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Review of Components

The remainder of this chapter reviews the activities and achievements of each component of the Population and Social Statistics program during 2004–05.

CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING

The Census of Population and Housing component develops and conducts the five-yearly Census of Population and Housing. The results, together with measures of the census undercount, are used to revise population estimates for each of the states and territories, and to provide detailed statistics on Australia’s population and its housing within small geographic areas and for small groups within the population. These statistics are used for electoral purposes, for the distribution of government funds, and for a variety of planning, administration, policy and research activities of government, business and other users.

Achievements during the year included:

• approval of the 2006 Census topics by the Australian Government
  
• completion of enumeration plans for each state and territory and for special population groups, particularly Indigenous people
  
• development of infrastructure, and preparation of materials to support enumeration activities including procedures, training, recruitment and pay systems, field communications and transport of materials
  
• release of Discussion Paper: Enhancing the Population Census: Developing a Longitudinal View (cat. no. 2060.0) accompanied by a series of seminars and meetings with interested parties seeking comment on the proposal of bringing census data together over time and with other specified datasets
  
• conduct of a major test of 20,000 households in Victoria to test the integration of electronic with traditional census collection methods and question design
  
• completion of the first 2006 Census processing system integration test
  
• reaching an agreement with the Community and Public Sector Union on Data Processing Centre, Certified Agreement 2005–2007 for the 2006 Census
  
• successful testing of new imputation methodology for the 2006 Census
  
• release of Information Paper: 2006 Census of Population and Housing, ABS Views on Census Output Strategy (cat. no. 2009.0), accompanied by a series of meetings with potential data users seeking views on dissemination options for the 2006 Census
  
• delivery of a prototype Internet based dissemination system
  
• further progress made on the eCensus Project, a project which enables Australians to submit their 2006 Census forms electronically.
  

• assessment of the quality of the Geocoded National Address File (GNAF) released by Public Sector Mapping Agencies Australia Ltd, and provision of recommendations for its continuous improvement
  
• development of a web service geographical coder (addresscoder@abs) for matching addresses to the GNAF and assigning them a standard geographical code
  
• design and development of Mesh Blocks, a new micro level of Australian statistical geography. Mesh Blocks will be implemented in the 2006 Census of Population and Housing outputs and in other statistical outputs where appropriate
  
• quarterly releases of National Localities Index, Australia (cat. no. 1252.0.55.001) on the ABS web site. This is the ABS statistical local area coding tool soon to be replaced by addresscoder@abs
  
• development of the Geographic Information System infrastructure and management of the design of census Collection Districts for the 2006 Census of Population and Housing.
  

• quarterly releases of population estimates for Australia, states and territories in Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0) with improved timeliness of the December Quarter 2004 issue for use under A New Tax System (Commonwealth–State Financial Relations) Act 1999
  
• conduct of the annual Population Estimates Technical Workshop with representatives of each state and territory government to explain and discuss methodological issues associated with the compilation of population estimates for use under A New Tax System (Commonwealth–State Financial Relations) Act 1999
  
• release of Information Paper: Determining Seats in the House of Representatives — Legislative Requirements for Provision of ABS Statistics (cat. no. 3107.0.55.002), describing the current requirements under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 for ABS population estimates to be provided to the Electoral Commissioner for use in determining representation of the states and territories in the House of Representatives
  
• conduct of an external Review of ABS Population Estimates and Processes by Dr Douglas Norris of Statistics Canada
  
• release of Demography Working Paper 2004/3 — Calculating Experimental Life Tables for Use in Population Estimates and Projections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (cat. no. 3106.0.55.003)
  
• release of Experimental Estimates and Projections, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 1991 to 2009 (cat. no. 3238.0)
  
• conduct of a review of the conceptual basis and commencement of methodological development work for estimating net overseas migration accounting for frequent border crossing patterns of both long term visitors to Australia and Australian residents living overseas long term
  
• release of additional seasonally adjusted and trend statistical series and commentary for short-term visitor arrivals by country of residence and short-term resident departures by country of destination in Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia (cat. no. 3401.0)
  
• provision of demographic methods advice to the Productivity Commission in support of the Economic Implications of an Ageing Australia Research Report
  
• investigation and assessment of alternative methods for estimating net undercount in the 2006 Census of Population and Housing with a specific emphasis on Indigenous communities and remote areas.
  

