Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation, Australia methodology

Includes running (for athletics).

The ASCED is a national standard classification which includes all sectors of the Australian education system: that is, schools, vocational education and training, and higher education. From 2001, ASCED replaced a number of classifications used in administrative and statistical systems, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics Classification of Qualifications (ABSCQ). The ASCED comprises two classifications: Level of education and Field of education. See Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0).

The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) developed by the ABS provides the framework for the collection and dissemination of statistics. See Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001).

Comprises the balance of each state/territory not included in Capital City. See Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001).

Refers to Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA) as defined by the ASGS. The GCCSAs represent the socio-economic extent of each of the eight State and Territory capital cities. The whole of the ACT is included in the GCCSA. See Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001).

Survey responses are coded to Certificate not further defined (n.f.d.) when there is not enough information to code them to Certificate I, II, III or IV in the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0), Level of education classification.

Country of birth has been classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) (cat. no. 1269.0).

Two people in a registered or de facto marriage, who usually live in the same household.

For this survey, a qualification is the completion of a course or qualification relevant to the non-playing roles surveyed, regardless of the length of the course or the type of institution offering the course. This may include: training run by sporting associations or clubs; study at educational institutions; and attendance at workshops or seminars.

Includes bike riding and mountain biking.

Includes ballroom dancing, belly dancing, boot scooting, callisthenics, dance sport, folk dancing, Latin dancing, line dancing, salsa, swing dancing and other forms of dancing.

All people aged under 15 years; and people 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.

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 people aged 15 years and over who, during the week prior to interview:

• worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers); or
• worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers); or
• were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
  • away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or
  • on strike or locked out; or
  • on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job; or
• were employers or own account workers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.

Employed persons who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

Employed persons who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and either did so during the reference week, or were not at work in the reference week.

Equivalising adjusts actual income to take into account the different needs of the households of different sizes and compositions. There are economic advantages associated with living with others, because household resources, especially housing, can be shared. The equivalence scale used to obtain equivalised income is that used in studies by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is referred to as the 'modified OECD scale'. The scale gives a weight of 1.0 to the first adult in the household, a weight of 0.5 for each additional adult (persons aged 15 years and over) and a weight of 0.3 for every child. For each household, the weights of the household members are added together to form a household weight. Total household income is then divided by the household weight to give an income that a lone person household would need for a similar standard of living. Equivalised household income can be viewed as an indicator of the economic resources available to each member of the household.

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.

Field of education is defined as the subject matter of an educational activity. It is categorised according to the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0) Field of education classification. This publication presents the main field of education studied.

Includes angling.

Includes boot camp, circuits, exercise biking, box exercise, kick boxing, fitness classes, gym classes, gym workouts, RPM, spin cycling, treadmill activities, weight training and zumba.

Includes American football, Gaelic football, gridiron, Oztag, touch football and USA football.

Includes acrobatics, trampolining and cheerleading.

Includes dressage, polo cross, show jumping and pony club.

A group of two or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling, who regard themselves as a household, and who make common provision for food or other essentials for living; or a person living in a dwelling who makes provision for his/her own food and other essentials for living, without combining with any other person.

Descriptions of the different types of household composition are provided below:

Couple only. A household consisting of a couple with no other related or unrelated persons usually resident.

Couple with dependent children. A household consisting of a couple and at least one dependent child usually resident in the household. Related non-dependent children may also be present in the household. Households which also have other related or unrelated residents are included.

One parent with dependent children. A household consisting of a lone parent and at least one dependent child usually resident in the household. Non-dependent children may also be present in the household. Households which also have other related or unrelated usual residents are included.

Lone person. A household consisting of a person living alone.

Other. Comprises all other households, including multiple family households, group households and households consisting of unrelated adults, and other one family households.

Includes bobsledding, broomball, ice hockey, ice skating, ice racing/speed skating, skeleton, snow skiing and snow boarding.

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
• 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.

This is one of four Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFAs) compiled by the ABS following each Census of Population and Housing, from various characteristics of persons resident in particular areas. The Index of Disadvantage summarises attributes such as income, educational attainment, unemployment and occupation skill levels. The index refers to the area (the Statistical Area Level 1) in which a person lives, not to the socio-economic situation of the particular individual.

The index ranks areas on a continuum from most disadvantaged to least disadvantaged. A low score on the index (i.e. lowest quintile or decile) indicates a high proportion of relatively disadvantaged people in an area. Such areas include many households with low income, people with no qualifications and many people in low skill occupations. It should be noted that it cannot be concluded that an area with a very high score has a large proportion of relatively advantaged ('well off') people, as there are no variables in the index to indicate this. It can only be concluded that such an area has a relatively low incidence of disadvantage.

The indexes used in this publication were those compiled following the 2011 Census. For further information about the indexes, see Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) (cat. no. 2033.0.55.001).

Includes indoor tennis, netball, basketball etc. courts, halls and community centres, bowling alleys, indoor rock climbing walls and ice rinks.

Involvement includes players and participants, as well as persons involved in non-playing roles. Respondents could have been involved in more than one non-playing role and/or as a player. Persons who were involved only as a spectator or only as a club member are excluded.

