8655.0 - Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services, Australia, 2006-07 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/04/2008   
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EXPLANATORY NOTES


Introduction
Scope
ANZSIC93 and ANZSIC06
Statistical Units Defined on the ABS Register
Coverage
Improvements to Coverage
Comparison with Other ABS Statistics
Historical Comparisons
Reliability of the Data
Rounding
Reference Period
Acknowledgment
Data Available on Request


INTRODUCTION

1 This publication presents results from a survey of cafe, restaurant and catering businesses for the reference year 2006-07. This is the sixth time the ABS has conducted this survey. Previous statistics were released for the 2003-04, 1998-99, 1991-92, 1986-87 and 1979-80 reference years.


SCOPE

2 The scope of the 2006-07 Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services Survey included all employing and significant non-employing businesses classified, on the ABS Business Register, to the following classes of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006 edition (ANZSIC06):
  • Class 4511 Cafes and Restaurants
  • Class 4513 Catering Services

3 For Class 4511 Cafes and Restaurants, the scope included Australian businesses that generated income predominantly from the provision of food and beverage serving services for consumption on the premises. For Class 4513 Catering Services, the scope included Australian businesses that generated income mainly from the provision of catering services at specific locations or events, including airline catering.

4 Classes 4511 and 4513, together with Class 4512 Takeaway Food Services, make up Group 451 Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services. Businesses mainly engaged in Class 4512 Takeaway Food Services, however, were excluded from this survey.

5 For the purposes of this survey, significant non-employing businesses were defined as all non-employing businesses with an estimated annual turnover of at least $224,000 for Cafes and Restaurants, and at least $274,000 for Catering Services. These turnover thresholds were selected so that the contribution of significant non-employing units, combined with all employing businesses, made up at least 97.5% of the total estimated annual turnover for all businesses classified to Classes 4511 and 4513 respectively. In the 2003-04 survey, significant non-employing businesses were defined as those with turnover at least $3.4m.

6 The estimates presented in this publication relate to significant non-employing and all employing businesses as defined in paragraph 5 above. For an indication of the contribution of non-employing businesses falling below the turnover threshold, refer to the Technical Note on collection design and estimation.
ANZSIC93 AND ANZSIC06

7 The estimates in this publication are based on ANZSIC06. Data in previous issues were based on the 1993 version of the ANZSIC (ANZSIC93). ANZSIC06 was adopted to provide a more contemporary industrial classification system, taking into account issues such as changes in the structure and composition of the economy, changing user demands and compatibility with international classification standards.

8 Most businesses formerly coded to ANZSIC93 Class 5730 Cafes and Restaurants are now classified to either ANZSIC06 Class 4511 Cafes and Restaurants or ANZSIC06 Class 4513 Catering Services. The exception is theatre restaurants, which were in scope of the 2003-04 survey as they were coded to ANZSIC93 Class 5730 Cafes and Restaurants. They are out of scope of the 2006-07 survey, however, as they are now coded to ANZSIC06 Class 9001 Performing Arts Operation. The contribution of theatre restaurants to 2003-04 estimates was found to be negligible and their removal from the scope of the 2006-07 survey has had a negligible impact on the estimates also.
STATISTICAL UNITS DEFINED ON THE ABS REGISTER

9 In the Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services Survey, the statistical unit used to represent businesses, and for which statistics are reported, is the ABN unit, in most cases. The ABN unit is the business unit which has registered for an ABN, and thus appears on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) administered Australian Business Register. This unit is suitable for ABS statistical needs when the business is simple in structure. For more significant and diverse businesses where the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS statistical needs, the statistical unit used is the Type of Activity Unit (TAU). A TAU is comprised of one or more business entities, sub-entities or branches of a business entity within an Enterprise Group that can report production and employment data for similar economic activities. When a minimum set of data items is available, a TAU is created which covers all the operations within an industry subdivision (and the TAU is classified to the relevant subdivision of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)). Where a business cannot supply adequate data for each industry, a TAU is formed which contains activity in more than one industry subdivision and the TAU is classified to the predominant ANZSIC subdivision.

10 Further details about the ABS economic statistical units used in this survey, and in other ABS economic surveys (both sample surveys and censuses), can be found in Chapter 2 of the Standard Economic Sector Classifications of Australia (SESCA) 2002 (cat. no.1218.0).
COVERAGE

11 The frame used for the Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services Survey, like most ABS economic surveys, was taken from the ABS Business Register. The ABS Business Register is updated monthly to take account of new businesses and businesses which have ceased employing.
IMPROVEMENTS TO COVERAGE

12 Data in this publication have been adjusted to allow for lags in processing new businesses to the ABS Business Register, and the omission of some businesses from the register. The majority of businesses affected, and to which the adjustments apply, are small in size.

