INTRODUCTION
Birth registrations classify a birth as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin (Indigenous) where at least one parent identifies themselves as being of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or both origins on the birth registration statement. Fertility rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women refer to births to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers. Due to data quality concerns and the small number of Torres Strait Islander births, data in this publication are presented by aggregated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.
This chapter reports on the characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births and fertility rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in each state and territory, except for the Australian Capital Territory, due to small numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births in the Australian Capital Territory are reported in table 3.1.
Some births of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are not identified as such when they are registered. Data presented in this chapter may therefore underestimate the level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births and fertility in Australia. Lags in registrations may also affect reliability of measures of fertility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Caution should be exercised when interpreting data presented in this chapter, especially with regard to year-to-year changes.
Further care should be taken when interpreting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians data for Queensland for 2009, as this data may have been affected by the 'Retrospective Births Project' undertaken by the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (see paragraph 38 of the Explanatory Notes for more information).
Quality Declaration 
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