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INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

ABS’s international role is mandated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975, section 6(f) to ‘provide liaison between Australia, on the one hand, and other countries and international organisations, on the other hand, in relation to statistical matters’.

International engagement is a key area of ABS work and it is important for a number of reasons. The ABS shapes, influences and leads the development of international statistical standards in order to enhance Australia’s international comparability, and improve the utility of international statistics for Australian decision makers across economic, environmental, population and social spheres. ABS international engagement helps make the global statistical picture more reliable, increasing the availability of credible statistics to inform the full spectrum of Australian Government and business policy and decision making.

The ABS International Relations Strategy guides the work of the organisation, supporting a more holistic approach to ABS’s international work, ensuring alignment to broader government priorities, and promoting closer relations with countries in Asia and the Pacific region. The strategy supports emerging statistical areas and recognises the need to partner with other countries to build statistical standards, capability and infrastructure.

The goals of the ABS International Relations Strategy are:

• to shape, influence and lead the development of international statistical standards obtaining international agreement on frameworks, strategies and policies to set the direction for the future
• to collaborate with international organisations to develop a shared set of infrastructure such as tools, methods and systems, and collaborate on best practice to ensure that ABS remains a world-class statistical organisation
• to build capability in developing National Statistical Offices (NSOs), particularly in the Asia and the Pacific region, to improve statistical systems and standards to support information for decision-making; as well as building regional capacity of Asia and the Pacific region to take a stronger leadership role in influencing standards in the international community.

• contributing to an inventory of ‘Usage of administrative data sources for statistical purposes’ for the international group on Methodologies for an Integrated Use of Administrative Data (MIAD) in the statistical process
• attendance and contributions at various international conferences on agricultural statistics and business registers, including continued membership of the UNSD task force on business registers, and contribution of a draft chapter on coverage for the UNSD Manual of Business Registers
• a significant contribution to the UN System of Environmental and Economic Accounting: Applications and Extensions (SEEA–EA), and contributing papers to the London Group on Environmental Accounting
• participation in two OECD Working Parties: i) National Experts for Science and Technology Indicators and ii) Indicators for the Information Society
• creation of a Chief Methodologists Network comprising top methodologists from 12 countries
• contributions to the International Expert Group on Big Data for Official Statistics
• chairing the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe task force on Time Use Statistics and contributing to the publication Guidelines for Harmonizing Time-Use Surveys
• contributing to the development and assessment of the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) through the World Health Organisation Mortality Topic Advisory Group. The ICD is critical to the production of Australian health information as it underpins the classification of both mortality and morbidity data
• co-chairing the first meeting of the UN Expert Group on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information (EG–ISGI) in New York—working towards establishing a global geospatial-statistical framework based on the ABS-developed Statistical Spatial Framework (SSF).

The Asia and Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics (APCAS) is an important regional forum for sharing and discussion on issues relating to improving agricultural and food statistics including developments under the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics, which ABS was involved in developing. Senior ABS staff attended the Twenty-Fifth Session of APCAS in Vientiane (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) in February 2014 where the ABS presented on land management statistics.

Indonesia Program

The ABS is in year two of a three year DFAT-funded Record of Understanding (2013–2015) to build statistical capability in Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), Indonesia’s National Statistics Office. This program builds on the long standing, mature relationship between the ABS and BPS and links closely to the broader, whole-of-Indonesian government reform agenda. The focus of the technical assistance is improvement of statistical methods, strengthening statistical infrastructure and meeting international standards for core macroeconomic data. In addition to statistical technical assistance, the program also provides statistical leadership and capability development for senior BPS management. Key areas of support in 2013–14 have included:

• building capability across National Accounts to meet the 2008 System of National Accounts
• guiding development of an Integrated Business Register
• strengthening Producer Price Indexes
• assisting with website, dissemination and data management.

Following the completion of a three year DFAT program of assistance to the Pacific region (2011–13) under the Ten Year Pacific Statistics Strategy (TYPSS) Action Plan, in 2014 the ABS signed a one year Record of Understanding with DFAT to continue to build statistical capability in the Pacific Region. In 2013–14 the ABS focused on the following key areas
of support:

• leadership and institutional strengthening—mentoring and supporting the Government Statisticians of Pacific NSOs
• statistical capacity development in key statistical areas such as CRVS, the standardised Pacific Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), and a regional training program for government finance statistics (GFS)
• providing leadership to the Pacific International Comparison Program to calculate purchasing power parities
• publishing a joint ABS/Secretariat of Pacific Community Pacific Business Register Development Guide
• supporting improved ICT capability in Pacific NSOs through support for the Pacific ICT Working Group, and working with the University of the South Pacific (USP) to develop a course on ICT management in Pacific NSOs
• working with donors and stakeholders to shape the future of Pacific statistics through bi-annual Pacific Statistics Steering Committee (PSSC) meetings, and design workshops to determine the next phase (2015–17) of TYPSS.

In October 2013 the ABS signed a Technical Partnership Agreement with the Directorate General of Statistics (DGS) in Timor Leste as a part of a four year program of technical assistance to support statistical capacity building. This program began in March 2014. The ABS has already made a significant contribution, through missions and technical assistance, to the compilation of the Timor Leste Consumer Price Index (CPI), undertaking a business activity survey, and developing NSO staff capabilities.

The Statistical Capability and Capacity Development (SCCD) program is part of a larger DFAT Governance for Development program, which is fundamental to governance and long-term capability building in Timor Leste. The ABS program will build capability and capacity of the Timor Leste NSO through four key pillars:

• Governance and Institutional Building
• Investment in Human Capital
• Effective Technical Support
• Program Management and Impact.

Table 7.1 International development visits 2013–14

International positions held by ABS officers

The ABS is an active participant in a wide range of multilateral meetings and committees. During 2013–14 the ABS continued to develop knowledge and share expertise, contributing to the development of statistical frameworks and methods. Our strong relationship with the United Nations Statistical Commission, of which the Australian Statistician has been the Vice-Chair, continues to benefit both the global statistical system and our ability to deliver the best possible information for Australia’s own needs.

Table 7.2 International positions held by ABS officers in 2013–14