• publication of feature articles in Australian Labour Market Statistics (cat. no. 6105.0) on topics including: mature-age people and the labour force; part-time and full-time labour force participation; people who work few hours; job search experience; and health, disability, age and labour force participation
  
• publication of statistics on employee earnings, hours and methods of setting pay in Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0)
  
• completion of a major review of ABS statistics on working arrangements
  
• release of Information Paper: Questionnaires Used in the Labour Force Survey (cat. no. 6232.0) detailing the major underlying concepts and questions used in the Labour Force Survey, including recent changes made to the questionnaire
  
• implementation of computer assisted interviewing in the monthly Labour Force Survey
  
• release of confidentialised unit record files and accompanying technical papers on the Remote Access Data Laboratory from the Survey of Employment and Unemployment Patterns and the Survey of Employment Arrangements and Superannuation.
  

• enumeration of the 2004–05 National Health Survey, with results due for release in early 2006
  
• release of several web-based publications and articles:
  
  • Musculoskeletal Conditions in Australia: A Snapshot (cat. no. 4823.0.55.001)
    
  • Cancer in Australia: A Snapshot (cat. no. 4822.0.55.001)
    
  • Mental Health in Australia: A Snapshot (cat. no. 4824.0.55.001)
    
  • Injury in Australia: A Snapshot (cat. no. 4825.0.55.001)
    
  • Characteristics of People Reporting Good or Better Health (cat. no. 4828.0.55.001)
    
  • Health of Children (cat. no. 4829.0.55.001)
    
  • The Health of Older People, Australia (cat. no. 4827.0.55.001)
    
  • Private Hospitals, Australia (cat. no. 4390.0)
    
• release of Causes of Death, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0); and Suicides: Recent Trends, Australia (cat. no. 3309.0.55.001)
  
• release of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings (cat. no. 4430.0); Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Disability and Long Term Health Conditions, 2003 (cat. no. 4430.0.55.001); and Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Caring in the Community (cat. no. 4430.0.55.003)
  
• contribution to international work in the development of health and disability statistics by assisting international organisations in the development of international standards and provision of training on issues relating to the collection of disability statistics for countries in the Asia/Pacific region (through the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific).
  

• release of the Information Development Plan for the sector, Information Paper: Measuring Learning in Australia — Plan to Improve the Quality, Coverage and Use of Education and Training Statistics (cat. no. 4231.0)
  
• release of Information Paper: Measuring Learning in Australia: Dictionary of Standards for Education and Training Statistics (cat. no. 4232.0.55.001)
  
• progressing the work program of the National Education and Training Statistics Unit for 2003–04 to 2005–06, which includes projects to review the ABS school apparent retention rates, develop a skills and qualifications profile, develop quality statistics on early childhood education, and develop indicators for labour market outcomes
  
• enumeration of the 2005 Survey of Education and Training
  
• development and testing towards a 2006 Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey as part of an international round of surveys being coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, jointly funded by the ABS, DEST and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
  

• release of the national Information Development Plan for crime and justice which identifies key crime and justice issues, the data sources available to address those issues, and suggested strategies to address data gaps and deficiencies
  
• release of Sexual Assault in Australia: A Statistical Overview (cat. no. 4523.0)
  
• development of the 2005 Personal Safety Survey, including conduct of a pilot test and dress rehearsal in preparation for the enumeration from August to November 2005
  
• development and enumeration of the 2005 National Crime and Safety Survey
  
• commencement of a review of national crime surveys, with input from key stakeholders, with a view to developing and implementing a new model for collecting indicators of crime and safety, taking account of the key information needs, and frequency required.
  