Includes running for exercise.

Junior sport includes those sports and physical activities in which young participants are primarily grouped according to age rather than ability. There is no specific age limit applied to this definition because the age criteria for junior sport may vary from sport to sport.

A classification of the civilian population aged 15 years and over into employed, unemployed or not in the labour force, as defined. The definitions conform closely to the international standard definitions adopted by the International Conferences of Labour Statisticians.

Level of education is a function of the quality and quantity of learning involved in an educational activity. It is categorised according to the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0) Level of education classification.

Level of highest educational attainment identifies the highest achievement a person has attained in any area of study. It is not a measurement of the relative importance of different fields of study but a ranking of qualifications and other educational attainments regardless of the particular area of study or the type of institution in which the study was undertaken. For more information regarding how Level of highest educational attainment is derived see Decision Table: Level of highest educational attainment.

Level not determined includes inadequately described responses or where no responses were given.

Includes Aikido, Chi Kung, Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, Kendo, Kickboxing, Ninjitsu, Taekwondo and Tai Chi.

This role includes persons who indicated that they had been involved as a provider of medical support for organised physical activities or sports. This would include medical practitioners, physiotherapists, first aid attendants, etc.

Includes car racing, drag racing, go-karting, motorbike racing and speedway.

All persons aged 15 years or over (except those aged 15–24 years who are full-time students) who have a parent in the household and do not have a partner or child of their own in the household.

Those sport and physical recreation activities which were not organised by a club or recreation association, such as social clubs, church groups, old scholars associations or gymnasiums. Persons may participate in both non-organised and organised activities.

These roles are undertaken to support, arrange and/or run organised sport and physical activity. The six roles included in this survey are: coach, instructor, or teacher; referee or umpire; committee member or administrator; scorer or timekeeper; medical support; and other roles.

Non-school qualifications are awarded for educational attainments other than those of pre-primary, primary or secondary education. They include qualifications at the Postgraduate Degree level, Master Degree level, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate level, Bachelor Degree level, Advanced Diploma and Diploma level, and Certificates I, II, III and IV levels. Non-school qualifications may be attained concurrently with school qualifications.

Persons who were not in the categories ‘employed’ or ‘unemployed’.

For each role, the number of hours of involvement is an estimate of the average number of hours per week for those weeks in which the respondent took part in the role during the 12 months before interview.

For each role, the number of weeks of involvement is an estimate of the number of weeks that the respondent had been involved in that particular role during the 12 months prior to interview.

Occupation data is classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, Version 1.2 (cat. no. 1220.0).

Includes off-road tracks or trails that are surfaced (e.g. gravel or bitumen) or unsurfaced (e.g. dirt). Excludes on-road bicycle lanes.

Those sport and physical recreation activities which were organised by a club or recreation association. The club or organisation did not need to be a sporting body; it may have been a social club, church group, old scholars association or gymnasium. Persons may participate in both organised and non-organised activities.

Includes public swimming pools, outdoor tennis, basketball etc. courts, bowling greens, ski resorts, BMX tracks/courses, golf courses and athletics tracks. Excludes residential and educational institution swimming pools.

Includes open space or tracks or trails in nature areas.

Those playing a sport or physically undertaking an activity. Persons involved solely as a coach, teacher, instructor, referee, umpire, administrator or club committee member are excluded from the data.

The number of people who participated in an activity at least once during the year as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over. For example, the participation rate for males aged 15–17 years in NSW would be a percentage of all males aged 15–17 years in NSW.

Players includes those who were involved in playing or participating in organised sport or organised physical activity at least once in the 12 months prior to interview. Persons who were players could also have been involved in non-playing roles.

Grounds that consist of wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand with any marked lines, goals/goal posts or other sport-specific infrastructures, such as football fields.

Formal certification, issued by a relevant approved body, in recognition that a person has achieved an appropriate level of learning outcomes or competencies relevant to identified individual, professional, industry or community needs. Statements of attainment awarded for partial completion of a course of study at a particular level are excluded.

Includes rugby league sevens.

Includes rugby sevens.

School sport includes those sports and physical activities that are organised by any school or college that caters for students up to and including Year 12. Participation may take place either within or outside of school hours.

Includes swimming pools in educational facilities.

Includes hunting (with gun), bird shooting, clay shooting, crossbow shooting, duck shooting, paintball, pistol shooting, rifle shooting, running target shooting, shotgun shooting, skirmish, target shooting and trap shooting.

Includes rollerblading, roller derby and rollerskating.

Includes futsal.

Respondents were not advised what activities they should include as sport or physical recreation. However, activities such as gardening, housework, manual labouring and other forms of occupational physical activity were excluded.

Includes royal lifesaving.

Includes surfing, stand-up paddleboarding and bodyboarding.

Includes springboard diving, platform diving and synchronised swimming.

Includes dirt bike riding.

People aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:

• had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week; or
• were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

This is involvement in organised sport and physical activity for which no payment (either in dollars or in goods and services) was received or expected.

Includes Newcombe ball.

Includes jet skiing and wake boarding.