13 Adjustments have been made to include new businesses in the estimates in the periods in which they commenced operations, rather than when they were processed to the ABS Business Register. Adjustments of this type will continue to be applied in future periods.

14 For more information on these adjustments, please refer to the ABS publication Information Paper: Improvements to ABS Economic Statistics, 1997 (cat. no. 1357.0).
COMPARISON WITH OTHER ABS STATISTICS

15 Annual industry data for cafes, restaurants and catering services are also published in Australian Industry (cat. no. 8155.0). There are important differences between the statistics published in the Australian Industry and Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services publications and users should exercise caution when making comparisons between the two sets of estimates.

16 Australian Industry presents annual summary statistics at the ANZSIC division and subdivision level and experimental statistics at the ANZSIC class level. It shows the relative performance of each industry division and subdivision, and allows patterns of change or growth to be analysed across particular segments of the Australian economy.

17 Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services supplements Australian Industry statistics with a detailed examination of the structure and performance of cafes, restaurants and catering businesses for the reference year of the survey. As such, the survey is not designed to monitor change over time.

18 The main reason the two sets of estimates vary relates to the use of different industry coding practices. For Australian Industry, businesses are coded to ANZSIC classes on the basis of the activity reported to the ATO when registering for an ABN, or for more complex businesses, on the basis of information reported directly to the ABS (see Explanatory Notes paragraphs 9-10). For Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services, however, businesses are coded to ANZSIC06 Classes 4511 and 4513 on the basis of detailed financial data reported in the survey. Adjustments were made to the data to remove the contribution of businesses that were found to be incorrectly coded to ANZSIC06 Classes 4511 and 4513.

19 Monthly industry data for cafes and restaurants are also published in Retail Trade, Australia (cat. no. 8501.0). Retail Trade presents monthly estimates of the value of turnover of businesses classified by industry. The principal objective of the series is to show the month to month movement of turnover. Differences also exist between the estimates published in Retail Trade and Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services, and the reasons for these differences include:
  • varied industry coding practices. Retail Trade includes data from businesses with significant retail activity outside of ANZSIC Classes 4511 and 4513, whereas Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services does not
  • treatment of non-employing businesses. Significant non-employing businesses are included in Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services, but excluded from Retail Trade
  • treatment of GST. Retail Trade estimates are inclusive of GST, but Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services estimates are exclusive of GST.

HISTORICAL COMPARISONS

20 While comparisons are made in this publication between 2006-07 and 2003-04 results of the survey, the reader should bear in mind that the survey was not designed to support accurate estimates of change, and should exercise caution when comparing 2006-07 results to the 2003-04 results for several reasons, as described below in paragraphs 21-26.


Changes in scope

21 In the 2003-04 Cafes and Restaurants Survey, significant non-employing businesses were defined as those with turnover of at least $3.4m. This applied both to cafes and restaurants and to catering and other businesses. In the 2006-07 Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services Survey, significant non-employing businesses were defined as those with annual turnover of at least $224,000 for cafes and restaurants and $274,000 for catering businesses.


Change in estimation methodology

22 The 2003-04 survey used number raised estimation whereas the 2006-07 survey used generalised regression estimation. For details on the change in estimation methodology, refer to the Technical Note on collection design and estimation.


Change in industry classification

23 The estimates in this publication are based on ANZSIC06 whereas estimates in the 2003-04 issue were based on ANZSIC93. Theatre restaurants were in scope of the 2003-04 survey but are out of scope of the 2006-07 survey because under ANZSIC06 they are now included in Class 9001 Performing Arts Operation. Additionally, the 2003-04 issue of this publication provided separate data for 'catering and other' businesses as distinct from cafes and restaurants. Chef businesses were included in 'catering and other' in 2003-04 but under ANZSIC06 they are included in Class 4511 Cafes and Restaurants.

24 For more information on the 2006 industry classification and concordances between ANZSIC06 and ANZSIC93, please refer to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0).


Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards

25 The new Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (AEIFRS) were progressively implemented in Australia from 1 January 2005. As a result, changes in definitions have impacted upon both income statements and balance sheet items.

26 Since the implementation of AEIFRS, analysis of published time series data has indicated structural breaks in series. The magnitude of such breaks, however, cannot be determined without imposing a disproportionate load upon data providers. The ABS will continue to monitor developments and report any significant identified impacts as a result of AEIFRS.
RELIABILITY OF THE DATA

27 When interpreting the results of a survey it is important to take into account factors that may affect the reliability of estimates. Such factors can be classified as either sampling or non-sampling error.


