Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results methodology

Person's age in years last birthday.

Households that receive income from age pensions or Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) service pension, as well as additional cash allowances such as rent assistance. Age pensions are a component of social assistance benefits in cash.

Allocated pensions (also known as account-based pensions) are a regular income stream paid by superannuation funds. The value of the pension is calculated based on the amount of money accumulated in people’s superannuation accounts and varies depending on the investment earnings of the fund.

An entity of a financial or non-financial nature, owned by the household or its members, and from which economic benefits may be derived by holding or use over a period of time.

The ASGS came into effect in July 2011 to replace the Australian Statistical Geographical Classification (ASGC). The ASGS provides a common framework of statistical geography used by the ABS to enable the publication of statistics that are comparable and spatially integrated. Its purpose is to outline the conceptual basis of Mesh Blocks, the regions of the main structure and the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas and their relationships to each other. For further information refer to Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001) and https://www.abs.gov.au/geography.

The ASGC was replaced by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) in July 2011. For further information refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0) and https://www.abs.gov.au/geography.

Value obtained by dividing the estimated weekly expenditure of a group of households by the estimated number of households in the group.

Under the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Balance of State represents each state or territory not defined as Capital City. The ASGC has been replaced with Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), and areas outside Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are known as Rest of State. See definition of Rest of State.

A type of formal child care provided for school aged children before and/or after school during the school term. Some services also provide care on 'pupil free days'. The services usually make use of established facilities such as schools, community halls, and recreation centres.

The broadest level of the Household Expenditure Classification used in the 2015-16 publication. A list of the detailed expenditure items making up each broad expenditure group will be included in the 2015-16 User Guide.

A standard measure of housing utilisation that is sensitive to both household size and composition. Based on the following criteria used to assess bedroom requirements, households requiring at least one additional bedroom are considered to be overcrowded:

• there should be no more than two persons per bedroom;
• a household of one unattached individual may reasonably occupy a bed-sit (i.e. have no bedroom);
• couples and parents should have a separate bedroom;
• children less than five years of age, of different sexes, may reasonably share a room;
• children five years of age or over, of different sexes, should not share a bedroom;
• children less than 18 years of age and of the same sex may reasonably share a bedroom; and
• single household members aged 18 years or over should have a separate bedroom.
   

The CNOS variable on the file compares the number of bedrooms required with the actual number of bedrooms in the dwelling.

Capital city under the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) refers to Australia's six State capital city Statistical Divisions and the Darwin Statistical Division as defined in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). For the Australian Capital Territory the estimates relate predominantly to urban areas, and all of the Australian Capital Territory is defined as a capital city for this publication. Capital city estimates for the Northern Territory are not available on the CURF. The ASGC has been replaced with Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), see definition of Greater Capital City Statistical Area.

The international standard classification framework for classifying consumption expenditures on goods and services.

A general measure of price inflation for the household sector in Australia. Specifically, it provides a measure of changes, over time, in the cost of a constant basket of goods and services acquired by the capital city households in Australia.

This is a non-financial asset and comprises an estimated value of household contents. Examples include: clothing, jewellery, hobby collections, furniture, paintings and other works of art, soft furnishings and electrical appliances other than fixtures such as stoves and built-in items.

The cost, gross of Child Care Benefit and the Child Care Rebate, to parents for a child to attend care. In most cases, where the Child Care Benefit was paid directly to the child care service provider, the cost of care was directly collected in the survey. In a small number of cases, where the Child Care Benefit was not paid directly to the provider, the Child Care Benefit was estimated.

See One family households.

See One family households.

A one family household consisting of:

• one couple only;
• one couple, with their dependent and/or non-dependent children only;
• one couple, with or without children, plus other relatives; and
• one couple, with or without children and other relatives, plus unrelated individuals.
   

The amount owing on the respondent's latest credit card account statement (including any government, interest of financial institution charges). Includes amounts owing on specialised retail shopping cards as well as general credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard and store credit cards but excludes Visa and Mastercard debit only cards.

Income earned in the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Groupings that result from ranking all households or persons in the population in ascending order according to some characteristic such as their household income and then dividing the population into 10 equal groups, each comprising 10% of the estimated population.

All persons aged under 15 years; and persons aged 15–24 years who are full-time students, have a parent in the household and do not have a partner or child of their own in the household.

A notebook in which each person aged 15 years and over who was usually resident in the selected dwelling recorded his or her daily expenditure over two weeks.

