COLLECTION OF VARIABLE DATA

SCOPE

Statistical units

Statistical units are the basic units for which information is sought and for which statistics are compiled. Income data may be collected and analysed in respect of the following statistical units: persons, income units, families, and households.

The operational definitions for household, family and income units are detailed below. For further information refer to the ABS standards for Family, Household and Income Unit Variables (cat. no. 1286.0).

(i) Household

The ABS operational definition of a 'household' is 'one or more persons, at least one of whom is at least 15 years of age, usually resident in the same private dwelling'.

Household income, rather than personal or income unit income, is generally the preferred measure for analysis of people's economic wellbeing as the major determinant of economic wellbeing for most people is the level of income they and other family members living in the same household receive.

While income is usually received by individuals, it is normally shared between partners in a couple relationship and with dependent children. To a lesser extent, it may be shared with other children, other relatives and possibly other people living in the same household. Even when there is no transfer of income between members of a household, nor provision of free or cheap accommodation, members are still likely to benefit from the economies of scale that arise from sharing a dwelling.

(ii) Family

The ABS operational definition of a 'family' is 'two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship. Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.'

The family is not generally used as a statistical unit for income analysis.

(iii) Income unit

The ABS operational definition of an 'income unit' is 'a group of two or more people who are usually resident in the same household and are related to each other through a couple relationship and/or parent/dependent child relationship; or a lone person not party to either such relationship.'

(iv) Person

The person unit relates to individual members of a household.


QUESTION MODULES

This section provides the four standard personal income modules and the standard household income module.

Personal income modules

There are four standard personal income question modules designed to meet a wide range of user requirements while retaining as much conceptual and operational consistency as possible. The choice of module will depend on the analytical requirements of key users and on any operational constraints.

The four standard personal 'Total income' modules are:

• the detailed module
• the basic module
• the short module
• the single question.

The length of the modules varies considerably depending on the level of detail of the income information being collected. The shorter modules do not attempt to collect irregular or lump-sum receipts such as severance and termination payments, irregular overtime or bonuses, lump-sum government payments or lump-sum workers' compensation payments.

Detailed question module

The Detailed income module is not technically part of the standard, due to its length, complexity and reliance on information that is not collected as part of the module. It is included here for completeness. The Detailed module is designed for use in the specialised income surveys conducted by the ABS, that is, the Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) and the Household Expenditure Survey (HES).

The operational definition of income is fully implemented in the Detailed module (see Operational definition). It comprises over 300 questions, but many respondents are asked only a few of these questions, depending on the nature of the income they receive. The module collects the amount of income received for the current period as well as the previous financial year in dollar values from each source of income at the detailed level of the classification. Sufficient information is collected to enable the imputation of personal income tax, the Medicare Levy and the Medicare Levy Surcharge, thereby enabling the derivation of disposable income.

The Detailed module is used to collect income information in respect of all people, aged 15 years and over, in the selected household. This makes it possible to produce 'Total income' data at the person level, to aggregate data to the household level, and to provide information about various combinations of persons within the household such as income units.

The Detailed module is designed for computer assisted personal interviewing and is not suitable for a telephone interviewing environment because of its length and complexity. Due to its length and complexity, and because it requires information collected elsewhere in the survey which is not part of the module, it is not recommended for use except in the intended vehicles. There are changes made to this module in each survey cycle, i.e. every two years. For these reasons, anyone considering using it in a different collection should consult the ABS early in their collection development phase.

A paper representation of the computer assisted interview, detailed income module, used in the most recently conducted SIH or HES is published on the ABS website, see <ABS Home Page> (ABS Home Page/Topics @ a Glance/People/Personal, Family and Household Finances/Releases).

Basic question module

The Basic module is suitable for use in both computer assisted personal interviews and telephone interviews.

The Basic module comprises approximately 39 questions and provides a broad measure of 'Total income'. It is recommended for use in surveys where a broad measure of income is needed for cross-classificatory purposes, e.g. health status, education and training, crime and justice, family and community, culture and leisure. For practical reasons, the operational definition of income derived from the Basic module is limited to receipts that are usually or regularly received and are able to be reported by households. Irregular, lump-sum or one-off payments or irregular financial support received from a family member not living in the same household are excluded. Further details on the exclusions are in Appendix F.

The Basic module is recommended ahead of the short module for most uses as it provides greater precision and flexibility for dissemination and analysis. The collection of income from individual sources enables analyses that would not otherwise be possible.

The Basic module can be used to collect income information in respect of all members in the household aged 15 years and over, where all household members are interviewed or where the selected respondent answers on behalf of other household members. Where time constraints do not allow the Basic module to be used to collect income information for all household members, the selected respondent should be asked the Basic module. Following this, the selected respondent can then be asked the Short module to obtain the income for each of the other household members. While it is preferable to collect each person's income separately in order to enable the calculation of total household income, where this is not possible the standard 'Household income module' (see Single question module) can be used to obtain the income of other household members as a single figure.

