6530.0 - Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003-04  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/08/2005   
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APPENDIX 1 2003–04 HES DATA RELEASE PROGRAM
APPENDIX 2 SAMPLING VARIABILITY



APPENDIX 1 2003–04 HES DATA RELEASE PROGRAM

2003-04 HES DATA RELEASE PROGRAM

This appendix describes the range of data to be made available from the 2003-04 HES. More detailed information can also be obtained by telephoning the HES contact officer on Canberra (02) 6252 6174.



PUBLICATIONS

The publications to be produced from the 2003-04 HES are listed below. Publication tables can also be provided in spreadsheet format.


Summary of Results (Cat no. 6530.0) contains summary tables of the 2003-04 HES results. Includes tables of expenditure on broad categories of goods and services by household income quintile group; principal source of income; state of residence; household composition; tenure type; and characteristics of the reference person.


Detailed Expenditure Items (Cat no. 6535.0.55.001) contains tables of expenditure at the finest level of detail for goods and services (over 600 categories). Tables are cross classified by income quintile, state/territory and capital city.


User Guide describes the 2003-04 Household Expenditure Survey (HES) definitions concepts, methodology and estimation procedures. It also contains the Household Expenditure Classification and a list of the HES output data items. Expected to be released in October 2005.


The Effects of Government Benefits and Taxes on Household Income (Cat. no. 6537.0) describes the results of a study which uses HES data in conjunction with other data such as government finance statistics to calculate the effects of government benefits and taxes on household income. Provides estimates of government cash benefits received (e.g. age pension and unemployment benefits), personal taxes paid, indirect benefits received (from government spending on health, education and housing) and indirect taxes paid (e.g. petrol and alcohol taxes) for households, classified by selected characteristics. Expected to be released in June 2006.


While this publication provides some household net worth statistics, principally to aid income analysis, a more comprehensive range of household asset and liability information will be released in December 2005 in a new publication Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution, 2003-04.



RESULTS FOR STATES

A set of tables equivalent to the main tables in this publication are available in Excel format for each state and territory (subject to standard error and confidentiality constraints and excluding time series tables) and Australia. These tables will be available from the ABS web site <www.abs.gov.au> or from the ABS upon request.



UNIT RECORD FILE

It is expected that a confidentialised unit record file (CURF) from the 2003-04 SIH will be released on CD-ROM in October 2005. It is also expected that a more detailed SIH CURF will be available through the ABS Remote Access Data Laboratory. 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 web site <www.abs.gov.au> (see Services We Provide, Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs)). Inquiries to the ABS CURF Management Unit should email: curf.management@abs.gov.au, or telephone (02) 6252 5853.



SPECIAL TABULATIONS

As well as releasing publications and standard products, the ABS can make available special tabulations. Subject to confidentiality and standard error constraints, tabulations can be produced from the survey incorporating data items, populations and geographic areas selected to meet individual requirements. These can be provided in printed form, or in spreadsheets sent by email or on CD-ROM.


The published data are only a small portion of the data collected in the survey. It is also not the only way the HES data can be presented. A wide range of data items is available for specific data requests. The detailed list of possible data items is contained in a data item list which will be released as part of the 2003-04 Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: User Guide (Cat. no. 6527.0).


The main expected areas of interest are:

  • detailed expenditure items
  • general household characteristics
  • household income
  • household net worth
  • income and personal characteristics of household members
  • details of separate mortgages held by the household
  • data relating to personal loans
  • government benefits and income taxes
  • details of geographic areas.


APPENDIX 2 SAMPLING VARIABILITY

INTRODUCTION


The estimates in this publication are based on information obtained from the occupants of a sample of dwellings. Therefore, the estimates are subject to sampling variability and may differ from the figures that would have been produced if information had been collected for all dwellings. One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error (SE), which indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied because only a sample of dwellings was included. There are about two chances in three that the sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if all dwellings had been included, and about 19 chances in 20 that the difference will be less than two SEs. Another measure of the likely difference is the relative standard error (RSE), which is obtained by expressing the SE as a percentage of the estimate.


For estimates of population sizes, the size of the SE generally increases with the level of the estimate, so that the larger the estimate the larger the SE. However, the larger the sampling estimate the smaller the SE in percentage terms (RSE). Thus, larger sample estimates will be relatively more reliable than smaller estimates.


In the tables in this publication, only estimates with RSEs of 25% or less are considered reliable for most purposes. Estimates with RSEs greater than 25% but less than or equal to 50% are preceded by an asterisk (e.g. *3.4) to indicate they are subject to high SEs and should be used with caution. Estimates with RSEs of greater than 50%, preceded by a double asterisk (e.g. **0.3), are considered too unreliable for general use and should only be used to aggregate with other estimates to provide derived estimates with RSEs of 25% or less.