Households that receive income from Carer allowance, Carer payment, Disability Pension Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) or Disability Support Pension.

Includes the Disability Support Pension, as well as additional cash allowances such as rent assistance. Disability support pension is a component of social assistance benefits in cash.

Gross income less income tax, the Medicare levy and the Medicare levy surcharge i.e. remaining income after taxes are deducted, which is available to support consumption and/or saving. Income tax, Medicare levy and the Medicare levy surcharge are imputed based on each person's income and other characteristics as reported in the survey. Disposable income is sometimes referred to as net income.

Defined as a suite of rooms contained within a building which are self-contained and intended for long-term residential use. To be self-contained the suite of rooms must possess cooking and bathing facilities as building fixtures. Examples of types of dwelling include: separate house; semi-detached, row or terrace house or townhouse; flat, unit, or apartment; and other dwelling, including caravan, cabin, houseboat, and house or flat attached to a shop.

The dwelling structure type is determined by the structure of the building that contains the dwelling. Households belong to one of four dwelling categories:

• separate house;
• semi-detached, row or terrace house or townhouse;
• flat, unit, or apartment; and
• other dwelling, including caravan or cabin in a caravan park, houseboat in a marina, caravan not in a caravan park, houseboat not in a marina and house or flat attached to a shop.
   

Persons aged 15 years and over who, during the week before the interview:

• worked one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (includes employees, employers and own account workers);
• worked one hour or more, without pay, in a family business or on a family farm; and
• had a job, business or farm but was not at work because of holidays, sickness or other reason.
   

An employed person who, for most of his/her working hours:

• works for a public or private employer and receives remuneration in wages or salary, or is paid a retainer fee by his/her employer and works on a commission basis, or works for an employer for tips, piece-rates or payment in kind; and
• operates their own incorporated enterprise with or without employees.
   

An employee's total remuneration, whether monetary or in kind, received as a return to labour from an employer or from a person's own incorporated business. It comprises wages and salaries, bonuses, amounts salary sacrificed, non-cash benefits such as the use of motor vehicles and subsidised housing, and termination payments.

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated business or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires one or more employees.

Can be applied to disposable household income and net worth to create equivalised disposable household income, equivalised household net worth and equivalised disposable household expenditure. Adjustments are made using an equivalence scale. Equivalence measures are used in some analyses to enable comparison of the relative economic wellbeing of households of different size and composition. For a lone person household, the equivalised value is equal to the original value, or equal to zero if the original value was negative. For a household comprising more than one person, it is an indicator of the level that would be needed by a lone person household to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing as the household in question.

For more information on the process of equivalisation, see the Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide, Australia (cat. no. 6503.0).

A factor that can be used to adjust the actual incomes of households in a way that enables analysis of the relative wellbeing of households of different size and composition. The equivalising factor included on the file has been calculated using the 'modified OECD' equivalence scale. The factor is built up by allocating points to each person in a household. Taking the first adult in the household as having a weight of 1 point, each additional person who is 15 years or older is allocated 0.5 points, and each child under the age of 15 is allocated 0.3 points. The equivalence factor is the sum of the equivalence points allocated to the household members. Equivalised household income can be derived by dividing total household income by the equivalence factor.

Note that for large households, the equivalence factors included on the CURF file are based on the household size after it has been reduced to the maximum size allowable on each CURF.

Disposable household expenditure adjusted using an equivalence scale. For a lone person household it is equal to disposable household expenditure. For a household comprising more than one person, it is an indicator of the disposable household expenditure that would need to be received by a lone person household to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing as the household in question.

Disposable household income adjusted using an equivalence scale. For a lone person household it is equal to disposable household income. For a household comprising more than one person, it is an indicator of the disposable household income that would need to be received by a lone person household to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing as the household in question.

The cost of goods and services acquired during the reference period for private use, whether or not the goods were paid for or consumed. Expenditure is net of refunds. For example, payments for health services are net of any refunds received or expected to be received. Expenditure is classified according to the Household Expenditure Classification which contains over 600 detailed items.

Two or more people, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who usually live in the same household. A separate family is formed for each married couple, or for each set of parent-child relationships where only one parent is present.

Classifies households into three broad groupings based on the number of families present (one family, multiple family and non-family). One family households are further disaggregated according to the type of family (such as couple family or one-parent family) and according to whether or not dependent children are present. Non-family households are disaggregated into lone person households and group households.