Sampling error

28 The estimates are based on information obtained from a randomly selected, stratified sample of cafe, restaurant and catering businesses in Australia. Consequently, the estimates in this publication are subject to sampling variability, that is, they may differ from the figures that would have been obtained if all units had been included in the survey (that is, if a census was conducted). One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error (SE), which indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied by chance because only a sample of units was included.

29 There are about two chances in three that a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if a census was conducted and approximately 19 chances in 20 that the difference will be less than two SEs.

30 Sampling variability can also be measured by the relative standard error (RSE), which is obtained by expressing the SE as a percentage of the estimate to which it refers. The RSE is a useful measure in that it provides an immediate indication of the sampling error in percentage terms, and this avoids the need to refer also to the size of the estimate. The following table contains estimates of RSEs for a selection of the statistics presented in this publication.

RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS FOR TABLE 1 SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS

Cafes and restaurants
Catering services
Total
%
%
%

Businesses at end June
4.8
17.1
4.4
Employment at end June
6.3
9.5
5.0
Income
Takings from meals consumed on the premises
6.0
41.6
5.9
Takings from takeaway food
11.6
53.1
11.2
Takings from catering services
37.5
3.9
3.6
Sale of liquor and other beverages
8.9
15.1
8.2
Other
17.8
5.2
6.1
Total
5.8
4.9
4.0
Expenses
Labour costs
7.0
6.0
4.4
Purchases
5.7
5.0
4.3
Rent, leasing and hiring
8.1
10.4
7.3
Other
6.3
4.5
4.4
Total
5.8
5.0
4.1
Operating profit before tax
24.7
6.5
15.9
Operating profit margin
23.4
5.8
15.2
Industry value added
6.6
5.9
4.3
Available seating at end June
6.6
. .
6.6

. . not applicable


31 As an example of the above, an estimate of total income for cafes, restaurants and catering services during 2006-07 was $13,673.2m and the RSE was estimated to be 4%, giving a SE of approximately $546.9m. Therefore, there would be two chances in three that, if all units had been included in the survey, a figure in the range of $13,126.3m to $14,220.1m would have been obtained, and 19 chances in 20 (i.e. a confidence interval of 95%) that the figure would have been within the range of $12,579.4m to $14,767m.

32 The sampling variability for estimates at the state/territory level was generally higher than for Australian level aggregates. Survey estimates for states/territories should therefore be viewed with more caution than national estimates. Additionally, within states/territories, the sampling variability and therefore the RSEs of estimates for smaller states/territories were higher than for larger states. Survey estimates for the smaller states/territories should therefore be viewed with more caution than those for larger states.

33 Estimates that have an estimated relative standard error between 10% and 25% are annotated with the symbol '^' . These estimates should be used with caution as they are subject to sampling variability too high for some purposes. Estimates with an RSE between 25% and 50% are annotated with the symbol '*', indicating that the estimate should be used with caution as it is subject to sampling variability too high for most practical purposes. Estimates with an RSE greater than 50% are annotated with the symbol '**' indicating that the sampling variability causes the estimates to be considered too unreliable for general use.


Non-sampling error

34 Errors other than those due to sampling may occur in any type of collection and are referred to as non-sampling error. For this survey, non-sampling error may result from such things as deficiencies in the register of businesses from which the sample was drawn, non-response, imperfections in reporting and/or errors made in compiling results. The extent to which non-sampling error affects the results of the survey is not precisely quantifiable. Every effort was made to minimise non-sampling error by careful design and testing of the questionnaire, efficient operating procedures and systems and the use of appropriate methodology. Survey estimates subject to a high level of non-sampling error have been suppressed or provided with relevant cautions.
ROUNDING

35 Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sum of the components and the total. Similar discrepancies may occur between a proportion or ratio, and the ratio of the separate components.
REFERENCE PERIOD

36 Data contained in the tables in this publication related to cafes, restaurants and catering businesses in Australia during the year ended June 2007. Financial estimates included the activity of any business that ceased or commenced operations during the year. Counts of businesses and locations included only those that were operating at 30 June 2007. Employment estimates included only those persons working for businesses during the last pay period ending in June 2007, or the last pay period of the month specified. Estimates of available seating relate to seating available at 30 June 2007.ACKNOWLEDGMENT

37 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.
DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

38 Inquiries about these statistics and more detailed statistics than those presented in this publication should be made by contacting the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Sophie Vassiliou on (03) 9615 7442.