Space does not allow for the separate indication of the SE of all the estimates in this publication. RSEs for all tables are provided on the ABS web site <https://www.abs.gov.au> (see Statistics: Access to all ABS products and statistics, including AusStats, Publication and Data, Data Cubes, 65. Consumer income and expenditure, 6523.0), with the RSEs for table 1 also included as table A13. The RSEs have been derived using the group jackknife method.



RSES OF COMPARATIVE ESTIMATES

Proportions and percentages

Proportions and percentages, which are formed from the ratio of two estimates, are also subject to sampling errors. The size of the error depends on the accuracy of both the numerator and the denominator. For proportions where the denominator is an estimate of the number of households in a grouping and the numerator is the number of households in a sub-group of the denominator group, the formula for the RSE is given by


Equation - RSE(x/y) = square root of [RSE(x)] squared - [RSE(y)] squared


Differences between estimates

The difference between survey estimates is also subject to sampling variability. An approximate SE of the difference between two estimates (x-y) may be calculated by the formula:


Equation - SE(x-y) = square root of [SE(x)] squared + [SE(y)] squared


This approximation can generally be used whenever the estimates come from different samples, such as two estimates from different years or two estimates for two non-intersecting subpopulations in the one year. If the estimates come from two populations, one of which is a subpopulation of the other, the standard error is likely to be lower than that derived from this approximation, but there is no straightforward way of estimating how much lower.

A1 RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS (%) FOR TABLE 25, STATES AND TERRITORIES - ALL HOUSEHOLDS - Household expenditure

NSW
Vic.
Qld
SA
WA
Tas.
NT
ACT
Aust.
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%

Average weekly expenditure
Broad expenditure group
Goods and services
Current housing costs (selected dwelling)
2.4
2.7
3.9
3.1
6.2
4.2
4.9
5.3
1.4
Domestic fuel and power
1.7
1.5
2.5
2.3
2.0
3.3
4.2
4.7
0.9
Food and non-alcoholic beverages
1.4
1.4
2.0
1.8
2.4
2.9
3.7
3.2
0.6
Alcoholic beverages
4.9
4.7
5.9
5.7
6.4
8.4
7.2
9.5
2.5
Tobacco products
5.4
5.7
10.2
9.2
8.9
14.2
12.7
12.9
3.3
Clothing and footwear
4.5
4.5
6.5
7.4
7.1
8.7
16.6
8.2
2.6
Household furnishings and equipment
6.1
5.1
7.6
6.4
7.9
12.7
11.4
11.6
2.6
Household services and operation
2.0
2.2
2.7
3.1
4.0
3.4
5.2
5.2
1.2
Medical care and health expenses
5.3
7.6
3.5
3.5
4.5
4.6
6.6
7.6
2.7
Transport
4.4
3.9
4.7
4.9
5.5
10.1
8.9
6.7
1.9
Recreation
2.7
3.0
4.6
6.6
5.7
5.3
15.2
7.6
1.8
Personal care
3.7
3.8
4.9
5.1
6.0
6.2
10.1
11.5
1.9
Miscellaneous goods and services
4.2
4.8
6.0
7.0
5.8
7.8
11.1
8.7
2.0
Total goods and services expenditure
1.5
1.5
1.9
2.2
2.8
2.9
5.8
2.8
0.8
Selected other payments
Income tax
3.2
3.5
3.0
5.0
3.6
4.9
7.6
4.5
1.7
Mortgage repayments - principal (selected dwelling)
5.4
6.1
11.5
8.7
6.3
13.7
11.8
15.0
3.7
Superannuation and life insurance
9.2
7.0
15.2
13.1
13.3
28.1
15.3
10.5
4.7
Proportion of total goods and services expenditure
Broad expenditure group
Goods and services
Current housing costs (selected dwelling)
2.3
2.3
3.4
3.0
5.6
4.7
4.4
4.7
1.2
Domestic fuel and power
2.1
2.0
2.5
2.2
2.9
4.1
4.8
4.9
1.0
Food and non-alcoholic beverages
1.3
1.4
1.8
2.5
1.6
2.9
3.5
3.4
0.7
Alcoholic beverages
4.5
4.2
5.6
5.5
5.9
8.5
6.7
9.6
2.2
Tobacco products
6.0
5.9
10.1
9.4
9.4
13.5
12.9
13.4
3.3
Clothing and footwear
3.9
4.0
6.1
6.7
6.9
7.8
15.0
8.4
2.3
Household furnishings and equipment
5.8
5.2
6.9
6.3
7.4
11.9
9.9
10.7
2.5
Household services and operation
2.0
2.2
2.1
3.0
3.9
3.6
5.5
5.2
1.2
Medical care and health expenses
5.0
7.2
3.3
3.6
4.0
4.7
5.6
7.0
2.5
Transport
3.6
3.4
4.4
3.7
4.1
8.6
6.2
6.1
1.5
Recreation
2.5
2.6
4.2
5.4
4.4
5.0
11.5
6.4
1.4
Personal care
3.4
3.5
4.9
4.8
5.4
5.8
8.0
11.2
1.9
Miscellaneous goods and services
3.8
4.2
5.2
6.3
4.4
6.6
8.3
7.5
1.7
Total goods and services expenditure
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

