6361.0.55.002 - Employment Arrangements, Retirement and Superannuation, User Guide, Australia, April To July 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/11/2008   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

GLOSSARY

Account balance

This is the amount of superannuation a person has accrued in an accumulation fund account. The total account balance is the sum of all balances for up to three accounts per person. Balances are available only for accounts in the accumulation phase.

Accumulation account

Accumulation accounts are superannuation accounts held with accumulation funds. See also Defined benefit fund and Hybrid fund.

Accumulation fund

Accumulation funds are superannuation funds where all members have defined contributions (accumulated benefits). These funds are also sometimes called allocated funds. The assets of the fund are invested and any earnings (or losses) are credited (debited) to the member's account less any costs or taxes. The value of a retirement benefit from accumulation funds depends on how much money is contributed to the fund and how much the fund earns from investing the money after deducting costs and taxes. Members bear the full effect of fluctuation in investment performance. In SEARS 2007, self-managed funds and small APRA funds were categorised as accumulation accounts. See also Defined benefit fund and Hybrid fund.

Accumulation phase

A person accumulates superannuation balances over a period of time in order to support their future retirement. Accounts accumulate from a mix of personal and employer contributions, and investment earnings. Accounts are considered to accumulate even if contributions are not currently being made to them, or if there are negative investment returns.

For some people, it is possible to accumulate benefits, as well as to draw on superannuation, at the same point in time.

Allocated pension or annuity

An allocated pension or annuity is a flexible income stream where a person has an account from which they regularly (e.g. monthly) draw down an amount, within certain legislated limits. The pension/annuity continues until death or until the account is exhausted. On death, the remaining balance in the account is usually paid to a designated beneficiary. An allocated pension/annuity offers continual access to the capital sum invested, flexibility in drawdowns, but no guarantee on how long the income lasts.

The difference between a superannuation pension and an annuity is that a pension is only available from superannuation funds and can only be purchased with superannuation money (that is, money paid out from a superannuation fund or retirement savings account), while an annuity can be purchased from life insurance companies using superannuation money or other savings.

Amount of time usually spent travelling to/from work (per day)

This includes the amount of time spent doing regular activities along the way, such as dropping off children and/or partner. Since the amount of time travelling to work and the amount of time travelling from work were collected in ranges of minutes or hours, they cannot be added together to get total travel time.

Balance of State

That part of each Australian State or Territory not defined as capital city. The area includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory (except those in very remote areas).

Benefit structure of a superannuation fund

The way in which a member's superannuation benefit is determined. Superannuation benefits may be 'accumulated benefits', 'defined benefits', or a combination of both. For more information about the different types of benefits see Accumulation fund, Defined benefit fund and Hybrid fund.

Bottom coding

Reduction of all low values to a specified minimum value.

Capital city

Refers to Australia's six State capital city Statistical Divisions and the Darwin Statistical Division as defined in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). For the Australian Capital Territory the estimates relate predominantly to urban areas.

Care

For the purposes of this survey care is provided by any person in Australia aged 15 years or over who:

  • had their own child(ren) aged under 15 years living with them;

or who
  • looked after their own child(ren) aged under 15 years who do not usually live with them;
  • looked after a child other than their own child aged under 15 years of age;
  • helped or supported a frail aged person in day-to-day activities;
  • helped or supported any person aged 15 years or over with a short or long term sickness, injury or condition with day-to-day activities

where this care is not done as part of paid or voluntary work.

Separate estimates are available for care given to person living in the same household as the carer and care given to people who do not live in the same household as the carer, but the publication shows all care provided.

It is possible for a carer to provide care to more than one person. It is also possible for more than one person in a household to provide care to the same person.

Carer's leave

Paid leave provision by employers in relation to periods of time spent caring for others.

Casual loading

Provision by an employer of a higher rate of pay to compensate for not being entitled to paid holiday and/or paid sick leave.

Compensated extra hours worked

Refers to extra hours worked that were not paid but were compensated in some other way such as time off in lieu of extra hours worked, non-cash benefits provided as part of salary package/working agreement or other non-cash benefit. While payment for extra hours worked is one type of compensation, for the purpose of analysis details about paid extra hours worked are shown separately from extra hours otherwise compensated. Details of unpaid extra hours are also available.

