This document was added or updated on 29/11/2013.
CHAPTER 3
THE YEAR AHEAD – 2013–14
ASAC members have agreed on the following issues as Council priorities in 2013-14:
STATISTICAL DIRECTIONS AND PRIORITIES
Over the next 12 months the Council will advise the Statistician and the Minister on statistical services and priorities on the ABS work program for 2013-14 to 2016-17. In addition, the Council will advise the ABS on the directions and priorities it should be considering to enable it to remain relevant as Australia’s National Statistical Organisation (NSO) in the longer term. The Council will continue to engage with members of international statistics committees to gain insights into priorities and risks facing other NSOs around the world.
ABS FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY
The Council will continue to monitor and advise the ABS in support of its critical statistical infrastructure transformation program and the re-engineering of its business processes. ASAC recognises the ABS has ageing infrastructure and also recognises these systems are becoming increasingly fragile and put at risk the output of key official statistics as well as the world class reputation of the ABS. Given the current ABS budget situation, the Council recognises that the ABS will require additional capital investment by Government in order to mitigate the risk to official statistics.
NATIONAL STATISTICAL SERVICE
ASAC will continue to lead discussions on the need for a national approach to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Australia’s official statistical system. A key focus for next year will be the development of a business case for reform to Australia’s statistical system and the development of a forward-looking national statistics policy, both of which stem from agreement gained at high level workshops looking at ways to improve Australia’s official statistical system.
In addition, the Council will continue to work closely with the ABS to support the next phases of the Essential Statistical Assets for Australia initiative. The focus has now shifted to the quality assessment phase and identifying Australia’s Essential Statistical Infrastructure (ESI). The quality assessment phase will assess each essential statistical asset against each of the seven dimensions of quality outlined in the ABS’s Data Quality Framework, while the ESI phase will identify the underlying statistical infrastructure that are essential to generating the statistical assets on the list.
COAG INITIATIVES AND REFORM
The Council will continue to monitor and support the statistical aspects of COAG initiatives. ASAC will keep abreast of the reform program across Commonwealth and State and Territory governments, and provide advice aimed at ensuring that needs are considered in the context of overall statistical priorities.
CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING
The Council will continue to assist the ABS with preparations for a predominately digital Census of Population and Housing in 2016. The Council will provide feedback and advice on developments for the 2016 Census and on the responses from the public consultation on topics for inclusion in the next Census.
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