A type of formal child care provided by experienced caregivers in their own homes, available for a full day or part day. Schemes are administered and supported by central coordination units.

Households that receive income from Baby Bonus, Paid Parental Leave, Dad and Partner Pay, Family Tax Benefits, Parenting Payments or Schoolkids bonus.

Includes Family Tax Benefit (both Part A and Part B) payments received fortnightly, as well as additional cash allowances such as rent assistance. It also includes one-off payments to families.

An asset whose value arises not from its physical existence (as would a building, piece of land, or capital equipment) but from a contractual relationship. Financial assets are mostly financial claims (with the exception of shares and value of own unincorporated business). Financial claims entitle the owner to receive a payment, or a series of payments, from an institutional unit to which the owner has provided funds. Examples include accounts held with financial institutions (including offset accounts), ownership of an incorporated business, shares, debentures and bonds, trusts, superannuation funds, and loans to other persons.

A range of items which provide a subjective measure of the household's economic wellbeing. One person in each household was asked to provide assessments of the current household's circumstances. This person was randomly chosen from the reference person and spouse. Items include management of household income, present standard of living compared with two years ago, ability to raise emergency money, and a range of cash flow problems. For further information see the 2015-16 User Guide.

Includes all self-contained dwellings in blocks of flats, units or apartments. These dwellings do not have their own private grounds and usually share a common entrance foyer or stairwell. This category includes houses converted into flats and flats attached to houses such as granny flats. A house with a granny flat attached is regarded as a separate house.

Regulated child care away from the child's home. The main types of formal care are before and/or after school care, long day care, family day care, occasional care and vacation care.

Employed persons who usually work 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs).

A person 15 years or over who is classified as a full-time student by the institution they attend, or considers himself/herself to be a full-time student. Full-time study does not preclude employment.

A summary measure of inequality of income distribution. For more information see the 'Summary indicators of income distribution' section of Household Income and Wealth, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Income support payments from government to persons under social security and related government programs. Included are pensions and allowances received by aged, disabled, unemployed and sick persons, families and children, veterans or their survivors, and study allowances for students. All overseas pensions and benefits are included here, although some may not be paid by overseas governments.

The estimated market rent that a dwelling would attract if it were to be commercially rented.

Income from all sources, whether monetary or in kind, before income tax, the Medicare levy and the Medicare levy surcharge are deducted.

See Non-family household.

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs) represent the socio-economic extent of each of the eight state and territory capital cities. They include the people who regularly socialise, shop or work within the city, but live in the small towns and rural areas surrounding the city.

A person living alone or a group of related or unrelated people who usually live in the same private dwelling.

The expenditure classification used in the Household Expenditure Survey. In the 2015-16 survey it consists of over 600 items at the most detailed level. At the broadest level it consists of 20 broad expenditure groups. All broad groups are presented in this publication. A copy of the classification will be included in the 2015-16 User Guide.

Used to collect information on household characteristics, housing costs and household assets and liabilities.

The reference person for each household is chosen by applying, to all household members aged 15 years and over, the selection criteria below, in the order listed, until a single appropriate reference person is identified:

• the person with the highest tenure when ranked as follows: owner without a mortgage, owner with a mortgage, renter, other tenure;
• one of the partners in a registered or de facto marriage, with dependent children;
• one of the partners in a registered or de facto marriage, without dependent children;
• a lone parent with dependent children;
• the person with the highest income; and
• the eldest person.
   

Housing costs for the purposes of the publication Housing Occupancy and Costs, Australia (cat. no. 4130.0), comprise the following costs for the three different tenure type categories:

• rent payments;
• rates payments (general and water); and
• mortgage or unsecured loan payments if the initial purpose was primarily to buy, build, add to, or alter the dwelling.
   

Some additional items relating to housing costs are available to enable alternative estimates of housing costs to be constructed. See the User Guide (cat. no. 6503.0) for alternative measures of housing costs included on the files.

The total weekly housing costs of a group (e.g. one parent households) are divided by the total weekly income of that group expressed as a percentage.

See Net imputed rent and Gross imputed rent.

Income consists of all current receipts, whether monetary or in kind, that are received by the household or by individual members of the household, and which are available for, or intended to support, current consumption.
Income includes receipts from:

• wages and salaries and other receipts from employment (whether from an employer or own incorporated enterprise), including income provided as part of salary sacrificed and/or salary package arrangements;
• profit/loss from own unincorporated business (including partnerships);
• net investment income (interest, rent, dividends, royalties);
• government pensions and allowances (includes pensions and allowances from Commonwealth and State and Territory governments as well as pensions from overseas); and
• private transfers (e.g. superannuation, workers' compensation, income from annuities, child support, and financial support received from family members not living in the same household).
   

