6530.0 - Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003-04 (Reissue)  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/02/2006   
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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 All Statistics: Access to all ABS products & statistics, By Catalogue Number, 65. Consumer income and expenditure, 6530.0), 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: Proportions and percentages


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: Differences between estimates


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
2.5
3.4
3.2
6.1
4.5
4.6
4.5
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
2.1
2.2
2.7
3.0
3.8
3.4
5.2
5.4
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
6.5
5.6
5.3
15.1
7.5
1.7
Personal care
3.7
3.8
4.9
5.1
6.0
6.2
10.1
11.5
1.9
Miscellaneous goods and services
4.1
4.8
5.9
6.9
5.8
7.7
11.2
8.7
2.0
Total goods and services expenditure
1.4
1.5
1.8
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)
5.5
6.2
11.2
8.5
6.5
13.2
12.0
14.9
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
2.2
3.1
3.0
5.4
4.9
4.4
4.0
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
1.4
1.4
1.8
2.5
1.6
2.9
3.5
3.4
0.7
Alcoholic beverages
4.5
4.2
5.7
5.5
5.9
8.5
6.7
9.6
2.2
Tobacco products
6.0
5.9
10.1
9.4
9.3
13.6
12.8
13.4
3.4
Clothing and footwear
4.0
4.0
6.1
6.7
6.9
7.8
15.0
8.4
2.3
Household furnishings and equipment
5.8
5.2
7.0
6.4
7.4
11.9
9.9
10.7
2.5
Household services and operation
2.1
2.2
2.1
2.9
3.8
3.7
5.5
5.3
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
3.5
4.4
3.7
4.1
8.6
6.2
6.1
1.5
Recreation
2.5
2.5
4.1
5.3
4.3
4.9
11.4
6.3
1.4
Personal care
3.4
3.5
4.9
4.8
5.4
5.8
7.9
11.2
1.9
Miscellaneous goods and services
3.7
4.2
5.2
6.2
4.4
6.5
8.4
7.4
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
6.2
4.2
4.8
5.5
13.7
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)