3302.0.55.005 - Information Paper: Death registrations to Census linkage project - Key Findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, 2011-2012

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/11/2013 First Issue

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Contents >> Differential reporting of Indigenous status >> Data collection environment

DATA COLLECTION ENVIRONMENT

THE TYPE OF DWELLING WHERE THE CENSUS INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED

Overall, people who were residing in a non-private dwelling at the time of the Census were more likely than people who were residing in a private dwelling to have been identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin on the death registration only (23% compared with 11%). Those who were in a nursing home had the highest rate of being identified on the death registration record only (31%). Indigenous status information collected in such institutions may be inaccurate or incomplete because this information is often filled in on the resident's behalf by a staff member. In the 2011 Census, 16% of people in non-private dwellings had an Indigenous status that was not stated, compared with 5% for people in private dwellings.

LINKED DEATH REGISTRATION AND CENSUS RECORDS FOR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE, by dwelling type(a), propensity to identify, 2011–12
Graph showing linked records, propensity to identify by dwelling type

Graph showing linked records, propensity to identify by dwelling type

(a) Where the Census information was collected.
(b) Includes public, private and psychiatric hospital or institution.

In hospitals, people aged under 70 years were more likely to have been identified consistently than people aged 70 years and over (72% compared with 50%). The pattern by age was similar in nursing homes, where 76% of people aged under 70 years were consistently identified, compared with 45% of people aged 70 years and over.

In the 2006 quality study, there were 1,272 linked death registration records for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were residing in a private dwelling at the time of the Census. Of these, 21% were identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander on the Census record only. For the 2011 Indigenous Mortality Project, the equivalent proportion increased to 26%. In 2006, there were 378 linked death registration records for people in non-private dwellings. There was also a slight increase in the Census only rate for people who were residing in non-private dwellings (from 16% in 2006 to 18% in 2011).

CENSUS FORM TYPE

Consistent identification as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin across the Census and death registration records was more common among people counted on paper forms than it was among people counted via the eCensus (59% compared with 52%). Among those who were enumerated using an Interviewer household form, which was used mostly in discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the majority (94%) were identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin on both the Census and death registration records.

LINKED DEATH REGISTRATION AND CENSUS RECORDS FOR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE, by Census form type, proportion identified on both records(a)(b), 2011–12
Graph showing linked records, proportion identified on both records by Census form type

Graph showing linked records, proportion identified on both records by Census form type

(a) To protect confidentiality, results for Census record only and death registration record only are not published.
(b) Identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin across both records.

LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME AND PROFICIENCY IN SPOKEN ENGLISH

Almost all (95%) people who spoke an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language at home were identified consistently on both the Census and the death registration record. Of those who spoke only English at home, 59% were consistently reported as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and 28% were identified on the Census only. The rate of inconsistent reporting on either the death registration or the Census record was slightly higher among people who spoke a language other than English at home and did not speak English well or at all, compared with people who spoke a language other than English at home and spoke English well or very well (14% compared with 12%).