Country of Birth of Parents (BPPP)
This variable indicates if a person's mother and/or father was born in Australia or overseas. It is applicable to all persons.
How this variable is created
This variable is created by combining data from the two questions Country of Birth of Father and Country of Birth of Mother. Images of these questions are provided below. Responses are captured automatically from mark box and text responses on the form.
For both questions, respondents were asked to only mark one response. In 1.4% of pre-processed data for Country of Birth of Father and 0.9% of preprocessed data for Country of Birth of Mother, respondents provided more than one response. In these cases, responses were accepted in the order they appeared on the form and the extra responses were rejected.
Variable history
The two questions used to derive this variable were first asked in the 1921 Census, but not repeated until 1971. Since then, they have been asked in every Census. No changes were made in 2016, aside from changing the name of the variable from 'Birthplace of Parents' to 'Country of Birth of Parents'. For more information on this variable's history, see Nature and Content, Australia.
Non-response rate
Non-response rates only apply to data items that directly reflect responses to individual Census form questions. Country of Birth of Parents does not have a non-response rate as it is a derived value created during Census processing for applicable persons. For more information, refer to Understanding Census data quality.
Data usage notes
The questions used to derive Country of Birth of Parents (Country of Birth of Mother and Country of Birth of Father) have changed in 2016. In 2011 both items only asked if a person's mother and father were born in Australia or overseas, whereas for 2016 the specific country of birth is asked for both parents.
Further information
For 2016, Australia equates to codes 1101 (Australia) and 1102 (Norfolk Island) in the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 2016.
A definition of Country of Birth of Parents is available in the 2016 Census Dictionary.
For more information on variables related to Country of Birth of Parents, see Country of Birth of Mother, Country of Birth of Father and Country of Birth of Person.
Household form question image
Questions 14 and 15 as they appeared on the 2016 Census Household Paper Form:
Questions 14 and 15 as they appeared on the 2011 Census Household Paper Form:
A text only version of the online Census Household form is available from the Downloads tab.
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