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 Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS) is collected as a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) and is designed to collect statistics for a number of small, self-contained topics. The scope of the LFS is restricted to people aged 15 years and over and excludes:

• members of the permanent defence forces
• certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments usually excluded from census and estimated resident populations
• overseas residents in Australia
• members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants).
   

In addition, the MPHS excludes:

• households in Indigenous Communities
• people living in non-private dwellings (e.g. hotels, university residences, students at boarding schools, patients in hospitals, inmates of prisons and residents of other institutions (e.g. retirement homes, homes for persons with disabilities)).
   

One eighth of the total households in the LFS sample each month are selected for the MPHS. In these households, a usual resident aged 15 years or over is selected at random to respond to the MPHS.

The Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation topic provides information about the characteristics of persons aged 15 years and over who participate in physical activities for the purposes of sport, recreation or exercise. The data collected includes the types of sports/activities participated in, the frequency of participation, whether the activity was organised by a club, association or other organisation and the facilities used.

In the 2013–14 survey, additional data was also collected that focussed, in particular, on non-playing roles in organised sports and activities. This included the types of non-playing roles undertaken (e.g. coaches, referees, administrators etc.), whether a course or qualification was completed for these roles, whether any involvement was with school or junior sport, whether any payment was received and the time spent on each type of involvement. This information was previously collected in April 2010 in the Involvement in Organised Sport and Physical Activity supplementary survey.

Participation and/or involvement in sport and physical recreation activities contributes to quality of life and is an important indicator of mental and physical health, while participation in organised and/or group activities is an indicator of social and community well-being. Consequently, the data from the survey is used to assist in the development of programs to encourage greater participation in physical activity that, in turn, leads to health benefits and community well-being. Governments also provide considerable funding to community groups and sporting clubs for sporting facilities to encourage and facilitate involvement. The information, therefore, assists in understanding the characteristics of participants and the patterns of participation and involvement in sport and related physical activities.

The MPHS is collected annually with enumeration undertaken in each month over the financial year period from July 2013 to June 2014. The survey reference period relates to sports and physical recreation activities undertaken in the 12 months prior to the survey interview. Generally, data from the MPHS are released approximately 6–8 months after enumeration. Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation is expected to be next collected in the 2015–16 MPHS.

The Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation topic comprised a sample of just under 16,000 fully responding households, which represented a response rate of 76.8% (after taking sample loss into account).

Two types of error are possible in an estimate based on a sample survey: non-sampling error and sampling error. Non-sampling error arises from inaccuracies in collecting, recording and processing the data. Every effort is made to minimise reporting error by the careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers, and efficient data processing procedures.

Sampling error occurs because a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed. One measure of the likely difference resulting from not including all dwellings in the survey is given by the standard error (SE). There are about two chances in three a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if all dwellings had been included in the survey, and about 19 chances in 20 the difference will be less than two SEs. Measures of the relative standard errors (RSE) of the estimates for this survey are included with this release.

All aggregate statistics presented in tables have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of any data that may inadvertently identify an individual. The technique to adjust the data is called perturbation. These adjustments have a negligible impact on the underlying pattern of the data.

The ABS has previously collected information on Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation as part of the MPHS in 2005–06, 2009–10 and 2011–12. While the ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey, sound survey practice requires ongoing development to maintain the integrity of the data. Excluding the addition of the questions relating to involvement in organised sports and physical activities, the 2013–14 survey questions are unchanged in comparison with those asked in 2011–12. For details about changes to the survey for other years, please refer to the Explanatory Notes.

Some data on Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation is also collected in the General Social Survey (GSS) – in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. As the GSS uses a different collection methodology, data are not comparable with MPHS data.

After each Census, population estimates are normally revised back five years to the previous Census year. As announced in the June 2012 issue of Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0), intercensal error between the 2006 and 2011 Censuses was larger than normal due to improved methodologies used in the 2011 Census Post Enumeration Survey. The intercensal error analysis indicated that previous population estimates for the base Census years were over-counted. An indicative estimate of the size of the over-count is that there should have been 240,000 fewer people at June 2006, 130,000 fewer in 2001 and 70,000 fewer in 1996. As a result, population benchmarks have been revised for the last 20 years rather than the usual five.

Consequently, estimates of particular populations derived from the 2013-14 MPHS may be lower than those published in 2011-12 for this topic. Therefore, comparisons of estimates of the number of people with previous years are not possible. However, for comparable data items, comparison of rates or proportions between years is appropriate.

To aid in the interpretation of the participation in sport and physical recreation data, detailed information on concepts, definitions, terminology and other technical aspects of the survey can be found in the relevant web pages included with this release.

All tables and associated RSEs are available in Excel spreadsheets and can be accessed from the Data downloads section.

Data is also available through the TableBuilder environment. TableBuilder is an online tool for creating tables and graphs. For further details, refer to the Microdata Entry Page.

Additional tables can also be produced on request. The Data downloads section includes an Excel spreadsheet containing a complete list of the data items available. Note that detailed data can be subject to high RSEs and, in some cases, may result in data being confidentialised or not being available.

For further information about these or related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service.