6324.0 - Work-Related Injuries, Australia, 2009-10 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/12/2010   
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EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 The statistics presented in this publication were compiled from data collected in the Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS) that was conducted throughout Australia in the 2009-10 financial year as a supplement to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). The MPHS was designed to provide statistics annually for a small number of labour, social and economic topics. The topics collected in 2009-10 were:

  • Work-Related Injuries (WRI);
  • Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation;
  • Sports Attendance;
  • Attendance at Selected Cultural Venues and Events;
  • Patient Experience;
  • Family Characteristics; and
  • Crime Victimisation.

2 For all topics, information on labour force characteristics, education, income and other demographics are also available. Data for all MPHS topics collected in 2009-10 will be released in separate publications. Expanded Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs) containing detailed data for individual records will also be available following the release of the publications for all topics with the exception of Sports attendance and Attendance at selected cultural venues and events.

3 The publication Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) contains information about survey design, scope, coverage and population benchmarks relevant to the monthly LFS, which also applies to the MPHS. It also contains definitions of demographic and labour force characteristics, and information about telephone interviewing relevant to both the monthly LFS and MPHS.


CONCEPTS SOURCES AND METHODS

4 The conceptual framework used in Australia's LFS aligns closely with the standards and guidelines set out in Resolutions of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians. Descriptions of the underlying concepts and structure of Australia's labour force statistics, and the sources and methods used in compiling these estimates, are presented in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001).


COLLECTION METHODOLOGY

5 ABS interviewers conducted personal interviews by either telephone or at selected dwellings during the 2009-10 financial year. Each month a sample of approximately 1,300 dwellings were selected for the main MPHS sample, and approximately 1,300 to 1,400 additional dwellings were selected for the extra MPHS sample. In these dwellings, after the LFS had been fully completed for each person in the household, a usual resident aged 15 years and over was selected at random and asked the additional MPHS questions in a personal interview. Information for this survey was collected using Computer Assisted Interviewing (CAI), whereby responses are recorded directly onto an electronic questionnaire in a notebook computer.


SCOPE

6 The scope of the LFS is restricted to people aged 15 years and over and excludes the following:
  • members of the permanent defence forces;
  • certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from census and estimated population counts;
  • overseas residents in Australia; and
  • members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants).

7 In addition the 2009-10 MPHS excluded the following:
  • people living in very remote parts of Australia; and
  • people living in non-private dwellings such as hotels, university residences, students at boarding schools, patients in hospitals, residents of homes (e.g. retirement homes, homes for people with disabilities), and inmates of prisons.

8 The 2009-10 MPHS was conducted in both urban and rural areas in all states and territories, but excluded people living in very remote parts of Australia. The exclusion of these people will have only a minor impact on any aggregate estimates that are produced for individual states and territories, except the Northern Territory where such people account for around 23% of the population.


COVERAGE

9 In the LFS, coverage rules are applied which aim to ensure that each person is associated with only one dwelling and hence has only one chance of selection in the survey. See Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) for more details.


SAMPLE SIZE

10 The initial total sample for the Work-Related Injuries topic included in the MPHS 2009-10 consisted of approximately 38,655 private dwelling households, which is approximately double the standard MPHS sample. Of the 32,760 private dwelling households that remained in the survey after sample loss (e.g. households with LFS non-response, no residents in scope for the LFS or work-related injuries topic, vacant or derelict dwellings and dwellings under construction), approximately 88% were fully responding to the MPHS. The number of completed interviews obtained from these private dwelling households (after taking into account the scope, coverage and subsampling exclusions) was 28,554 (14,205 for the main sample and 14,349 for the extra sample).


ESTIMATION METHODS

11 Weighting is the process of adjusting results from a sample survey to infer results for the total in scope population. To do this, a 'weight' is allocated to each sample unit, which, for the MPHS, can either be a person or a household. The weight is a value which indicates how many population units are represented by the sample unit. The first step in calculating weights for each unit is to assign an initial weight, which is the inverse of the probability of being selected in the survey. The initial weights are then calibrated to align with independent estimates of the population of interest, referred to as 'benchmarks'. Weights are calibrated against population benchmarks to ensure that the survey estimates conform to the independently estimated distribution of the population rather than the distribution within the sample itself.

