4240.0.55.001 - National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/03/2012   
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Contents >> Collection Overview >> Collection Date and Reference Period

COLLECTION DATE AND REFERENCE PERIOD


The collection date for the National Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Collection is the first Friday in August of each year. In 2011, the collection date for all jurisdictions was Friday, 5 August 2011, with a reference period of 1 – 5 August 2011. Some jurisdictions preferred to incorporate a reference period of two weeks that included the collection date, to better reflect their preschool program delivery models. Jurisdictional collection dates and reference periods for 2011 are summarised in the table below.

2.1 JURISDICTIONAL COLLECTION DATES AND REFERENCE PERIODS, 2011

JurisdictionCollection DateReference Period

Australian Government5 August 20111 – 7 August 2011
New South Wales5 August 20111 – 12 August 2011(a)
Victoria5 August 20111 – 6 August 2011
Queensland5 August 20111 – 7 August 2011 and
25 July – 7 August 2011(a)(b)
South Australia5 August 201125 July – 5 August 2011(a)
Western Australia5 August 201125 July – 5 August 2011(a)
Tasmania5 August 201125 July – 5 August 2011(a)
Northern Territory5 August 20111 – 5 August 2011
Australian Capital Territory5 August 20111 – 12 August 2011(a)

(a) Jurisdiction collected data for a fortnightly reference period to reflect their preschool delivery model.
(b) Reference period for community-based preschools in Queensland.

For the National ECEC Collection to be comparable across the states and territories, it is necessary for all jurisdictions to have consistent collection dates and overlapping reference periods. The use of the recommended collection date of the first Friday in August also aligns the National ECEC Collection with the census date used for the National Schools Statistics Collection to ensure that children are only counted in one sector of education.



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