• enumeration of the 2004–05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, with results due for release in February 2006
  
• release of a confidentialised unit record file from the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey providing users with the capacity to analyse the survey results by detailed data item and across state and sub-state geography
  
• recruitment of Indigenous Engagement Managers for ABS regional offices in each state and in the Northern Territory and are a crucial element in the implementation of an ABS Indigenous Community Engagement Strategy
  
• ongoing support for a wide range of clients in accessing and analysing Indigenous statistics from ABS and administrative collections, including the 2005 reports released by the Coalition of Australian Governments: ‘Review of Government Services’; and ‘Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage’.
  

• publication of Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0)
  
• finalisation of a restricted dataset from the 2003–04 Household Income and Expenditure Survey for use in rebenchmarking the Consumer Price Index
  
• publication of Housing Occupancy and Costs, Australia, 2002–03 (cat. no. 4130.0.55.001); a web-based release which provides information on housing costs such as rates, mortgage and rent payments
  
• release of confidentialised unit record files from the 2002–03 Survey of Income and Housing.
  

• publication of Family Characteristics, Australia (cat. no. 4442.0)
  
• release of confidentialised unit record files from the 2002 General Social Survey
  
• release of confidentialised unit record files on the ABS Remote Access Data Laboratory from both the 1999 and 2002 cycles of the Child Care Survey
  
• development and enumeration of a June 2005 Child Care Survey
  
• development of a November 2005 Pregnancy and Work Survey.
  

• analysis of participation in sport for both adults and children using multivariate techniques to assess a range of social, demographic, and other leisure participation factors
  
• release of Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview (cat. no. 4172.0), which is a companion publication for the compendia on sport statistics released in 2003–04
  
• release of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities, Australia (cat. no. 6281.0); and Involvement in Organised Sport and Physical Activity, Australia (cat. no. 6285.0)
  
• release of a report on Volunteers in Sport, including a brief review of literature on this topic
  
• development of new survey questions to explore barriers and motivators of sport participation, including a literature review on this topic
  
• release of a paper assessing the feasibility for establishing a Sport and Recreation Satellite Account
  
• investigation of user data requirements in the area of migrant statistics with a view to establishing an ABS work program in this area in future years.
  

• expansion of the National Regional Profile on the ABS web site to provide a time series of headline indicators for Australia’s regions
  
• agreement reached, by the Rural and Regional Statistics Advisory Group, of future statistical priorities as identified in the Regional Statistics Information Development Plan
  
• provision of statistical support to the Department of Transport and Regional Services on the design and population of a regional evaluation framework for assessing the status of regions
  
• release of Perspectives on Regional Australia: Women’s Employment in Urban, Rural and Regional Australia, 2001 Census (cat. no. 1380.0.55.001); and Information Paper: Experimental Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas, Taxation and Income Support Data, 1995–96 to 2000–01 (cat. no. 6524.0).
  

• release of a series of Mature Age Persons Statistical Profile: Living Arrangements (cat. no. 4905.0.55.001) to provide an insight into the characteristics of mature age persons
  
• contribution to the development of standards, definitions and terminologies relevant to ageing
  
• the production of a regular newsletter and ABS web site theme page on ageing issues.
  

• progress in the development of the Children and Youth Information Development Plan (IDP). The IDP will highlight the priority data demands in this field of statistics, the associated supply of data, and the key data gaps and deficiencies. In turn, this will shape the direction of statistical development activities for children and youth statistics
  
• release of Information Paper: Children and Youth Information Development Plan — Project Plan (cat. no. 4909.0); Information Paper: Key Issues Relating to Children and Youth (cat. no. 4908.0); and Information Paper: Field of Children and Youth Statistics (cat. no. 4910)
  
• involvement in a range of significant statistical development activities, including Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth initiatives and the ‘A Picture of Australia’s Children’ project
  
• signing a Memorandum of Understanding between FaCS, the AIFS and the ABS in relation to the management of LSAC, and undertaking a range of survey services for wave 2 of LSAC.
  

