• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

DATA AVAILABILITY

This part of the User Guide describes the range of data available from the HECS in both published and unpublished form.

More detailed information can be obtained by telephoning the Living Conditions Client Services team on Canberra (02) 6252 6174 or by emailing <living.conditions@abs.gov.au>.

Publications

The publications available from the HECS are listed below. All can be downloaded free of charge from the ABS website: www.abs.gov.au.

User Guide

This publication, Household Energy Consumption Survey, User Guide, Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 4671.0) describes the definitions, concepts, methodology and estimation procedures used in the HECS. Additional material available as part of this publication include the questionnaires, interviewer prompt cards and a list of output data items. For further information see 'Supporting material' below.

Energy
Household Energy Consumption Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2012 (cat. no. 4670.0) presents estimates of energy expenditure, consumption and and other energy-related characteristics of households and persons resident in private dwellings in Australia, compiled from the HECS. It also includes estimates from the Business Survey of Residential Electricity Distribution, Experimental Estimates.

Special data services

The published data are only a small portion of the data collected in the surveys. The ABS offers specialised consultancy services to assist data users with more complex statistical information needs. Users may wish to have the unit record data analysed according to their own needs, or require tailored tables incorporating data items and populations as requested by them. A wide range of data items are available — the detailed list of these is available in the Data Item Listing in the 'Downloads' tab of this product.

Tables and other analytic outputs can be made available electronically or in printed form. However, as the level of detail or disaggregation increases with detailed requests, the number of contributors to data cells decreases. This may result in some requested information not being able to be released due to confidentiality or sampling variability constraints. All specialist consultancy services attract a service charge and clients will be provided with a quote before information is supplied. For further information, contact ABS information consultants on 1300 135 070, (international callers +61 2 9268 4909).

Supporting material

Supporting material is available to assist data users in analysing the data from the survey. A representation of the computer assisted interview questionnaire, paper form, longitudinal questionnaire, and prompt cards used in the HECS is available on the ABS website. They can be downloaded from the 'Downloads' tab of this product.

CONFIDENTIALISED UNIT RECORD FILES (CURFs)

For clients wanting to produce their own tabulations and conduct manipulations of survey estimates, a file containing unit records relating to almost all the survey respondents can be supplied. To protect the confidentiality of individual persons and households some data items are removed from the file and the level of detail for some items is reduced.

Two microdata files are expected to become available after the HECS summary results are released:

• a Basic SIH CURF is available on CD-ROM or through the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL)
• an Expanded SIH CURF is accessible only through the RADL.