Confidentiality

The maintenance of privacy of information that has been provided by individual respondents, and assurance that information about individual respondents cannot be derived from published survey results.

Contributing family worker

A person who works without pay in an economic enterprise operated by a relative.

Control over working procedures

This is one of several indicators used to determine the autonomy of an owner manager who works on a contract. For someone to have the authority to tell owner managers working on a contract basis how to do their work they must have the authority to control the process of how the work is done to achieve an outcome, rather than just specify the outcome to be achieved. Other indications of the autonomy of an owner manager who works on a contract include the ability to work for multiple clients, and whether able to sub-contract their work.

Defined benefit fund

A superannuation fund in which the retirement benefit is determined by fund rules usually based on a formula that takes into account years of service with the employer or years of membership with the fund, and average salary level over the last few years prior to retirement. The defined benefits do not depend on the investment performance of the fund. See also Accumulation fund and Hybrid fund.

Dependent children

All persons aged under 15 years; and dependent students as defined.

Dependent students

A child who is 15-24 years of age, who is attending full-time education, and who has no partner or child of his or her own usually resident in the same household.

Drawing on superannuation

A person is considered to draw on their superannuation if they receive a superannuation pension or annuity, or if they have received a superannuation lump sum within the past 4 years. A person can draw on their superannuation usually only after reaching the preservation age for the account or on attaining age 65.

For some people, it is possible to draw on superannuation, as well as to accumulate benefits, at the same point in time.

Educational attainment

Level of education is defined as 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), 2001 (cat no.1272.0).

Employed full-time

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

Employed part-time

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

Employed persons

Persons aged 15 years and over who, during the week before the interview :
  • worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (including 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 4 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 be returning to their job; or
  • were employers or own account workers who had a business or farm, but were not at work.

Employees

A person who works for a public or private employer and receives remuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee from their employer while working on a commission basis, tips, piece rates, or payment in kind, or a person who operates their own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees. The employment type classification separates owner managers of incorporated businesses from other employees.

Employees with paid leave entitlements

Employees excluding owner managers of incorporated enterprises (OMIEs) who were entitled to either paid sick leave or paid holiday leave (or both). Available in SEARS 2007 in relation to main job, second job, third job and fourth job.

Employees without paid leave entitlements

Employees (excluding OMIEs) who were not entitled to paid holiday leave or paid sick leave, or did not know whether they were entitled to paid holiday leave or paid sick leave. Available in SEARS 2007 in relation to main job, second job, third job and fourth job.

Employers

People who operate their own unincorporated economic enterprise or engage independently in a profession or trade, and hire one or more employees.

Employer contribution

The amount contributed (pre-tax) to a person's superannuation fund by their employer or business. The Superannuation Guarantee scheme, introduced in 1992, requires employers to contribute a minimum amount to superannuation for most of their employees (there are some exemptions). In 2007 employers were required to contribute an amount equal to 9% of an employee's wages or salary into superannuation.

While salary sacrifice is technically an employer contribution, the amount of salary sacrifice is shown separately to other employer contributions. (See Salary sacrifice to superannuation for more information).

Employment agency or labour hire firm

An organisation which is engaged in personnel search, selection and placement of employees for an employing organisation or person, and/or is engaged in supply of their own employees to other employers, usually on a short-term basis. Information is gathered about whether an employed person obtained their job through an employment agency/labour hire firm. Further questions are asked to establish whether or not the relationship with the labour hire company is ongoing: whether they are still paid by the employment agency/labour hire firm, and whether they are still registered with the labour hire firm.

Employment type

Classification of employed persons according to the following groups:
  • employees (excluding OMIEs) with paid leave entitlements
  • employees (excluding OMIEs) without paid leave entitlements
  • owner managers of incorporated enterprises
  • owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
  • contributing family workers

SEARS 2007 collected only limited information about contributing family workers and they have been excluded from most tables in the publication.

