FEATURE ABS RELEASES


Publications

Measures of Australia's Progress: Summary Indicators, 2009. (cat. no 1383.0.55.001)

The past decades have seen growing public interest in assessing whether life in Australia and other countries is getting better, and whether the level of (or pace of improvement in) quality of life can be sustained into the future.

Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP) provides a concise selection of statistical evidence that will allow Australians to make their own assessment of whether life in Australia is getting better. MAP is not intended as a substitute for the full array of statistics - indeed, the ABS hopes that many readers will be led to read other ABS publications on the aspects of society, the economy and the environment that particularly interest them.

A sample of findings include:

• An increased life expectancy; children born in 2007 were expected to live 3 years longer than those born in 1997.
• Between 1997-98 and 2007-2008, GDP per person grew by 2.2% a year on average.
• In 2006 Australia's total net greenhouse gas emissions were 1% below the level of 2005 but 4.2% higher than the level of 1990.
• Between 1993 and 2005, the proportion of households that were the victim of a household crime (an actual or attempted break-in or motor vehicle theft) fell from 8.3% to 6.2%, after remaining at about 9% in 1998 and 2002

ABS Data Quality Framework, May 2009 (cat. no. 1520.0)

Under the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975, the Australian Statistician is responsible for formulating standards for the undertaking of operations for statistical purposes. The purpose of this paper is to provide information on the Australian Bureau of Statistics Data Quality Framework (ABS DQF). This framework provides the standards for assessing and reporting on the quality of statistical information. It is a tool which improves a user's ability to:

• decide whether a dataset or statistical product is fit for purpose (which in turn helps to identify data gaps);
• assess the data quality of seemingly similar collections; and
• interpret data.

It can also assist those developing statistical collections to produce high quality outputs.

The ABS Data Quality Framework is designed for use by a range of data users and providers in different settings, including government agencies, statistical agencies and independent research agencies. For example, the ABS DQF will be used to assess the quality of performance indicator data linked to a number of National Agreements in key policy areas signed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in late 2008.
Australian Social Trends, March 2009 (cat no. 4102.0)

This is the first of four issues of Australian Social Trends for 2009. This publication is now available quarterly after being issued annually from 1994 to 2008. The March 2009 issue features articles about Australia's ageing population, including future population trends, retirement and superannuation. There are eight articles in all, covering these and a range of other topics such as marriage and partnering, mental health and use of renewable energy.

Australian Social Trends will continue to be based on the ABS Wellbeing Framework and in the course of a year, articles will cover a wide range of areas of social concern such as: population, family and community, health, education and training, work, economic resources, housing, crime and justice, culture and leisure, environment, religion, transport and communication. The spreadsheets of key statistics will be updated on a rolling basis, with updates to the population spreadsheets, and the education and training spreadsheets planned for the next issue in June 2009.
Other Information

Statistical Literacy - Information paper

Published as a feature article in the March 2009 issue of Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators (cat. no. 1307.6), this information paper provides an overview of statistical literacy and why it is important, as well as outlining a set of criteria for being statistical literate. These include:

• Data awareness
• The ability to understand statistical concepts
• The ability to analyse, interpret and evaluate statistical information
• The ability to communicate statistical information and understandings

NatStats08 conference: speaker presentations now available.

Approximately 460 delegates from the statistical community across Australia met for the first time at the NatStats08 conference in Melbourne on 19 - 21 November, 2008.

The breadth of representation from international and national speakers and participants from the government, business, community and the university sectors, ensured the event was a success, and that discussion was relevant and buoyant.

The conference participants prepared a declaration to guide the development of a national statistics strategy for Australia in the 21st century.

Speaker presentations are available through the National Statistical Services website