Gross income is the sum of the income from all these sources before income tax, the Medicare levy and the Medicare levy surcharge are deducted. Other measures of income are Disposable income and Equivalised disposable household income.

Note that child support and other transfers from other households are not deducted from the incomes of the households making the transfers.

See Taxes on income.

One person or a group of related persons within a household, whose command over income is assumed to be shared. Income sharing is assumed to take place within married (registered or de facto) couples, and between parents and dependent children.

The male partner in a couple income unit, the parent in a one parent income unit and the person in a one person income unit.

Used to collect information from each person aged 15 years and over on individual details such as income, personal assets, education and labour force status.

Coded for all employed people aged 15 years and over, using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).

Non-regulated child care, arranged by a child's parent/guardian, either in the child's home or elsewhere. It comprises care by (step) brothers or sister, care by grandparents, care by other relatives (including a parent living elsewhere) and care by other (unrelated) people such as friends, neighbours, nannies or babysitters. It may be paid or unpaid.

Income received as a result of ownership of assets. It comprises returns from financial assets (interest, dividends), and from non-financial assets (rent and royalties).

Classifies all people aged 15 years and over according to whether they were employed, unemployed or not in the labour force.

For renters, the type of entity to whom rent is paid or with whom the tenure contract or arrangement is made. Renters are classified to one of the following categories:

• state/territory housing authority-where the household pays rent to a state or territory housing authority or trust;
• private landlords-where the household pays rent to a real estate agent or to another person not in the same household;
• person in the same household-where the unit pays rent to a person who resides in the same household; and
• other-where the household pays rent to the owner/manager of a caravan park, an employer (including a government authority), a housing cooperative, a community or church group, or any other body not included elsewhere.
   

A liability is an obligation which requires one unit (the debtor) to make a payment or a series of payments to the other unit (the creditor) in certain circumstances specified in a contract between them.

A lease arrangement in which the tenant has the right to occupy the dwelling for an indefinite or unspecified period.

A form of liability that is created when creditors lend funds directly to debtors. Examples include an overdraft from a bank, money lent by a building society with a mortgage over a property as collateral, and personal loans.

See Non-family household.

People with low economic resources (i.e. low consumption possibilities) are those in households in the lowest two quintiles (i.e. 40%) of both equivalised disposable household income and equivalised household net worth.

Low income households are defined as households in the lowest equivalised disposable household income quintile, excluding the 1st and 2nd percentiles (i.e. the 3rd to 20th percentiles inclusive). The 1st and 2nd percentiles are excluded due to the high wealth and expenditure characteristics those household exhibit, and the prevalence of income types other than employee income and government pensions and allowances.

Lower income households is a measure used in the publication Housing Occupancy and Costs, Australia (cat. no. 4130.0) that is defined as households in the lowest and second equivalised disposable household income quintiles, excluding the 1st and 2nd percentiles (i.e. the 3rd to 40th percentiles inclusive). The 1st and 2nd percentiles are excluded due to the high wealth and expenditure characteristics those household exhibit, and the prevalence of income types other than employee income and government pensions and allowances.

The income source from which the most positive income is received. If total income is nil or negative the main source is undefined. As there are several possible sources, the main source may account for less than 50% of gross income.

The total expenditure by a group of units divided by the number of units in the group. For more detail about household weighted and person weighted means, see the 'Explanatory Notes' section of this publication for more information.

The total weekly housing costs paid by a group of households (e.g. couple only households) divided by the number of households in that group.

The total income received by a group of units divided by the number of units in the group. For more detail about household weighted and person weighted means, see the 'Summary indicators of income distribution' section of Household Income and Wealth, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

The total or aggregate net worth of a group of units, divided by the number of units in the group. In this publication, the most common unit is the household.

That level of expenditure which divides the units in a group into two equal parts, one half having spending above the median and the other half spending below the median. For more detail about household weighted and person weighted medians, see the 'Explanatory Notes' section of this publication for more information.

That level of income which divides the units in a group into two equal parts, one half having incomes above the median and the other half having incomes below the median. For more detail about household weighted and person weighted medians, see the 'Summary indicators of income distribution' section of Household Income and Wealth, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

That level of net worth which divides the units in a group into two equal parts, one half having net worth above the median and the other half having net worth below the median.

