3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, Jun 2012 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/12/2012   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

DEMOGRAPHY NEWS

RELEASE OF BIRTHS, AUSTRALIA, 2011 (cat. no. 3301.0)

Births, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 3301.0) was released on 25 October, 2012. This publication presents statistics on live births and fertility for Australia and the states and territories based on calendar year of registration data. Data presented in this publication includes information on the characteristics of live births such as place of usual residence, sex, Indigenous status and the median age of the parents.

There were 301,617 births registered in 2011, a slight increase (1.2%) from the number of births registered in 2010 (297,903). Of the total births recorded in 2011, there were 17,621 births (6% of all births) where at least one parent reported themselves as being an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander on the birth registration form.

Australia's total fertility rate declined slightly to 1.88 babies per woman in 2011, down from a thirty-year high of 1.96 in 2008. Total fertility rates increased for New South Wales, Tasmania and the Northern Territory in 2011, while the rates slightly decreased for the remaining states and territory. Tasmania had the highest total fertility rate (2.17 babies per woman) and Victoria had the lowest (1.75 babies per woman).

The median age of all mothers for births registered in 2011 was 30.6 years, while the median age of all fathers was 33.0 years, both slightly younger than in 2010.

Statistics on sub-state births are available from the Downloads tab of the Births, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 3301.0) publication. In July 2011, the ABS replaced the nation's official statistical geography, the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) with the new Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The ASGS defines more stable, consistent and meaningful areas than the ASGC and will become the essential reference for understanding and interpreting the geographical dimension of ABS statistics.

For the first time, a time series of sub-state birth statistics are available on the ASGS. This will enable data users to compare births data more easily with other ABS statistics, in particular sub-state population estimates from the publication Regional Population Growth, Australia 2011 (cat. no. 3218.0) as well as with 2011 Census data. Time series for sub-state births data on the ASGC have been released for the last time with future Births, Australia publications only releasing statistics on the ASGS.

Further information on births and fertility, including information on births to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers, is available from the ABS website.

RELEASE OF DEATHS, AUSTRALIA, 2011 (cat. no. 3302.0)

Deaths, Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 3302.0) was released on 8 November 2012. This product presents statistics on deaths and mortality for Australia, states and territories, and sub-state regions based on calendar year of registration data. Data presented in this publication includes information on characteristics of the deceased such as place of usual residence, age at death, sex, Indigenous status and country of birth. Information is also provided on infant deaths, life expectancy and death rates. Statistics on deaths by sub-state regions are also available for download from the ABS website.

There were 146,932 deaths registered in Australia in 2011, which is 3,459 more than the number registered in 2010 (143,473). Of the total deaths registered in 2011, there were 2,558 deaths where the deceased was recorded as being an Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or both on the death registration form.

In 2011, the standardised death rate (which eliminates the effect of the changing age structure of the population over time) was the lowest on record at 5.6 deaths per 1,000 standard population. In 2001, the standardised death rate was 6.6 deaths per 1,000 standard population. The infant mortality rate in 2011 was 3.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, a decrease on the rate in 2001 (5.3 infant deaths per 1,000 live births).

Life expectancy continues to increase and has reached record levels, for both men and women, in 2011. Based on current death rates, a boy born in 2009–2011 can expect to live 79.7 years, while a girl can expect to live 84.2 years.

Statistics on sub-state deaths are available from the Downloads tab of the Deaths, Australia, 2011 publication. In July 2011, the ABS replaced the nation's official statistical geography, the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) with the new Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The ASGS defines more stable, consistent and meaningful areas than the ASGC and will become the essential reference for understanding and interpreting the geographical dimension of ABS statistics.

For the first time, a time series of sub-state deaths statistics are available on the ASGS. This will enable data users to compare deaths data more easily with other ABS statistics, in particular sub-state population estimates from the publication Regional Population Growth, Australia 2011 (cat. no. 3218.0) as well as with 2011 Census data. Time series for sub-state deaths data on the ASGC have been released for the last time with future Deaths, Australia publications only releasing statistics on the ASGS.

Further information on deaths and mortality at the national and the state and territory levels, including information on deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, is available from the ABS website.

REBUILD OF THE OVERSEAS ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES (OAD) SYSTEM AT THE ABS

Currently, the ABS is completing work on a rebuild of the Overseas Arrivals and Departures (OAD) system. The aim is to improve the quality of OAD data and improve the quality of the imputations being used within the processing system. As OAD data is the major input for estimating Net Overseas Migration (NOM) it is envisaged that the quality of characteristics available within the NOM collection will also improve. These changes could also make improvements to the preliminary estimation of NOM. One of the main improvements is the imputation for country of birth, in particular for New Zealand citizens (for which country of birth is not available from a visa application, nor more recent from the New Zealand biometric passports). The ABS are currently testing the effects of the revised OAD data on the NOM system and related outputs. The current plan is to release these improvements into production with the release of Overseas Arrivals and Departures, July 2013 (cat. no. 3401.0) in September 2013.

PROCESSING OF OVERSEAS ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES (OAD) DATA FOR MAY AND JUNE 2012

The ABS had identified an issue with Overseas Arrivals and Departures data for the months of May and June 2012. Investigations by the ABS and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) uncovered a processing lag in passenger cards from Australian sea ports. While DIAC and the ABS endeavour to ensure the quality and usability of OAD data, there can often be variability in the accuracy of data by seaport each month. This is usually due to a lag in the delivery and processing of passenger cards from various Australian seaports. The data was re-processed and re-released for May and June 2012 with the August release of Overseas Arrivals and Departures (cat. no 3401.0) on 9 October 2012.

NOTICE OF CHANGE TO ERP REVISION CYCLE

As of the September 2013 release of Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0), revisions to the Net Overseas Migration (NOM) component of Estimated Resident Population (ERP) will change from a biannual to a quarterly revision cycle.

THE 2006-2011 INTERCENSAL PERIOD AND REVISIONS TO HISTORICAL ERP

The June quarter release of Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0) includes a feature article titled The 2006-2011 Intercensal Period and Revisions to Historical ERP which provides information on the revisions that will be made to historical ERP, as a result of recent methodological improvements.

RECENT RELEASES

05/12/2012 Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, October 2012 (cat. no. 3401.0)

08/11/2012 Deaths, Australia 2011 (cat. no. 3301.0)

08/11/2012 Life tables, States, Territories and Australia, 2009-2011 (cat. no. 3302.0.55.001)

21/11/2012 Causes of Death, Australia: Doctor Certified Deaths, Summary tables, 2011 (cat. no. 3303.0.55.001)

25/10/2012 Births, Australia 2011 (cat. no. 3301.0)

25/10/2012 Migrant Statistics News, Oct 2012 (cat. no. 3413.0)

UPCOMING RELEASES


15/01/2013 Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, November 2012 (cat. no. 3401.0)

28/03/2013 Australian Demographic Statistics, Sep 2012 (cat. no. 3101.0)