data
DAC12PAS.csv contains the Assistance Providers level data

SAS files
These files contain the data for the CURF in SAS format.

DAC12HH.SAS7BDAT contains the Household level data
DAC12FAM.SAS7BDAT contains the Family level data
DAC12IU.SAS7BDAT contains the Income Unit level data
DAC12PER.SAS7BDAT contains the Person level data
DAC12CON.SAS7BDAT contains the All Conditions level data
DAC12RES.SAS7BDAT contains the Restrictions level data
DAC12SPA.SAS7BDAT contains the Specific Activities level data
DAC12ALR.SAS7BDAT contains the All Recipients level data
DAC12BRA.SAS7BDAT contains the Broad Activities level data
DAC12PAS.SAS7BDAT contains the Assistance Providers level data

SPSS files
These files contain the data for the CURF in SPSS format.

DAC12HH.SAV contains the Household level data
DAC12FAM.SAV contains the Family level data
DAC12IU.SAV contains the Income Unit level data
DAC12PER.SAV contains the Person level data
DAC12CON.SAV contains the All Conditions level data
DAC12RES.SAV contains the Restrictions level data
DAC12SPA.SAV contains the Specific Activities level data
DAC12ALR.SAV contains the All Recipients level data
DAC12BRA.SAV contains the Broad Activities level data
DAC12PAS.SAV contains the Assistance Providers level data

STATA files
These files contain the data for the CURF in STATA format.

DAC12HH.DTA contains the Household level data
DAC12FAM.DTA contains the Family level data
DAC12IU.DTA contains the Income Unit level data
DAC12PER.DTA contains the Person level data
DAC12CON.DTA contains the All Conditions level data
DAC12RES.DTA contains the Restrictions level data
DAC12SPA.DTA contains the Specific Activities level data
DAC12ALR.DTA contains the All Recipients level data
DAC12BRA.DTA contains the Broad Activities level data
DAC12PAS.DTA contains the Assistance Providers level data

INFORMATION FILES

Data item list
The Data item list contains all the data items, including details of categories and code values, that are available on the Basic CURF.

Formats file
This file is a SAS library containing formats.

Example code
DAC12B.SAS provides as example of how data can be loaded into SAS for Windows from DAC12B.CSV and can assist in creating code for your own analysis package.

Frequency files

Household (HH)
A file containing documentation of the Household level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted household frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

Family (FAM)
A file containing documentation of the Family level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted household frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

Income unit (IU)
A file containing documentation of the Income Unit level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted household frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

Person (PER)
A file containing documentation of the Person level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted person frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

All Conditions (CON)
A file containing documentation of the All Conditions level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted person frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

Restrictions (RES)
A file containing documentation of the Restrictions level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted person frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

Specific activities (SPA)
A file containing documentation of the Specific Activities level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted person frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

All recipients (ALR)
A file containing documentation of the All Recipients level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted person frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

Broad activity (BRA)
A file containing documentation of the Broad Activities level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted person frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.

Assistance providers (PAS)
A file containing documentation of the Assistance Providers level data. Data item code values and category labels are provided with weighted person frequencies of each value. This file is in plain text format.