• release of Measures of Australia’s Progress: Summary Indicators (cat. no. 1383.0.55.001) — a new annual electronic publication which complements the biennial Measures of Australia’s Progress (cat. no. 1370.0) and presents an update of the headline dimensions (and the headline indicators within those dimensions) covering the key areas of economic, social and environmental progress in Australia
  
• release of Australian Social Trends (cat. no. 4102.0) — an annual flagship publication containing articles on contemporary social issues and a range of social statistics showing the changes that have taken place in various areas of social concern (such as health, work, and family and community).
  

• production and release of an annual state publication encompassing key areas of economic and social importance in New South Wales in Focus (cat. no. 1338.1)
  

• release of 2001 Census data compiled for the Best Start project which describes a range of characteristics of Victorian children (0–8 years) to the Victorian ABS@consultancy container
  

• release of Research Paper: Workplace Functions in Regional Labour Markets, Queensland 1976 to 2001 (cat. no. 6601.3)
  
• release of an article ‘2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey’ for Queensland in Review on the ABS web site
  

• research and publication of a range of analytical articles in the Western Australia Statistical Indicators publication in response to identified Western Australia Government statistical priorities
  

• contribution to a South Australian profile compiled by a not for profit organisation which has a collaborative arrangement with the state government
  
• development of feature article style publication SA Stats (cat. no. 1345.4)
  

• review and development of substantial new non-ABS content for the web-based releases of Statistics — Tasmania and Regional Statistics
  

• development and release of the monthly feature article style publication ACT Stats (cat. no. 1344.8.55.001) covering different statistical topics of relevance to the Australian Capital Territory community.
  

• quality assessment of 50 non-ABS datasets from 27 agencies (state and national)
  
• agency approval for the use of datasets in the Families First Outcomes evaluation, New South Wales Regional Profile, and New South Wales in Focus (cat. no. 1338.1)
  
• agency approval for loading of dataset metadata to the ABS Directory of Statistical Sources from 13 agencies
  
• contributing to discussion on data gaps and as a result further developing state data holdings
  

• data confrontation exercise examining the quality of birth statistics for Victoria
  

• assessment of a range of ABS and non-ABS administrative datasets for use in intercensal population estimates for the Queensland Aboriginal Councils and Islander Council areas
  

• assessment of average water use, perinatal statistics and hospital separations data
  
• continued research on the development of an inventory of state government data holdings
  

• a review of hospital separation data
  
• agency needs analyses for the Attorney General’s Department and the Department of Water, Land, Biodiversity and Conservation
  

• assessment of 21 non-ABS datasets covering the fields of climate, labour force, education and training, income, law and public safety, health, transport, housing, agriculture and fisheries, mining and energy, and tourism
  

• release of a joint publication with the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care: Older People, New South Wales (cat. no. 4108.1)
  
• data collection, evaluation, and the production of a number of reports to be released in October 2005 utilising the Families First Outcomes Framework
  
• development of a State Supplementary Survey on Housing Choices culminating in the release of Housing Choices, NSW (cat. no. 3240.1) and additional tables for New South Wales Housing
  

• provision of advice to the Department of Human Services regarding the development of a data dictionary for an integrated data collection on homelessness, and to the Office of Senior Victorians to assist with developing a series of wall charts about older people
  
• provision of outposted ABS officers to the Department of Treasury and Finance to assist with improving the flow and quality of government finance statistics; and to the Departments of Premier and Cabinet, Treasury and Finance, Sustainability and Environment, Infrastructure and Victorian Communities to provide statistical advice and support
  
• support to the Victorian Community Indicators Project by conducting a stocktake of existing local community indicator projects and initial identification of existing data sources that might be used to populate new community indicators
  

• development of a State Supplementary Survey on Housing Motivations and Intentions culminating in the release of the publication Housing Motivations and Intentions, Queensland (cat. no. 8710.3.55.001)
  
• coordinating ongoing consultation between the ABS and other government agencies for the Fitzroy Land Parcel Frame Trial
  
• development of a paper ‘Queensland Seniors: Ageing Well?’ presented at the Council of the Ageing and National Seniors Association symposium
  