The module collects the amount of income received in dollar values from sources of income at the narrow level of the classification enabling the derivation of 'Main source of income' where there have been no 'don't know' responses or refusals to income questions. Where main source of income is required, it is recommended that an additional question be asked of respondents who have refused or do not know a particular income amount (refer to the standard for Main source of income for more details). 'Main source of income' at the household level can only be derived if the Basic module has been used to collect income information in respect of all members of the household.

While the Basic module is designed for computer assisted personal interviewing it can be adapted for a paper instrument. Versions of the Basic module are available for both computer assisted personal interview (CAPI) (refer Appendix A) and computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) (refer Appendix B).

For surveys of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, a tailored version of the Basic income module is available for non-community Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. A separate income module is available for community Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. Further details are in Appendix E.

Short question module

The Short module is suitable for use in both computer assisted personal interviews and telephone interviews.

The Short module includes three main questions and an optional fourth question for users where 'Main source of income' is required. It is designed for use where time or space constraints preclude use of the Basic module. The Short module is less accurate than the Basic module, collecting only one dollar value, that is, total income from all sources. For practical reasons, the operational definition of income derived from the short module is limited to receipts that are usually or regularly received and able to be reported by households. Irregular, lump-sum or one-off payments such as the Newborn Upfront Payment and irregular financial support received from a family member not living in the same household are excluded. Further details are in Appendix F.

The Short module can be used to collect income information in respect of all members of the household, where all household members are interviewed. However, many surveys interview only one household member. In these circumstances, it is recommended that the standard 'Household income module' also be used to obtain the income of other household members in order to enable the calculation of total household income. For further details see the Single question module.

The Short module for personal interviews is listed in Appendix C. The Short module for telephone interviews is listed in Appendix D.

Single question module

The Single question module is suitable for self-enumeration.

Comprising one question only, this module provides a very broad measure of 'Total income'. It is designed for use in self-enumerated questionnaires where simplicity and brevity are important, and a very broad measure of income is considered adequate for analytical purposes. The amount of income received is collected as a dollar value at the person level. For practical reasons, the operational definition of income derived from the single question module is limited to receipts that are usually or regularly received and able to be reported. Irregular, lump-sum or one-off payments such as the Newborn Upfront Payment and irregular financial support received from a family member not living in the same household are excluded. Further details are in Appendix F.

The recommended single question for self-enumeration is as follows:

What is the total of all wages/salaries, government pensions/allowances and other income the person usually receives?
• Do not deduct: tax, superannuation contributions, amounts salary sacrificed, or any other automatic deductions
• Include income from the following sources:

Wages and salaries overtime commissions and bonuses income from own incorporated business	Unincorporated business income profit or loss from unincorporated business/farm (e.g. sole traders, partnerships)
Government pensions, benefits and allowances age pension family tax benefit parenting payment disability pension unemployment benefits youth and student allowances any other government pensions/allowances	Other income income from superannuation private pensions child support workers' compensation interest dividends from shares profit or loss from rental properties (exclude expenses) any other income

$

,

.

0

0

per week

OR

$

,

.

0

0

per fortnight

OR

$

,

.

0

0

per year

Nil income

Negative income

A version of this question, collecting 'Total income' in ranges, is currently used in the Census of Population and Housing, because this option is easily processed and because of concerns about maintaining high response rates. Collection of income amounts in ranges limits accurate aggregation of income unit, family or household income and analysis of the data produced. This approach is under review for the next Census.

Household income module

The Household income module is intended for use in collections which do not collect separate income information from all members of the household. It is intended to be used to supplement personal income information collected through either the Short or Basic income modules to collect the income of other members of the household in order to produce estimates of household income. The household is the preferred unit for most analyses of income data.

If a household contains more than one person aged 15 years or over the following question module is asked to collect household income:

Question wording	To population
Preamble The next question is about the income of members of [your/(proxy name)'s] household aged 15 years or over, excluding [yourself/(proxy name)].
Q01 Before income tax, salary sacrifice or anything else is taken out, how much income in total do these people usually receive from all sources? Interviewer: Enter dollar amount. If nil income enter zero. If amount is negative, enter option 1 'Loss' at Q03. (Allow numerical entry) <0-9999999997>	→ Q02
Q02 - Sequence Guide 1. If total income in Q01 = nil 2. If total income in Q01 = negative 3. Else	1. → END 2. → Q03 3. → Q04
Q03 Interviewer: Indicate that total income was a loss. 1. Loss	→ Q04
Q04 What period does that cover? 1. Week 2. Fortnight 3. Four weeks 4. Calendar month 5. Quarter 6. Year 7. Other (please specify)	1-6. → END 7. → Q05
Q05 Interviewer: Enter other period. (Allow text entry)	→ END

Word substitution

Question word sub appears in	Details
Preamble	[your/(proxy name)'s] Insert 'your' if respondent answering for self. Otherwise insert '(proxy name)'s'.
Preamble	[yourself/(proxy name)] Insert 'yourself' if respondent answering for self. Otherwise insert '(proxy name)'.