The ratio of weekly housing costs to gross weekly income is calculated for each household. The median is the level of that ratio that divides a group of households into two equal parts, one half having the ratio above the median and the other half having the ratio below the median.

Medicare is Australia's universal health care system. The Medicare levy is a specific tax, based on individual income, intended to assist in the funding of this system.

The Medicare levy surcharge is a levy, or an additional tax, on Australian taxpayers who do not have an appropriate level of private hospital insurance and who are earning more than the specified income threshold.

The Metropolitan Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (Metro ARIA) is a geographic index of service accessibility in metropolitan areas developed by the Hugo Centre for Migration and Population Research, University of Adelaide.The index reflects the ease or difficulty people face accessing basic services within metropolitan areas, derived from the measurement of road distances people travel to reach different services. Further information regarding Metro ARIA and maps can be found via the following link: http://aurin.org.au/

A mortgage is a loan taken out using the usual residence as security. An owner with a mortgage must still owe money from such a loan.

A household containing two or more families. Unrelated individuals may also be present.

Expenditure may be negative if a household's receipts for a good or service (e.g. refunds, trade-ins, sales or successful insurance claims), over a specific period, exceeds the cost of acquisitions. For example, if a household sold a car in the previous 12 months and did not buy a replacement car or they bought a less expensive car, this household would report negative expenditure on cars

Income may be negative when a loss accrues to a household as an owner or partner in unincorporated businesses, rental properties or other investment income. Losses occur when operating expenses and depreciation are greater than gross receipts.

Net worth may be negative when household liabilities exceed household assets.

Gross imputed rent less housing costs. Net imputed rent is an estimate of the value of housing services that households receive from home ownership or by households paying subsidised rent or occupying their dwelling rent free. Housing costs for the purpose of calculating net imputed rent for owner-occupiers comprise:

• rates payments (general and water);
• body corporate fees;
• the interest component of repayments of loans that were obtained for the purposes of purchasing or building;
• rent payments;
• house insurance costs; and
• repair and maintenance costs.
   

Net imputed rent from subsidised public rentals is included as a social transfer in kind for housing.

Net worth is the value of a household's assets less the value of its liabilities. Net worth may be negative when household liabilities exceed household assets.

Persons aged 15 years and over who:

• do not have a spouse or offspring of their own in the household;
• have a parent in the household; and
• are not full-time students aged 15–24 years.
   

A household that consists of unrelated persons only. Non-family households are classified to one of the following categories:

• group household: a household consisting of two or more unrelated persons where all persons are aged 15 years and over. There are no reported couple relationships, parent-child relationships or other blood relationships in these households; and
• lone person household: a household consisting of a person living alone.
   

Non-financial assets are all assets other than financial assets. Examples include residential and non-residential property, household contents and vehicles.

Persons not in the categories employed or unemployed as defined.

Coded for all employed persons aged 15 years and over, using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) (cat. no. 1220.0).

A one family household is classified to one of the following categories:

• couple only - two persons in a registered or de facto marriage, who usually live in the same household;
• couple family with dependent children - a household consisting of a couple with at least one dependent child. The household may also include non-dependent children, other relatives and unrelated individuals;
• one parent family with dependent children - a household comprising a lone parent with at least one dependent child. The household may also include non-dependent children, other relatives and unrelated individuals; and
• other one family households - a household comprising:
  • one couple with their non-dependent children only;
  • one couple, with or without non-dependent children, plus other relatives;
  • one couple, with or without non-dependent children or other relatives, plus unrelated individuals;
  • a lone parent with his/her non-dependent children, with or without other relatives and unrelated individuals; and
  • two or more related individuals where the relationship is not a couple relationship or a parent-child relationship (e.g. two brothers).
     

See One family household.

A one family household comprising a lone parent with at least one dependent or non-dependent child. The household may also include other relatives and unrelated individuals.

Includes caravans, houseboats, or houses or flats attached to a shop or other commercial premise.

Income other than wages and salaries, own unincorporated business income and government pensions and allowances. This includes income received as a result of ownership of financial assets (interest, dividends), and of non-financial assets (rent, royalties) and other current receipts from sources such as superannuation, child support, workers' compensation and scholarships. Income from rent is net of operating expenses and depreciation and may be negative when these are greater than gross receipts.