• provision of outposted ABS officers to: the Queensland Government to assist with survey design, collection and analysis of the new Environmental Profile Survey; the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries to investigate improvements of survey methodology and data comparisons between states for fisheries data; and to the Office of Economic and Statistical Research to facilitate state government input to the 2005 state statistical priorities process, and to provide statistical and coordination support for collaborative projects and consultations
  

• development of a State Supplementary Survey on Home Safety and Security
  
• assessment of the impact of rising house prices on the Western Australia economy
  
• review of the Western Australia housing projections
  
• provision of outposted ABS officers to: the Western Australia Police Service; the Ministry for Justice in Western Australia; the Office for Children and Youth; and the Across Government Domestic Violence Working Group to assist with strategic projects such as: data quality improvement; developing statistical frameworks and reporting mechanisms; and production of statistical indicator publications
  

• creation of a joint unit with the South Australian Government working on statistical projects informing government policy
  
• development of competitiveness indicators, custom industry profiles, and measures to assess progress against the South Australian Strategic Plan
  
• creation of a land sales and land valuation dataset for Australia with disaggregation to regional levels
  
• a report on South Australian children and youth
  
• investigation of merging agricultural commodity data with estimated irrigation water usage to provide a complete picture of irrigation by water management region
  
• analysis of data from the State Supplementary Survey of Domestic Use of Water and Energy
  

• provision of outposted ABS officers to: the Department of Police and Public Safety; the Department of Justice; the Department of Health and Human Services; and the Department of Treasury and Finance, for assistance in strategic projects such as improving data comparability and quality, developing statistical metadata and reporting frameworks
  
• analysis of Tasmanian employment by industry labour force estimates to assist the Department of Treasury and Finance in assessing the volatility of the estimates
  
• commencement of a scoping study into the possibility of producing, or facilitating, the collection of interstate trade data for use by the Department of Treasury and Finance
  

• completion of a review and provision of feedback to the Northern Territory Department of Education, Employment and Training on regional labour markets, including workforce trends, labour force data and skills profiles
  
• completion of an outposted ABS officer to Arts Northern Territory which resulted in a field tested questionnaire available for use in collecting information on the point-of-sale value of Indigenous visual arts and crafts
  

• provision of outposted ABS officers for work on the Australian Capital Territory Spatial Plan and Digital Divide.
  

• ongoing development of an Emergency Management Information Development Plan by way of a working group consisting of all state and territory emergency services agencies as well as relevant Australian government departments and agencies
  

• review of the Victorian Statistics Advisory Forum and the implementation of associated recommendations aimed at improving the extent to which this group represents a whole of state government view in providing input to the ABS
  
• organisation and presentation of a number of training courses to assist clients to understand statistics available and how statistics can be used
  

• investigation of the Australian Taxation Office Business Activity Statements for use as indicators of regional business performance
  

• continued research on the development of an inventory of state government data holdings
  

• continuing development of indicators for the state strategic plan
  

• development of a set of headline indicators and the provision of strategic advice on the development of a Tasmanian community survey
  
• finalisation of a framework for Tasmanian participation in the National Data Network
  

• the provision of an ongoing outposted ABS officer to Northern Territory Treasury to facilitate statistical coordination across the Northern Territory Government, including providing support to the Northern Territory Statistical Liaison Committee, and to manage discrete project work such as progressing improvements in Indigenous identification in the Northern Territory Government’s personnel system
  
• the formation of a Statistical Priorities Advisory Committee within the Northern Territory Government to identify whole-of-Northern Territory Government strategic directions and consequent data needs
  
• working with the Northern Territory Government to obtain a high level of cooperation with the 2006 Census, resulting in the appointment of a Research Projects Manager (Census) in the Northern Territory Treasury to progress this work within the Northern Territory Government
  
• obtaining agreement from non-ABS agencies to load their metadata from specified data collections on to the proposed Caretaker’s Directory of Statistical Sources
  

• continued progression of a whole of government Information Development Plan
  
• development of an implementation plan for the Disability Housing and Community Services Information Development Plan.