INTRODUCTION
Statistics in the following data cubes were obtained from the 2002 Child Care Survey. This survey was conducted throughout Australia in June 2002. These data cubes present information about the use of, and demand for, child care for children under 12 years of age by state or territory of usual residence. Information is also presented on the use of the Child Care Benefit and the working arrangements of parents with children under 12 years.
RELIABILITY OF ESTIMATES
Since the estimates in these data cubes are based on information obtained from occupants of a sample of dwellings, they are subject to sampling variability. That is, they may differ from those estimates that would have been produced if all dwellings had been included in the survey. One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error (SE), which indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied by chance because only a sample of dwellings was included. There are about two chances in three (67%) that a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the number that would have been obtained if all dwellings had been included, and about 19 chances in 20 (95%) 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.
It is impractical to print the SE of each estimate in the data cubes. Instead, two tables of RSE cutoffs are provided, as follows, to enable readers to determine the reliability of an estimate. The following table is for estimates of number of children:
| Cutoffs for estimates of number of children ('000) |
 | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT | AUSTRALIA |
| RSE of 25% to 50% | 8.5 | 7.1 | 6.4 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 0.7 |
| RSE over 50% | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
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