Where the household pays rent to the owner/manager of a caravan park, an employer (including a government authority), a housing cooperative, a community or church group, or any other body not included elsewhere.

See One family households.

Households that receive income from other government pensions and allowances. These include overseas pensions and benefits, partner allowance, sickness allowance, special benefit, war widow pension (DVA), widow allowance, wife pensions, seniors supplement, and other government pensions and allowances.

Private income other than employee income, government pensions and allowance and income from own business. It includes superannuation, workers' compensation, child support and any other allowances regularly received as well as interest and property rent.

A household which is not an owner (with or without a mortgage), or a renter. Includes rent free.

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated business or engages independently in a profession or trade and hires no employees.

The profit/loss that accrues to persons as owners of, or partners in, unincorporated businesses. Profit/loss consists of the value of gross output of the business after the deduction of operating expenses (including depreciation). Losses occur when operating expenses are greater than gross receipts and are treated as negative income.

A household in which at least one member owns the dwelling in which the household members usually reside. Owners are divided into two categories: owners without a mortgage and owners with a mortgage. If there is any outstanding mortgage or loan secured against the dwelling the household is an owner with a mortgage. If there is no mortgage or loan secured against the dwelling the household is an owner without a mortgage.

An employed person who usually works less than 35 hours per week.

When all households or persons in the population are ranked from the lowest to the highest on the basis of some characteristic such as their household income, they can then be divided into equal sized groups. Division into 100 groups gives percentiles. The highest value of the characteristic in the tenth percentile is denoted P10. The median or the top of the 50th percentile is denoted P50. P20, P80 and P90 denote the highest values in the 20th, 80th and 90th percentiles. Ratios of values at the top of selected percentiles, such as P90/P10, are often called percentile ratios.

Percentile ratios summarise the relative distance between two points in a distribution. To illustrate the full spread of the income distribution, the percentile ratio needs to refer to points near the extremes of the distribution, for example, the P90/P10 ratio. The P80/P20 ratio better illustrates the magnitude of the range within which the income or net worth of the majority of households falls. The P80/P50 and P50/P20 ratios focus on comparing the ends of the income distribution with the midpoint.

Adjustment of estimates to disguise individual values without affecting the statistical validity of aggregate data.

Educational and developmental programs for children in the year (or in some jurisdictions, two years) before they begin full-time primary education.

Houses, flats, home units, caravans, garages, tents and other structures that are used as places of residence. These are distinct from special dwellings which include hotels, boarding houses and institutions.

Current receipts from private organisations and other households, including wages and salaries, income from own business, superannuation, workers' compensation, income from annuities, interest, dividends, royalties, income from rental properties, scholarships and child support.

A household paying rent to a landlord who is a real estate agent, a parent or other relative not in the same unit or another person not in the same unit.

Trusts other than public unit trusts. These include private unit trusts, fixed unit trusts, family trusts, charitable trusts and testamentary trusts.

All residential and non-residential properties owned by persons in the household, excluding properties owned by the respondent's business.

A household paying rent to a state or territory housing authority/trust.

Groupings that result from ranking all households or people in the population in ascending order according to some characteristic such as their household income or net worth and then dividing the population into five equal groups, each comprising 20% of the estimated population.

See Percentiles.

See Household reference person and Income unit reference person.

The standard error expressed as a percentage of the estimate for which it was calculated. It is a measure which is independent of both the size of the sample, and the unit of measurement and as a result, can be used to compare the reliability of different estimates. The smaller an estimate's RSE, the more likely it is that the estimate is a good proxy for that which would have been obtained if the whole population had been surveyed. For more information see the Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide, Australia (cat. no. 6503.0).

Repairs and maintenance refers to any work undertaken with the purpose of either preventing deterioration or repairing some aspect of the dwelling back to its original condition.

A household that pays rent to reside in the dwelling. See 'Landlord type' for further classification.

Under the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), Rest of State is any area not defined as being part of the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs). In the case of Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory however, there is no Rest of State balance.

An arrangement for the employer to remunerate the employee with a combination of cash wages and salaries and one or more non-cash benefits, to the value of the employee's total remuneration.

An arrangement under which an employee agrees contractually to forgo part of the remuneration, which the employee would otherwise receive as wages and salaries, in return for the employer or someone associated with the employer providing benefits of a similar value.

The private dwelling selected in the sample for the survey.

