Numbering system and titles

The numbering system adopted in the ANZSIC is alphanumeric and has a hierarchical structure (see example below), where the leading alpha character denotes the industry division. The ANZSIC subdivision, group and class levels are denoted by numeric codes.

In the example above, the Manufacturing Division is denoted by the alpha character C. The 'Food Product Manufacturing' Subdivision is represented by the numeric code 11. The 'Meat and Meat Product Manufacturing' Group is represented by the numeric code 111, and the 'Meat Processing' Class is represented by the numeric code 1111.

The ANZSIC has standard classification numbering practices for groups and classes, which are outlined below.

If there is only one group in a subdivision, the three digit group code is the two digit subdivision code followed by a zero. Otherwise, the group codes are created using the two digit subdivision code and adding a number starting with one. No subdivision contains more than nine groups.

Similar conventions apply for creating class numbers within groups as for creating group numbers within subdivisions. No group contains more than nine classes. Where there is a 'miscellaneous' or 'other' class within a group, to include units mainly engaged in activities belonging to the group, but which are not elsewhere classified, a nine is added to the group code to form the four digit class code.

These residual classes do not usually constitute a homogeneous set of primary activities, but rather diverse activities which are not sufficiently significant to justify separate classes in their own right. For the purposes of the classification, they are grouped together and treated as a separate industry to retain the homogeneity of the other industry classes within the group.

Use of a nine in the fourth digit of the code designates a residual class. This enables new categories to be formed within the group by breaking up a class without necessarily affecting the other classes. For example, Group 261 Electricity Generation has 3 classes. These are Class 2611 Fossil Fuel Electricity Generation, Class 2612 Hydro-Electricity Generation and Class 2619 Other Electricity Generation. If in the future, wind electricity generation, which is currently included in Class 2619, becomes a significant activity, a new class can be formed (e.g. Class 2613 Wind Electricity Generation) without affecting Classes 2611 and 2612.

In ANZSIC 2006, changes have been made to all levels and all parts of the classification. New codes have been allocated to industries in ANZSIC 2006 independently of any previous code that has applied. Where the same code exists in both ANZSIC 1993 and ANZSIC 2006, it cannot be assumed that the contents of that category are the same in the two editions.

For example, the ANZSIC 1993 code 1311 is designated as 'Iron Ore Mining', while in ANZSIC 2006 Class 1311 is designated as 'Wool Scouring'. The following table provides users with a comparison between ANZSIC 2006 and ANZSIC 1993 industry division code ranges.

The ABS and Statistics NZ have endeavoured to develop titles for industry categories that are reasonably short, to support their use in statistical tables, and reasonably informative or intuitive in their meaning to users of the classification.

The ability to achieve these objectives is limited, as the objectives are sometimes competing in nature, and some combinations of activities are difficult to describe succinctly. Users of the classification should not rely on industry category titles to fully describe their contents.

For example, without knowing that Class 2611 Fossil Fuel Electricity Generation and Class 2612 Hydro-Electricity Generation were in the same ANZSIC group as Class 2619 Other Electricity Generation, it would be impossible to understand what may be contained in the class 'Other Electricity Generation'. For the definition of particular categories, users should refer to The detailed classification section.

It is nevertheless useful, for various purposes, to simply refer to lists of category codes and titles. Often this is necessary to locate the category or categories of interest for more detailed examination, or to more readily understand the hierarchy of a particular part of the classification.

This section separately includes lists of the:

• Division codes and titles;
• Division and subdivision codes and titles;
• Division, subdivision and group codes and titles; and
• Division, subdivision, group and class codes and titles.