NUMBER OF CHILDREN EVER BORN
This topic collects information on the number of babies ever born, in a question directed to females aged 15 years and over.
It provides an additional view on demographic fertility which complements and can help explain information on birth rates compiled from birth registrations. It is also used in formulating assumptions on future fertility trends for use in population projections for Australia and regions within Australia.
Data is not collected for females under 15 years of age because of the very low number of females under 15 years who have given birth.
The conceptual basis for this question will change in 2016 with the removal of the instruction to include live births only.
BACKGROUND
A question on the number of children ever born was included in almost every Australian Census up until and including 1986. It was then decided that information on this topic was not required as frequently as every five years, and the topic was then included at ten yearly intervals, i.e. in the 1996 and 2006 Censuses. However, it was subsequently included in the 2011 Census and will be included in the 2016 Census due to the decisions made to hold topics stable in 2016.
The conceptual basis for this question will change in the 2016 Census following removal of the instruction to include live births only. This instruction was previously included to collect births information according to the United Nations standard. However, evidence of the sensitivities of this instruction, which cannot be overcome effectively in a self-report questionnaire, has led to a decision to remove this instruction in the Census.
QUESTION
The following question is from the paper 2016 Census Household Form.
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