A2 RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS (%) FOR TABLE 26, STATES AND TERRITORIES - ALL HOUSEHOLDS - Household characteristics

NSW
Vic.
Qld
SA
WA
Tas.
NT
ACT
Aust.
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%

Mean gross household income per week
1.7
1.9
1.7
2.6
2.1
2.3
4.9
2.9
0.9
Mean household net worth
3.4
4.5
6.3
4.2
4.8
5.5
13.8
5.3
1.8
Proportion of households with characteristic
Principal source of household income
Zero or negative income
42.5
39.3
53.2
46.6
43.6
86.6
71.8
-
19.3
Wages and salaries
1.4
1.5
2.6
2.8
2.6
3.7
2.9
3.3
0.9
Own unincorporated business income
10.2
9.8
9.1
12.5
12.1
20.2
23.6
27.5
5.1
Government pensions and allowances
3.3
3.0
4.0
3.8
5.5
4.2
12.6
12.1
1.6
Other income
6.7
7.5
15.8
9.1
16.3
17.6
25.4
16.1
4.4
Total
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Contribution of government pensions and allowances to gross household income
Nil or less than 1%
1.8
2.1
3.1
3.2
3.5
6.1
4.2
4.1
0.9
1% to less than 20%
4.6
4.4
5.4
6.8
8.6
11.9
9.4
13.2
2.3
20% to less than 50%
9.2
7.5
11.1
11.5
10.6
19.4
20.6
23.8
3.9
50% to less than 90%
7.6
8.2
11.3
10.1
10.1
14.7
19.7
27.8
3.9
90% and over
4.4
4.4
6.6
5.5
8.0
7.4
17.7
16.7
2.5
Total
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tenure and landlord type
Owner without a mortgage
2.4
2.1
3.5
3.3
3.5
3.7
9.4
6.1
1.2
Owner with a mortgage
2.8
2.1
3.4
3.5
3.1
5.0
6.2
6.3
1.3
Renter
State/territory housing authority
13.9
15.3
18.3
13.7
19.5
20.5
23.4
21.6
6.6
Private landlord
4.8
5.2
5.7
7.6
6.3
10.5
12.2
13.4
2.4
Other landlord type
22.5
37.9
31.5
26.9
34.4
50.6
33.1
58.5
13.8
Total renters
3.9
3.9
4.8
5.7
5.0
7.0
8.4
8.4
1.9
Other tenure type
18.0
14.5
20.7
24.7
22.6
47.6
23.3
51.0
9.5
Total
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Family composition of household
One family households
Couple family with dependent children
2.6
2.9
4.4
3.9
4.8
6.5
10.0
7.3
1.2
One parent family with dependent children
7.2
8.8
10.4
12.9
13.0
15.8
18.9
19.8
3.0
Couple only
3.3
3.6
3.9
4.7
5.3
7.5
9.2
9.0
1.1
Other one family households
6.2
7.6
11.3
11.8
10.8
23.3
15.9
25.5
3.0
Multiple family households
17.9
25.0
36.7
39.0
54.1
80.6
47.1
-
12.2
Non-family households
Lone person
3.4
3.6
3.7
3.8
5.7
8.2
11.9
10.0
-
Group households
15.2
16.5
20.0
20.5
22.7
34.2
29.8
27.0
7.8
Total
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Average age of reference person
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.8
1.2
1.0
0.2
Average number in household
Employed persons
0.6
0.7
0.7
1.0
1.1
1.3
3.6
2.1
-
Dependent children
1.6
1.5
2.7
2.0
2.9
3.2
3.9
4.3
0.7
Persons
Under 18 years
1.2
1.4
2.4
1.9
2.4
2.7
4.0
4.4
0.6
18 to 64 years
0.8
0.8
1.1
1.2
1.2
1.7
3.1
2.3
0.2
65 years and over
0.6
0.7
0.7
1.0
1.1
1.3
19.5
2.1
-
Total
0.6
0.7
0.7
1.0
1.1
1.3
2.8
2.1
-
Estimated number in population
Households
0.6
0.7
0.7
1.0
1.1
1.3
2.8
2.1
-
Persons
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)