Business Characteristics Survey

This survey includes questions relating to business characteristics with detailed questions on business innovation activities.

Your business has been selected as part of a sample survey. Details of businesses are obtained from the Australian Businesses Register (ABR), which contains the names and addresses of all businesses that have a registered Australian Business Number (ABN) with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). A random sample of businesses has been selected from the business register based on their industry and employment size. Businesses in the sample are randomly selected to represent other businesses with similar characteristics such as income or number of employees. Some businesses must be included in the sample because they contribute substantially to their particular industry or group.

Yes. Under the Census and Statistics Act 1905, you are obliged to provide the information requested by the ABS. All the information you provide will remain strictly confidential.

Yes. We take the security of the information you provide to us very seriously. Your completed form and personal information will remain strictly confidential to the ABS. We use the information you provide to calculate statistics, which are released in ways that do not allow for the identification of businesses or organisations.

The information in this survey is collected under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. Under the Act, staff of the ABS are obliged to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of information provided.

We comply with the Australian Privacy Principles. If you believe we have breached these principles, please see the information on how to lodge a complaint about privacy matters, contained within our privacy policy.

No. There is no provision within the Census and Statistics Act 1905 to reimburse individuals, businesses or organisations for the cost of providing statistical information. In line with other national statistical organisations throughout the world, individuals, businesses and other organisations are asked to supply information for statistical purposes without compensation. It is only with the support of people like you that we can continue to produce the statistics that inform Australia's important decisions.

The length of time that a business is selected in any particular survey will depend on factors such as the size of the business and how significant the business' activity is to the overall results. Larger businesses have a higher probability of selection in multiple ABS business surveys. Due to their significance to the overall survey results, they will usually remain in a survey on an ongoing basis. Smaller businesses may be included for up to four years; although there can be some exceptions to this rule.

If you have received a reminder letter about completing a survey, it is likely that you have returned the survey at the same time as we issued your reminder notice. If you wish to confirm this, please call one of our team on 1800 681 979 and we will check the information against our records.

If you can't find an answer to your question here or in the information provided on your form, you can also call 1800 681 979 (Free call excluding mobile phones, 9am to 5pm AEST).

If you have received a letter or email from us with a Form Access Code, you can access and complete your survey form online using that code. Go online to our ABS Survey Account, set up an account, or if you already have one, log in, and then add your Form Access Code to retrieve the form. If you are unable to complete your survey online, or have not received the letter we sent you, please call us on 1800 681 979 and one of our team will be happy to assist you.

The ABS survey account is a secure service that allows a form to be accessed as many times as is needed before final submission. After submission of a survey, you will not be able to access the contents. If you are concerned that you have provided incorrect information, please call us on 1800 681 979 and one of our team will be happy to assist you. When you have set up an ABS survey account, the same account can be used to access and answer future surveys.

If you are unable to complete your survey online, or have not received the letter we sent you, please call us on 1800 681 979 and one of our team will be happy to assist you.

Due to strict privacy policy guidelines protecting the information submitted by our data providers, we create new survey forms that do not contain previously submitted data. We recommend printing or saving a PDF copy of the submission receipt after submitting your web form, so that you have a copy for your records.

For more information on completing our surveys online, help is available on our Survey Account Help page. This page helps with technical difficulties and includes frequently asked questions which assist in creating and using the ABS Survey Account. If you are having trouble creating or accessing your account, completing the survey online, or haven't received your Form Access Code, please call us on 1800 681 979 and one of our team will be happy to assist you.

There are two reference periods on this form. The reference period for most of the innovation items is during the two years ended 30 June 2023 or as at 30 June 2023. The reference period for most business information, performance and financial items is for the year ended 30 June 2023.

You will be required to provide information on general business characteristics with more detailed questions on innovation activity, including:

• Business information and performance
• Information relating to innovation activity
• Organisations collaborated with for the purpose of innovation
• Barriers and benefits of innovation
• Use of digital technologies for innovation
• Environmental benefits of innovation activities
• Fee for service arrangements and expenditure for innovation
• Specialist skills used by the business for innovation

A sample version of this survey is available to preview on the online form by clicking ‘Preview a PDF of survey questions’ from the navigation menu.

The period covering business information on this form is for the financial year ended 30 June 2023.

Please complete your survey form with comments indicating the sale of the entity and the date of the sale. This will help determine whether the business will be selected in the next survey reference period.

If the business operated by the selected entity (e.g. ABN) was sold during the reference period, then the survey should be completed using figures up to, and including, the day that the business was sold, as well as figures relating to any other new activity undertaken by the selected entity for the remainder of the financial year. Please also provide the name of the new business owners.

You will still need to submit your survey with comments stating that your business/organisation did not trade this year. You do not need to include any figures or zero values.

Please complete the survey using information up to, and including, the day that the business was liquidated or went into administration. It is also important to report the date that this occurred. If you are unable to access business information, then the liquidator or administrator should complete the survey. Where this is not possible, best available estimates of the data should be provided. If you are not able to provide estimates, please call us on 1800 681 979 and one of our team will be happy to assist you.

Yes, you still need to complete a form provided that the new activity was also conducted under the ABN specified. Business conducted under any other ABN should not be included on this form. Include a comment at the end of the form to advise that the activity changed during the year. Consider your entire year's business operations and structure when answering the other questions, irrespective of the change of activity.

The number of employees is a count of all employees who received pay for any part of the last pay period ending on or before 30 June 2023. It excludes casual or seasonal employees who are on the payroll, but did not work during this pay period. Refer to the employment question on the survey form for a full list of employees to be included/excluded.

Business Characteristic Survey results are published in Innovation in Australian Business.