12 The survey was benchmarked to the estimated civilian population aged 15 years and over living in private dwellings in each state and territory, excluding the scope exclusions listed under Explanatory Notes 6 to 8. The process of weighting ensures that the survey estimates conform to person benchmarks by state, part of state, age and sex, and to household benchmarks by state, part of state and household composition. These benchmarks are produced from estimates of the resident population derived independently of the survey.


RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES

13 Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors:
  • sampling error is the difference between the published estimate and the value that would have been produced if all dwellings had been included in the survey. For more information see the Technical Note; and
  • non-sampling errors are inaccuracies that occur because of imperfections in reporting by respondents and interviewers, and errors made in coding and processing data. These inaccuracies may occur in any enumeration, whether it be a full count or a sample. Every effort is made to reduce the non-sampling error to a minimum by careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers, and effective processing procedures.


CLASSIFICATIONS USED

14 Occupation data are classified according to the ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, 2006 (cat. no. 1220.0).

15 Industry data are classified according to the ANZSIC - Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification, 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0).

16 Country of birth data are classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), Second Edition, 2008 (cat. no. 1269.0).

17 Educational attainment data are classified according to the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0).

18 Work-related injuries data are classified according to Type of Occurrence Classifications System (TOOCS) Safe Work Australia . See Appendix- Work-related injuries or illnesses for more information.


COMPARABILITY WITH MONTHLY LFS STATISTICS

19 Due to differences in the scope and sample size of the MPHS and that of the LFS, the estimation procedure may lead to some variations between labour force estimates from this survey and those from the LFS.


PREVIOUS SURVEYS

20 The Work-Related Injuries Survey was last conducted in the 2005-2006 financial year. Results from this survey were published in Work-Related Injuries, Australia, (cat. no. 6324.0).


CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

21 The following are new or modified data items available in the Work-Related Injuries survey for the 2009-10 year. For a more detailed list of categories available for these data items, see Appendix- Populations and data items list.
  • Remoteness Areas;
  • Number of days of the week/shifts usually worked in job where most recent work-related injury or illness occurred;
  • Whether received any formal training in OH&S risks in workplace at any time prior to work-related injury or illness;
  • Whether received formal training in OH&S risks in the workplace in current or most recent job (for both people who did and did not experience a work-related injury or illness in the last 12 months); and
  • Type of OH&S training undertaken.

22 'Whether received any formal training in OH&S risks in workplace at any time prior to work-related injury or illness' is determined from responses to questions about whether received particular types of training. In 2005-06 this item was determined by asking a question only about whether any training had been received, not particular types. Therefore, caution should be used when comparing these estimates as they have been determined in different ways.


NEXT SURVEY

23 The ABS is planning to conduct the Work-Related Injuries topic again during the 2013-14 financial year. The topics included in the 2010-11 MPHS are:
  • Household Use of IT;
  • Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation;
  • Retirement and Retirement Intentions;
  • Patient Experience;
  • Crime Victimisation;
  • Cultural Participation; and
  • Learning and Work History.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

24 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated: without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.


PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Spreadsheets

25 Electronic versions of the tables released in this publication are available on the ABS website in spreadsheets (cat. no. 6324.0). The spreadsheets present the tables and the relative standard errors (RSEs) for each publication table.


Unit record file

26 An expanded Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) will be released in early 2011 from the 2009-10 Work-Related Injuries Survey subject to the approval of the Australian Statistician. This CURF will be accessible only through the RADL. The CURF will be available in SAS, STATA and SPSS format. A full range of up-to-date information about the availability of ABS CURFs and about applying for access to CURFs is available via the ABS website (see Services - CURF Microdata). For inquiries regarding CURFs, contact ABS CURF Management Unit via email at microdata.access@abs.gov.au, or telephone (02) 6252 7714.


RELATED PUBLICATIONS

27 ABS publications which may also be of interest include:
28 The following may also be of interest:
29 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are available from the Statistics Page on the ABS website. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the website which details products to be released in the week ahead.