• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

ABS DIRECTIONS FOR THE ELECTRONIC DISSEMINATION OF STATISTICS


CURRENT SITUATION



5 The ABS web site currently consists of approximately 320,000 web pages and some 120,000 downloadable files. In 2004/05, there were 60 million pages viewed from the web site and the ABS is consistently ranked eighth (behind the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink etc.) as the most frequently accessed Australian Government web site.

6 Since 2000, all ABS publications, spreadsheets, data cubes, research and information papers dating back to at least 1998, have been available from the ABS web site. The web site also includes other statistical support material e.g. Statistical Concepts Library, Directory of Statistical Sources and extensive school curriculum materials for teachers and students. In addition, the ABS provides a number of avenues for clients to purchase ABS products on-line. Clients can subscribe to an email notification service which provides details of ABS daily releases in subject areas nominated by the client. Furthermore, the ABS has introduced a service (Real Simple Syndication (RSS)) which allows subscribers to access ABS statistical headline news from their desk top.

7 To assist in meeting the ABS' community service obligations, since December 2005, access to all statistical information on the ABS web site has been made free of charge. For many years the ABS has also run the Library Extension Program (LEP) as a means of disseminating its statistical publications on paper, and in the last couple of years, electronic publications, free to the general community via some 500 plus libraries throughout Australia. Users who do not have access to the Internet at their homes could access ABS statistics via the LEP, or by calling the National Information and Referral Service contact centre.

8 The ABS has also taken strategic steps towards making its unit record data readily available to the tertiary education sector for teaching and research purposes. An agreement struck with the Australian Vice Chancellors Committee now provides every student, lecturer and university researcher with access, subject to approval to the Australian Statistician, to ABS Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs).

9 Traditionally, the ABS only released CURFs via CD-ROMs. In 2004, the ABS launched its Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL) whereby clients can (batch) submit programs via the internet to the ABS. These programs are automatically run against a CURF within the ABS environment, with the results, in most cases, automatically returned to the user. There are also checks in place to ensure no identifiable information is available in the results.