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

DATA SOURCES

The major data sources used in this study are the 2003-04 and 2005-06 ABS Surveys of Income and Housing (SIH), the 2003-04 ABS Household Expenditure Survey (HES) and the 2001 and 2006 Censuses of Population and Housing.

SIH 2003-04 and 2005-06

SIH 2003-04 and 2005-06 collected detailed information about the income, assets, liabilities and household characteristics of households in private dwellings throughout Australia. The sample consisted of 11,361 households in 2003-04 and 9,961 households in 2005-06, which were enumerated over the course of the respective financial years.

In this study, information reported in the SIH on dwelling and household characteristics and the rent paid by private market renters is used as the basis for estimating the gross imputed rent for owner-occupied and other dwellings. Information on housing costs reported in the SIH are also used in the estimation of net imputed rent.

HES 2003-04

The 2003-04 HES sample of 6,957 households was a subset of the 2003-04 SIH sample of 11,361 households. Households selected to participate in the HES were required to complete both the SIH and HES questionnaires. In the HES a personal diary was used, in which usual residents aged 15 years and over recorded their expenditure over two weeks.

Information reported for 2003-04 in the HES is used to estimate average household expenditure on repairs and maintenance and house insurance costs for owner-occupiers in deriving net imputed rent estimates for both 2003-04 and 2005-06.

Census of Population and Housing 2001 and 2006

The Census of Population and Housing counts the number of people in Australia on Census night as well as collecting information on their key characteristics, including information about the dwellings in which they live.

Summary information on median rent by postcode from the 2001 and 2006 Censuses, and deciles based on the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage/Disadvantage from the 2001 Census, are used in the estimation of gross imputed rent. These items provide supplementary information about the area in which each of the dwellings in the SIH is located.

For further information about these data sources see:

• Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing User Guide, Australia, 2003-04 (cat. no. 6503.0),
• Survey of Income and Housing User Guide, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 6553.0), and
• National Statistics, Census Data, Census Reference and Information.