Equivalised gross household income

Gross household income adjusted using an equivalence scale. For a lone person household it is equal to gross household income. For a household comprising more than one person, it is an indicator of the gross household income that would need to be received by a lone person household to enjoy the same level of economic wellbeing as the household in question. For more information about deriving equivalised income see User Guide: Employment Arrangements, Retirement and Superannuation, Australia, April to July 2007 (cat. no. 6361.0.55.002).

Equivalised gross household income deciles

These are groupings of 10% of the total population when ranked in ascending order according to equivalised gross household income. The population used for this purpose includes all people living in private dwellings, including children and other persons under the age of 15 years. As the scope of this publication is restricted to only those persons aged 15 years and over, the distribution of this smaller population across the quintiles is not necessarily the same as it is for persons of all ages, i.e. the percentage of persons aged 15 years and over in each of these deciles may be larger or smaller than 10%.

Extra hours or overtime

Work undertaken which is outside, or in addition to, ordinary working hours of the respondent in their main job, whether paid or unpaid.

Family

Two or more persons, 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 are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship. Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.

Family composition of household

Classifies households into three broad groupings based on the number of families present (one family, multiple family and non-family). One family households are further disaggregated according to the type of family (such as couple family or one parent family) and according to whether or not dependent children are present. Non-family households are disaggregrated into lone person households and group households.

Fixed-term contract

Employees (excluding OMIEs ) with a contract of employment which specifies that the employment will be terminated on a particular date/event and who consider themselves to be working on a fixed-term contract.

Formal agreement (to work flexible hours or work from home)

An agreement that is in writing. A written agreement can be in the form of, but not limited to, a collective agreement or certified agreement made directly between and employer and a group of employees, or an individual written agreement between employer and employee.

Formal child care

Regulated care away from the child's home. This includes before and/or after school care, long day care, family day care, preschool and kindergarten centres, and occasional care.

Full-time or part-time study status

People who are attending school or taking a course of study for a trade certificate, diploma, degree or any other educational qualification, classified according to whether they report that they are studying full-time or not.

Government co-contribution

The government co-contribution was introduced from 1 July 2003. This is an additional super contribution paid by the Australian Government to low income earners who make after-tax contributions.

SEARS 2007 did not collect the amount of government co-contribution but it did ask people making personal contributions to superannuation if they made those contributions in order to receive the government co-contribution.

Government pension/allowance

Income support payments from government to people under social security and related government programs. Included are pensions and allowances received by aged, disabled, unemployed and sick people, families and children, veterans and their survivors, and study allowances for students. Payments made by overseas governments as well as the Australian Government are included.

Gross income

Regular cash receipts (including salary sacrificed income) before income tax or the Medicare levy are deducted.

Gross household income

Aggregated before-tax income of all members of the household aged 15 years and over. It includes regular receipts from employment, own business and from the lending of assets. It also includes transfer income from government, private institutions and other households but excludes intra-household transfers.

Holiday leave

Provision by an employer of paid holiday, vacation or recreation leave.

Hours actually worked

The number of hours actually worked during the reference week, not necessarily paid for.

Hours usually worked

The number of hours usually worked per week by an employed person.

Household

One or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same private dwelling.

Hybrid fund

A fund in which benefit entitlements are based on a combination of accumulated benefits and defined benefits. See also Accumulation fund and Defined benefit fund.

Income

Any accruing cash receipts that are of a regular and recurring nature including money received from:
  • wages and salaries (from an employer or own incorporated enterprise), including income provided as part of a salary sacrifice arrangement;
  • profit/loss from own unincorporated business (including partnerships);
  • investment income (interest, rent, dividends);
  • government pensions and allowances;
  • superannuation payments;
  • other private cash transfers (eg. regular workers' compensation, child support and other transfers from other households).

Gross income is the sum of income from all these sources before income tax or the Medicare levy are deducted.

