TableBuilder: Administrative data snapshot of population and housing

This publication provides information about microdata underpinning the Administrative Data Snapshot of Population and Housing. Microdata products contain the most detailed information available from the release. The snapshot was created using integrated administrative data from the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (formerly known as Multi-Agency Data Integration Project - MADIP), the ABS Address Register and electricity data.

This publication includes:

• how to use the microdata
• information on the quality of the microdata
• links to information about the methodology behind the snapshot

Privacy

The ABS is given the authority to collect, hold and use personal information for Census and statistical purposes as legislated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 and the Census and Statistics Act 1905. Data are released under the Census and Statistics Act 1905, which has provision for the release of individual level records (unit records) where the information is not likely to enable the identification of a particular person or organisation. Census microdata products do not contain names or addresses, and each have different assessment processes conducted and measures applied to ensure they are sufficiently confidentalised.

Data quality and methods

For information about the data quality and methods underpinning the Administrative Data Snapshot data visit:

• Administrative data snapshot of population, methodology, 30 June 2021
• Administrative data snapshot of housing, methodology, 30 June 2021

Data items include:

• Demographics including age and sex
• Current location
• Previous location, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 4 years ago
• Income: personal and household
• Household electricity connections and consumption

Household and Person level data has been kept separate for the TableBuilder product and data items are not able to be cross-classified across the two levels.

Please refer to relevant sections from the TableBuilder main page for information about how to create basic tables, custom groups, graphs and large tables.

The list of variables (also referred to as data items) is available for download under Data downloads. 

Some data items included in the TableBuilder file include a 'Not applicable' category. The classification values of these 'Not applicable' categories, where relevant, are shown in the TableBuilder data item list. The 'Not applicable' category generally represents people who are too young for the data to apply, or where the data is not available.
 

TableBuilder includes a number of continuous variables which can have a response value at any point along a continuum. TableBuilder Income variables for Persons has been top coded to $10,000 a week. Household income has been derived using the top coded amount. This will introduce some differences in the mean calculations compared to the publication tables. 

For previous location data items certain classification values have been reserved as special codes. For example:

• U refers to 'Undefined'
• Z refers to 'Outside Australia'
• B refers to 'Not born'
   

A confidentiality process called perturbation is applied to the data in TableBuilder to avoid releasing information that may lead to the identification of individuals, families, households, dwellings or businesses. See Confidentiality in the TableBuilder user guide.