STATISTICAL SERVICES
OBJECTIVES
The Statistical Services Program provides specialist services to meet new and ongoing demands in statistics. The program has a focus on ensuring the methods underlying ABS outputs are based on sound, defensible statistical principles and are cost effective.
The program has specific responsibilities for supporting the statistical collection and production processes. It provides advice on, and methods for, the most efficient and effective ways of meeting information needs through all the stages of the survey cycle. This includes advice on quality. The program also undertakes research on statistical and operational research methods to improve the efficiency and reliability of ABS work. The program provides leadership in developing the future methodological infrastructure of the ABS.
The program also aims to minimise the load on data providers through efficient sample designs and techniques to control sample overlap between surveys and, in the case of Australian business surveys, through the review and approval process for the Australian Government Statistical Clearing House, which is managed by the program.
OUTPUTS
The program’s main internal products include reports and advice on:
- methods for making use of, and quality assuring, administrative data for statistical purposes
- sample design, estimation and other survey related methodological issues
- research into new methods to meet future statistical needs
- issues affecting the quality of ABS’s statistical products.
The program also supports the development and delivery of training on mathematical, statistical and other methodological issues for all ABS staff.
Externally, in conjunction with Analytical Services, the program produces and publishes a series of
Methodology Advisory Committee Papers (cat. nos. 1352.0.55.001-1352.0.55.120), which present the results of current research or analysis, often of an experimental nature, to facilitate expert discussion and comment. Guidelines on current best practices of statistical methodology are also produced (cat. no. 1500 series).
The Statistical Clearing House produces an annual report of all surveys directed to 50 or more businesses conducted by Commonwealth agencies during each fiscal year. It also promulgates and promotes survey best practices in agencies conducting business surveys.
DEVELOPMENTS
The main medium-term developments are to:
- develop responsive design strategy to further enhance dynamic and adaptive survey operations to improve efficiency - due December 2014
- develop more efficient sample design and collection operations for identified business and household surveys, including use of available administrative datasets to improve sampling efficiency - due June 2015
- develop editing methods and assess tools to improve processing efficiency and support increased use of administrative datasets in statistical production - due June 2015
- develop methods for dealing with missing data for more complex statistical products (derived from linked data, administrative data) - due June 2015
- implement methodologies for supporting multi-modal data collection for conducting and processing the Census of Population and Housing and household surveys - due June 2015
- develop and implement best practices and standards for collecting survey data by web-forms and other electronic modes - due June 2015
- develop the sampling framework and procedures to support future household surveys vehicles - due June 2016
- assist the implementation of new methods and tools that are part of the methodological architecture to support future ABS statistical collections and products - due June 2017.
PROGRAM MANAGER
Paul Schubert
Assistant Statistician
Statistical Services Branch
RESOURCES
| Program costs | $m |
| 2014-15 | 8.6 |
| 2015-16 | 8.5 |
| 2016-17 | 8.2 |
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