2016 CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING
OBJECTIVES
The Census program conducts the Australian Census of Population and Housing. The program aims to measure the number and key characteristics of people in Australia on Census night, and the dwellings in which they live, accurately and efficiently. The next Census will be conducted on 9 August 2016 and will be Australia's 17th national Census. This will be the first Census in our nation's history where most households will participate in the Census online and field operations will be largely digitised with minimal reliance on paper material. This is a significant transformation for Census taking around the world and will set the foundation for the future of all statistical collections undertaken by the ABS.
The Census is a key source of Australia-wide comprehensive statistical information on small geographic areas and small population groups and is used to support planning, administration, policy development and evaluation by governments, businesses and other users. Increasingly, data from the Census is used to complement and integrate with other statistical solutions to expand the range of available data on a wide range of topics.
OUTPUTS
The results of the 2016 Census will be made available in 2017. The ABS is committed to the development of a range of statistical solutions to maximise the use of Census data and support a wide range of customer needs. Statistical solutions for the 2016 Census are still in development but will include:
- QuickStats and Community Profiles in which Census data is available for specified locations and topics of interest
- TableBuilder which allows the construction of customised data tables via an interactive web interface across any topics or geography, with output available in tabular, graphical or map based format
- a wide range of analytical articles that present easily accessible commentary and social analysis on key topics of policy relevance and public interest
- Census data packs to enable large scale extraction of Census data for reuse and export to other systems
- socioeconomic indexes for areas which provide summary measures of different aspects of the socioeconomic conditions of people in a specific geographic area
- the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, which brings together records from the 2006 and 2011 Censuses with corresponding records from the 2016 Census, using data linkage techniques to explore how Australian society is changing over time
- a number of other integrated datasets providing further insight into income, health, education, migrants and Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders
- a range of interactive engagement tools leveraging emerging technologies to bring Census data to new audiences
- microdata solutions to support detailed analytical and research needs.
Where specialised information needs cannot be met by standard products, customised data services are available through ABS Information Consultancy.
DEVELOPMENTS
The main medium-term developments in the program are to:
- undertake a large scale recruitment campaign to engage around 39,000 Australians to help us run the Census - ongoing from September 2015
- complete the development of an Address Register to support 2016 Census operations and move the register into long term maintenance to support broader use across the ABS - due December 2015
- finalise the development of all aspects of Census operations and technology infrastructure to support 2016 Census activities - due May 2016
- establish a paper data capture centre to support the receipt and scanning of an anticipated four million paper forms - due May 2016
- establish a data coding centre to support the processing of data for the 2016 Census and recruit up to 500 staff to undertake processing operations in 2016 - due May 2016
- complete enumeration activities for the 2016 Census using a transformed model that will see most Australians receiving their Census materials via Australia Post - due August 2016
- undertake wide-spread community consultation and engagement to build awareness and involvement in the Census - ongoing
- prepare a comprehensive and targeted advertising and public relations campaign to maximise participation for the 2016 Census - ongoing
- consult with customers to finalise the development of the statistical solutions that will support the release of Census data - ongoing
- deliver the first results of the Census on time, to budget and with a focus on maximising statistical quality - due June 2017.
REFERENCES
All Census data, Census products and a range of information on the Census is available at:
www.abs.gov.au/census.
GENERAL MANAGER
Duncan Young (A/g)
Census & Statistical Network Services Division
PROGRAM MANAGERS
Andrew Henderson
Data Acquisition & Provider Management Branch
Jenny Telford (A/g)
Census Branch
RESOURCES
| Program costs | $m |
| 2015-16 | 87.8 |
| 2016-17 | 225.0 |
| 2017-18 | 45.2 |
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