Index of education and occupation (Australia)

One of five of the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFAs) compiled by the ABS following each population census. Each of the indexes summarise different aspects of the socio-economic status of the people living in those areas. The Index of Education and Occupation is designed to reflect the educational and occupational structure of communities. The education variables in this index show either the level of qualification achieved or whether further education is being undertaken. The occupation variables classify the workforce into the major groups of the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) and the unemployed. The index refers to population of the area (the Census Collector's District) in which a person lives, not to the socio-economic situation of the particular individual. The index used in this publication was compiled following the 2001 Census. For further information about the SEIFAs see Information Paper: Census of Population and Housing - Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, Australia (cat. no. 2039.0). This index is available in the SEARS 2007 CURF.

Index of relative socio-economic disadvantage (Australia)

One of five of the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFAs) compiled by the ABS following each population census. Each of the indexes summarise different aspects of the socio-economic status of the people living in those areas; the index of relative socio-economic disadvantage includes attributes such as low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment and jobs in relatively unskilled occupations. The index refers to population of the area (the Census Collector's District) in which a person lives, not to the socio-economic situation of the particular individual. The index used in this publication was compiled following the 2001 Census. For further information about the SEIFAs see Information Paper: Census of Population and Housing - Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, Australia (cat. no. 2039.0). This index is available in the SEARS 2007 CURF.

Industry

An industry is a group of businesses or organisations that undertake similar economic activities to produce goods and services. In this publication industry is classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0). Information is also available on request for industry classified by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2003 (cat. no. 1292.0).

Informal child care

Non-regulated care either in the child's home or elsewhere. Care may be charged for or provided free of charge. It includes care provided by (step) brothers or sisters, grandparents, other relatives or other (unrelated) people such as friends, neighbours, nannies or babysitters.

Intends to retire from the labour force

Those people who indicated that they intend to give up all labour force activity, that is working or looking for work.

Labour force status

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.

Landlord type

For renters the type of entity to whom rent is paid or with whom the tenure contract or arrangement is made.

Last job

Refers to last job held by an unemployed person or a person not in the labour force. In this survey details about the last job are collected only for persons aged 45 years or over and no details were collected if that job was held 20 or more years ago.

Last full-time job

Refers to last full-time job held by a person currently employed part-time as well as the last full-time job of an unemployed person or a person not in the labour force. In this survey, details about the last full-time job are collected only for persons aged 45 years or over, and no details about the last full-time job were collected if that job was last held 20 or more years ago.

Lifetime guaranteed pension or annuity

A lifetime guaranteed pension or annuity provides a guaranteed pension income for the remainder of a person's life. It can also provide a reversionary pension or annuity to make income payments to a designated beneficiary after death.

Long service leave

Provision of paid leave by an employer or industry body in recognition of a long period of service.

Long-term health condition or disability

If a person has provided care to someone for 6 months or more, or expects to care for someone for at least 6 months, then they are identified as caring for someone with a long-term health condition or disability.

Main job

The job in which most hours are usually worked, excluding voluntary jobs. SEARS 2007 collected detailed information for main job and second job, and a reduced set of information for the third job and fourth job, where applicable. Information about the main job, or all jobs collectively is presented in the publication

Masking

Adjustment of variable values, for individual records, for the purpose of avoiding a possible breach of confidentiality.

Median

The median is the middle observation in a set of observations ranked from largest to smallest, that is, the observation for which there are as many observations with higher values as there are observations with lower values.

Mean

The mean of a numeric variable is calculated by summing the values of all observations in a data set and then dividing by the number of observations in the set. It is often referred to as the average.

Microdata

Unit record level statistical data.

Non-dependent children

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.

Non-income source

Sources of funding for individuals which do not create a periodical inflow of revenue/cash direct to the individual. Includes spouse/partner income, selling assets and living off savings.

Not in the labour force

Persons not classified as employed or unemployed, as defined.

Occupation

An occupation is a collection of jobs that are sufficiently similar in their title and tasks, skill level and skill specialisation which are grouped together for the purposes of classification. In this publication occupation is classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), 2006 (cat. no. 1220.0). Occupation classified according to the Australian Standard Classification of Occupation (ASCO) 1997 (cat. no. 1220.0) is also available on request.

On call/stand-by

An arrangement for an employee to be available, while not at work, to be contacted to resume work. An allowance may be paid for being on call.

Overtime

See Extra hours.