Selected superannuation contributions comprise:

• the compulsory employer contributions required under the Superannuation Guarantee. These values have been imputed as the minimum amount that employers must contribute to employees’ superannuation accounts (9.25% in 2013-14). Where possible, employee income that is not covered by this legislation (such as overtime) has been excluded;
• income salary sacrificed by employees into a superannuation account; and
• superannuation contributions from employers above the minimum compulsory payments.
   

After tax contributions by employees are not included.

Significant persons are defined as follows:

• all members of lone person or couple only households;
• all parents in a couple with children household or a single parent household;
• the person aged 15 years or over in a group household where one person is aged 15 years or over and the other members of the household are less than 15 years old; and
• 50% of the persons aged 15 years and over in all other households.
   

A measure of the likely difference between estimates obtained in a sample survey and estimates which would have been obtained if the whole population had been surveyed. The magnitude of the standard error associated with any survey is a function of sample design, sample size and population variability. For more information see the Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide, Australia (cat. no. 6553.0).

Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s) have been designed as the smallest unit for the release of Census data. SA1s generally have a population of 200 to 800 persons, and an average population of about 400 persons. They are built from whole Mesh Blocks and there are approximately 55,000 SA1s covering the whole of Australia.

Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s) are part of the ASGS and are used for the output of a variety of regional data, including the 2011 Census Data. There are 106 SA4s covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. They are built up from SA1s. In regional areas, SA4s tend to have populations of between 100,000 to 300,000 people. In metropolitan areas, SA4s tend to have larger populations (300,000 – 500,000 people).

A long-term savings arrangement which operates primarily to provide income for retirement.

Income from superannuation, annuities and private pensions such as allocated pensions.

Persons aged 15 years and over were considered to have superannuation coverage if they:

• had a superannuation balance above zero;
• were receiving regular income from superannuation; or
• had received a lump sum superannuation payment in the last two years.
   

Taxes on income is the sum of personal income tax plus the Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge for all members of the household. Taxes on income were imputed according to the 2015-16 tax rules which were applied to the gross income of family members according to their characteristics as reported in the 2015–16 Survey of Income and Housing.

The nature of a household's legal right to occupy the dwelling in which the household members usually reside. Tenure is determined according to whether the household owns the dwelling outright, owns the dwelling but has a mortgage or loan secured against it, is paying rent to live in the dwelling, or has some other arrangement to occupy the dwelling.

Reduction of all high values to a specified maximum value.

Any type of managed fund which involves the pooling of investors' money in order for a trustee or professional manager to administer that fund. Examples include listed and unlisted public unit trusts, cash management trusts, property trusts and family trusts used only for investment purposes.

Persons aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the week before the interview and had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks before the interview and:

• were available for work in the week before the interview; and
• were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the interview and would have started in the week before the interview if the job had been available then.
   

Households that receive income from Austudy/ABSTUDY, Newstart allowance or Youth allowance.

A business in which the owner(s) and the business are the same legal entity, so that, for example, the owner(s) are personally liable for any business debts that are incurred. The business may be registered (in their own state) as a sole trader, partnership or firm; however they are not registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and are not legally a company.

Vehicles include registered and unregistered vehicles used for private purposes including cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, caravans, aircraft, boats and bicycles.

See Employee income.

See Net worth.

Monies paid by insurance companies and sometimes by employers as compensation for loss of earnings while unable to attend work due to an illness or injury. It can also be paid as compensation for an injury itself that was caused by an accident or injury at work.

The year a person (born outside Australia) first arrived in Australia from another country, with the intention of staying in Australia for one year or more.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

The Household Expenditure Survey (HES) collects detailed information on household expenditure from residents in private dwellings throughout Australia. The HES is collected jointly with the Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) every six years - that is, all households selected for HES also complete the SIH - which collects information about household income, wealth, housing and other characteristics.

The survey collects information by personal interview and self-completed expenditure diaries from usual residents of private dwellings in urban and rural areas of not Very Remote Australia, covering over 97% of the people living in private dwellings in Australia. 

The survey facilitates the analysis and monitoring of the social and economic welfare of Australians in private dwellings. The main users are government and other social and economic analysts involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of social and economic policies.

HES and the jointly collected SIH data are used by economic and social analysts and policy makers to:

• understand the distribution of economic resources among private households in Australia;
• identify the changes occurring in Australians' spending habits;
• identify households most at risk of experiencing economic hardship;
• understand the effects of taxation and welfare payments on the cost of living for people and families; and
   

The ABS also uses the HES data in the production of the Consumer Price Index and National Accounts.

