ABORIGINAL / TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER ORIGIN
JUSTIFICATION
The Census is the only comprehensive source of small area socio-demographic data on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The main purpose of this question is to determine the number and distribution of people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
In all Censuses prior to 1971 respondents were asked to state their race and, where race was mixed, to specify the proportions of each. In the 1971 and 1976 Censuses a question with response categories of 'European', 'Aboriginal', 'Torres Strait Islander' and 'other', was included. Since 1981, a specific question has been asked to identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Since 1976, measures have been adopted to obtain as complete a coverage as possible of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. These include specific Census awareness activities, greater use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, greater involvement of Indigenous organisations, and better coordination of the related field operations. In remote areas, interview forms have been used to facilitate the enumeration of these groups. These measures will be continued and improved for the 2011 Census.
For the 2006 Census, a question on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin was asked for people who were temporarily absent from the dwelling, aimed at improving coverage.
USER REQUIREMENTS
Data about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are required:
- by Australian government, state and territory departments responsible for the development of policies for Indigenous people in such fields as housing, health services, education, welfare and special assistance programs
- by the Commonwealth Grants Commission, for use in the allocation of funds to the states and territories for these populations
- by a wide range of research institutions and policy areas, to quantify and describe the circumstances of Indigenous people in contemporary society
- by the Productivity Commission, for their regular report, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators, commissioned by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), which documents the impact of government policies on overcoming Indigenous disadvantage.
Users are keen to obtain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population figures which are comparable from one Census to the next.
AVAILABILITY OF NON-CENSUS DATA
There have been some improvements in recent years in the availability of data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from relevant federal and state government authorities. However, the available data are still limited in coverage and quality.
Data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are available from some ABS household surveys. However, because of sample sizes, surveys do not provide reliable data for small areas and small groups of the population. The following surveys are relevant to the topic:
POSSIBLE CHANGES FOR 2011
Wording of the question may be revised to include the word 'Australian' prior to 'Aboriginal' (i.e. 'Australian Aboriginal' rather than 'Aboriginal') in order to reduce the incidence of reporting from Aboriginal people of non-Australian origin.
2006 CENSUS QUESTION
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