1392.0 - Statistical News SA, Jun 2008  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 17/06/2008   
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Feature ABS ReleasesFEATURE ABS RELEASES

Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC)
Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
Measures of Australia's Progress: Summary Indicators
Social Atlas Series
Information Paper: An Introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)
The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), Second Edition (cat. no. 1269.0)

Comprises an explanation of the conceptual basis of the classification, the structure of the classification, alphabetical and numerical order coding indexes for population and economic statistics, concordances between the SACC, 2nd Edition and the SACC 1st Edition, a link between International Statistics Organisation codes and the classification codes, and a link between the classification and the United Nations Standard Country or Area Codes. The classification is intended for use whenever population or economic statistics are classified by country.

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008 (cat. no. 1297.0)

This is a compendium of three classifications developed specifically for the compilation of standardised research and development statistics. It comprises classifications for type of activity, field of research and socio-economic objective.
The 2008 Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC) was developed to meet the dual needs for a comprehensive description of today's research environment, as well as the ability to compare R&D statistics internationally. Growing policy interest in areas of energy production, climate change and environmental protection, as well new fields of R&D, led to a need to update the previous classification, the Australian Standard Research Classification (ASRC). The areas of energy and environment and technology and environmental science have been significantly updated in the classification to reflect growing research interest and R&D output.

Classifications are a tool used by the ABS, as well as others in government, academia and the private sector, to ensure that data on particular topics are consistently described. This improves both data reporting and resource allocation.

ANZSRC 2008 was developed in collaboration with Statistics New Zealand after extensive consultation with the review's Technical Reference Group and other users of the previous classification. ANZSRC 2008 also meets OECD guidelines and is aligned to the OECD’s Frascati Manual, which sets standard practice for surveys of R&D, and the 2006 Fields of Science and Technology classification. The ABS will immediately start using ANZSRC in its surveys of research and experimental development and the first data collected using the new classification will be published in mid-2009.

Measures of Australia's Progress: Summary Indicators, 2008 (Edition 1) (cat. no. 1383.0.55.001)
Measures of Australia's Progress: Summary Indicators 2008 provides a national summary of the most important areas of progress (including: Individuals; the economy and economic resources; the environment; and Living together) and presents them in a way which can be quickly understood. The purpose of Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP) is to inform and stimulate public debate and encourage all Australians to assess the bigger picture when contemplating progress.

Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP): Summary Indicators, is part of the suite of Measures of Australia's Progress products produced by the ABS. This suite includes Measures of Australia's Progress (cat. no. 1370.0), which presents a detailed set of indicators, currently released every five years, and Measures of Australia's Progress: At a Glance (cat. no. 1383.0.55.002), a small summary booklet released annually.

Social Atlas Series, 2006 (cat. no. 2030.0)
The Social Atlas series consists of a separate publication for each state and territory that presents colour maps that highlight key characteristics of the population in each capital city and selected regional areas. The maps depict social, economic and housing characteristics based on data collected in the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. This information shows the diversity that exists across Australia's cities and regional centres. The maps are easy to interpret as the distribution of the data are represented by different colours and shading. Brief commentary explaining the main features and characteristics also accompany each map.

To provide some consistency between atlases, each publication includes a common set of maps for the capital city areas covering topics such as population, cultural diversity, education, labour force, income, families, households and dwellings. Also, each Social Atlas includes additional maps that highlight any unique attributes pertaining to the particular capital city. A smaller selection of maps are included for the selected regional centres and these vary from Atlas to Atlas.


Information Paper: An Introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2006 (cat. no. 2039.0)

This Information Paper describes the indexes for summarising the socio-economic profile of poulation by areas and illustrates their possible uses. SEIFA is a suite of four summary measures that have been created from 2006 Census information. The indexes can be used to explore different aspects of socio-economic conditions by geographic areas. For each index, every geographic area in Australia is given a SEIFA number which shows how disadvantaged that area is compared with other areas in Australia.

Each index summarises a different aspect of the socio-economic conditions of people living in an area. The indexes provide more general measures of socio-economic status than is given by measuring income or unemployment alone, for example.

The four indexes in SEIFA 2006 are:
- Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage: is derived from Census variables related to disadvantage, such as low income, low educational attainment, unemployment, and dwellings without motor vehicles.
- Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage: a continuum of advantage (high values) to disadvantage (low values) which is derived from Census variables related to both advantage and disadvantage, like household with low income and people with a tertiary education.
- Index of Economic Resources: focuses on Census variables like the income, housing expenditure and assets of households.
- Index of Education and Occupation: includes Census variables relating to the educational and occupational characteristics of communities, like the proportion of people with a higher qualification or those employed in a skilled occupation.

The concept of relative socio-economic disadvantage is neither simple, nor well defined. SEIFA uses a broad definition of relative socio-economic disadvantage in terms of people's access to material and social resources, and their ability to participate in society. While SEIFA represents an average of all people living in an area, SEIFA does not represent the individual situation of each person. Larger areas are more likely to have greater diversity of people and households.



The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 2008 (cat. no. 4704.0)

This publication is a joint venture between the ABS and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and provides a comprehensive statistical overview of the health and welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In addition to a wide range of administrative data sources, this issue features results from the 2004-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2006 Census of Population and Housing and 2006 Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey. Among the topics included are: demographic and population characteristics; housing circumstances; maternal and child health; health risk factors; health status; disability; mortality; and access to, and use of, services. Wherever possible, data are provided on changes in the circumstances of Indigenous people over time, as well as on the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. While most information is presented at the national level, some data are also presented for states and territories, and by remoteness.