The HES is conducted every six years. The 2015-16 HES collected information over the period July 2015 to June 2016.

The first results from the 2015-16 survey were released on 13th September 2017, just over one year from the end of data collection. Subsequent outputs, including feature articles, other publications and Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURF) will be released later in 2017 and early 2018.

In 2015-16, the HES sample size increased from 9,774 households in 2009-10 to 10,046 households in 2015-16. The HES 2015–16 was run in conjunction with the SIH. The expansion of the 2009–10 sample to include an additional selection of metropolitan households whose main source of income was a government pension, benefit and/or allowance was continued, but with a reduction in sample design enabled through improved screening methods (see Explanatory Notes or the User Guide for more information).

Due to field performance not meeting design expectations, the sample in the first half of the financial year was smaller than expected. An additional sample was implemented in the second half of the 2015-16 financial year to bring the total sample in line with the design. Consequently, the survey sample is concentrated in the second half of the year. Weighting benchmarks for each quarter re-balance the sample. 

See the User Guide and Explanatory Notes for more information about sampling and weighting.

To address partial non-response, data were imputed for missing fields. The final HES sample includes 3,487 households (35% of households) and 4,762 person records (25% of persons aged 15 years or over) which had at least one imputed value. Imputation flags are provided at the module level in the CURF to allow users to identify and remove records with imputed data. Full record imputation is also used in the HES to impute data for some partially responding persons to minimise sample loss. Full record imputation is only undertaken for households where the main income earners in the household (e.g. both parents in a 'couple with children' household) have adequately completed the HES but others in the household (for example, children of those parents aged 15 years or over) have not. In 2015-16, 170 person level records were fully imputed, representing less than 1% of person records. Of these, expenditure diary information was fully imputed for 57 persons (less than 1% of the sample).

Estimates produced from the HES are subject to two types of error: non-sampling error; and sampling error.

Non-sampling error can occur in any collection, whether the estimates are derived from a sample or from a complete collection such as a census. Sources of non-sampling error include non-response, errors in reporting by respondents or recording of answers by interviewers and errors in coding and processing the data.

The estimates are based on a sample of possible observations and are subject to sampling variability. The estimates may therefore differ from the figures that would have been produced if information had been collected for all households. A measure of the sampling error for a given estimate is provided by the standard error, which may be expressed as a percentage of the estimate (relative standard error).

The sample was designed to facilitate analysis at the part of state level with a high level of accuracy for the indicators from the HES, including average weekly household expenditure and financial stress. Due to the collection issues noted above, a higher level of sampling error may be noted in analysis by quarter of collection.

Each cycle of the HES collects comparable information to allow for analysis of changes over time. Various statistics can be utilised to make comparisons between 2015-16 HES data and data from previous HES cycles. These include proportions (e.g. proportional share of expenditure), means and medians.

The ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey. Sound survey practice, however, requires ongoing development and maintenance to maintain the integrity of the data and the efficiency of the collection. For instance, when new products or services become available, these are added to the Household Expenditure Classification. Current income, wealth and expenditure standards are available on the ABS website and more information is available in the Explanatory Notes of this publication and the User Guide publication.

The HES provides baseline expenditure information which provides a comparison point for other ABS and external surveys. A comparison between the HES and the Australian System of National Accounts (ASNA) is provided in the Data downloads section on the User Guide (due for release in late 2017).

Expenditure statistics are generally straightforward to interpret. It should be noted, however, that changes in the dollar value of expenditure over time can be influenced by many factors, including inflation, substitution of cheaper products and services and demographic changes (e.g. aging population, smaller households).

Detailed information on the terminology, classifications and other technical aspects associated with the HES can be found in the Explanatory Notes and Glossary included with this publication. The User Guide (cat. no. 6503.0) will be released in October 2017.

Tabulated data and associated relative standard errors are freely available in Excel spreadsheets which can be accessed from the Data downloads section. 

A CURF product will be produced from the SIH, subject to the approval of the Australian Statistician. For further details, refer to the Microdata Entry Page on the ABS website. It is expected that the CURF products will be available in late 2017. A Survey TableBuilder product is also planned to be available in late 2017.

Customised data are also available on request. Note that detailed data can be subject to high relative standard errors which in some cases may result in data being regarded as unfit for release. A data item list is available from the Data downloads section of the User Guide (cat. no. 6503.0).

For further information about these or related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, or email client.services@abs.gov.au. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.