Own account worker

People who operate their own unincorporated economic enterprise or engage independently in a profession or trade, and hired no employees.

Owner managers

A collective term referring to both owner managers of incorporated enterprises and owner managers of unincorporated enterprises.

Owner managers of incorporated enterprises

Persons who work in their own incorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity which is registered as a separate legal entity to its members or owners (also known as a limited liability company). These people are classified as employees under 'status in employment'.

Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises

Persons who operate their own unincorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity in which the owner and the business are legally inseparable, so that the owner is liable for any business debts that are incurred. This includes those engaged independently in a trade or profession.

Parental/maternity/paternity leave

The provision by an employer of paid leave to employees before and after the birth of a child.

Perturbation

Adjustment of estimates to disguise individual values without affecting the statistical validity of aggregate data.

Personal contributions

Post-tax contributions made by a person to their own superannuation account.

Post-tax contributions

Contributions made to a superannuation account from own sources, such as post-tax income, savings, business profits, or from selling an asset.. These contributions comprise personal contributions and contributions made by a persons spouse/partner into their superannuation account, as defined.

Preference for the number of hours worked

Whether an employed person would prefer to work more hours, fewer hours, or the same number of hours as they currently work while taking into consideration the effect this would have on their current pay.

Pre-tax contributions

Contributions made to a superannuation account from pre-tax income. These contributions comprise employer/business contributions and salary sacrificed contributions to superannuation, as defined.

Previous retirement

Where persons have in the past given up all employment, with no intention to returning to work at the time, but who have now returned to either part time or full-time work.

Principal source of income

The source of income from which the most positive income is received. If total income is nil or negative the principal source is nil or negative. If more than one source of income is not stated/not known then the principal source is undefined. As there are several possible sources, the principal source may account for less than 50% of total income.

Proficiency in spoken english

A self assessment by persons who speak a language other than English at home, of whether they speak English very well, well, not well, or not at all.

Provided care

Whether a person provided care (See 'Care') in the reference week.

Reference week

The week preceding the week in which the interview was conducted.

Relationship in household

The relationship of each person in a family to the family reference person, or where a person is not part of a family, that person's relationship to the household reference person.

Retired from labour force

People who had previously worked for two weeks or more, were not in the labour force and who did not intend to look for, or take up, paid work in the future.

Salary sacrifice to superannuation

Salary sacrifice to superannuation is an arrangement between an employer and an employee which involves the employee giving up a part of their pre-tax salary in exchange for having the employer provide an alternative tax effective benefit, such as superannuation contributions

Section of State

This geographical classification uses population counts to define Collection Districts (CDs) as urban or rural and to provide, in aggregate, statistics for urban concentrations and for bounded localities and balance areas. SOS represents an aggregation of non-contiguous geographical areas of a particular urban/rural type. The Sections of State defined include Major Urban (population clusters of 100,000 or more), Other Urban (population clusters of 1,000 to 99,999), Rural Locality (200 to 999), Rural Balance (remainder of State/Territory) and Migratory, and in aggregate cover the whole of Australia.

Sector of employment

Used to classify a respondent's employer as a public or private enterprise. The public sector includes all government entities including local, state and federal government departments, non-market non-profit institutions that are controlled and mainly financed by government, and corporations and quasi-corporations that are controlled by government.

Self-funding

Those who expect to be self-funding in retirement include those whose main expected source of income on retirement is profit or loss from own unincorporated business, profit or loss from a rental property, dividends or interest, or superannuation or annuity. These people are asked to estimate how long they will be self-funding after they give up all paid work.

Self-identified casuals

Employees (excluding OMIES) who considered their job to be casual. In SEARS 2007, 'employees without leave entitlements' is the primary measure of casual employment, however self-identification of casual status and 'whether a casual loading is paid' are also available as supplementary indicators of casual employment.

Shift work

A system of working whereby the daily hours of operation at the place of employment are split into at least two set work periods (shifts), for different groups of workers.

Sick leave

Paid sick leave is paid leave which is provided for employees who are unable to attend work because they are ill, injured, or have a medical appointment.

Size of location

Number of persons employed at the same address as the person's employer or business. If owner managers do not hire employees their size of location is one.

Social marital status

The relationship status of an individual with reference to another person who is usually resident in the household. A marriage exists when two people live together as husband and wife, or partners, regardless of whether the marriage is formalised through registration. Individuals are, therefore, regarded as married if they are in a de facto marriage, or if they are living with the person to whom they are registered as married.

Spouse contributions

Contributions paid into a person's superannuation account by their husband, wife or de facto spouse from post-tax income.

Status in employment

Employed persons classified by whether they were employees, employers, own account workers, or contributing family workers. This classification is available from the survey, however, the employment type classification is the main classification used to describe employed persons in this survey.

Superannuation

A long-term savings arrangement which operates primarily with a superannuation fund in order to support future retirement.

Superannuation balance

The total amount of superannuation a person has accrued in their superannuation funds which are in the accumulation phase. In SEARS 2007, the total superannuation balance was obtained by adding the total account balance of accumulation account/s and total withdrawal or resignation benefit of defined benefit account/s or hybrid account/s for three main superannuation accounts.

Superannuation contributions

Superannuation contributions are payments made by an employer or an individual in the superannuation fund. For more details see Employer contributions, Salary sacrificed contributions, Personal contributions and Spouse contributions.

Superannuation coverage

In this publication, a person is considered to have superannuation coverage if:
  • they have superannuation accounts in the accumulation phase;
  • they have superannuation accounts from which they are currently drawing benefits, such as receiving a pension or annuity; or
  • they have received a superannuation lump sum within the past 4 years.

Superannuation lump sum payment

A superannuation benefit taken fully or partly as a single payment, rather than in the form of pension or annuity on retirement. It does not include any annual leave payments, sick leave or other payments due to termination of employment.

SEARS 2007 collected detailed information on lump sum payments received during the previous 4 years and whether any lump sum payments had been previously received.

Superannuation pension or annuity

A pension or annuity payable from a superannuation account or retirement saving account (RSA) and eligible for tax concessions. The payment must be made at least annually and must be within limits set by legislation.

Tenure type

The nature of a household's legal right to occupy the dwelling in which the household members usually reside. Tenure is determined according to whether the household owns the dwelling outright, owns the dwelling but has a mortgage or loan secured against it, is paying rent to live in the dwelling or has some other arrangement to occupy the dwelling.

Topcoding

Reduction of all high values to a specified maximum value.

Unemployed

Persons 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 to 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.

Withdrawal/resignation benefit

A proxy measure of the present value of the benefit accrued to members of defined benefit and hybrid funds. Total withdrawal/resignation benefits include the balances of up to three accounts. In many cases withdrawal or resignation benefit values will understate a person's full benefit entitlement because the withdrawal or resignation benefit will exclude provisions for superannuation liabilities that are not contributed to the individual's accounts.

Working arrangements to care

Working arrangements that were used so that the respondent could care for someone in the week prior to the survey. Arrangements include paid leave, unpaid leave, flexible working hours, rostered days off, working from home, informal arrangements with employer or taking a child in to work. Further information was collected to determine whether respondents would like to have used more of any working arrangement that they had accessed, or any other arrangement to help with their caring responsibilities. Also, those who had not used any working arrangement, were asked whether they wanted to but couldn't. People who cared for someone in the reference week and who had not used any working arrangements to help them manage this responsibility were asked whether they would like to have accessed any arrangement but could not, and why they did not access any arrangement.

In SEARS 2007 inadequate information about working arrangements used to care was collected for a small proportion of households (<1%). These are shown in a 'not determined' category for the applicable data items.

Working arrangements to provide long-term care

Long-term changes in working arrangements to provide care, including: changing or leaving a job, reducing total number of hours usually worked, commencing work all or more hours from home, or changing to another work arrangement such as shift work, casual work or a job share arrangement. Perceptions of these terms were left to the respondent. Only carers who were employees were asked questions about these working arrangements.

Working on a contract basis

Owner managers of incorporated and unincorporated enterprises who worked on a contract, that is, who were engaged to provide a particular service or undertake a particular task at an agreed price or rate, and generally for a specified period.