1367.0 - State and Territory Statistical Indicators, 2012
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/02/2012 Final
Page tools:
 Print Page
 Print All
| ||||||||||||||
On this page: Victoria
Victorian Public Service Graduate Training Diversity in Victoria Outposted Officer in Victoria - A five minute chat
Information session to be held in Canberra: Estimated Resident Population under ASGS ABS outposting to the ACT Government Chief Minister and Cabinet Directorate New Australian Capital Territory Information Development Plan ABS thanks festival goers for completing 2011 Census
Victorian ABS Stats Show The ABS Stats show brings together staff across government departments to discuss key statistical developments or issues with whole-of-government benefits and implications. Speakers are drawn from both State Government and the ABS. The upcoming ABS Stats Show will focus on Local Level Economic Data. Any given area can be viewed from a number of perspectives; for example population growth, change in the number and size of resident businesses, income levels and employment rates. While the ABS Population Census is a key source for such data, it only comes out every five years. A further understanding of both the businesses that operate and people who live within a given area, as well as a consistent set of indicators to help formulate, implement and monitor economic policy at the local level, continues to be a key priority of government policy makers, planners and analysts. The next ABS Stats Show will highlight progress towards addressing this information need, including pursuing opportunities from existing administrative data sources. Date: Wednesday, 16 May 2012 For further information: email <victoria.statistics@abs.gov.au> with the subject ‘ABS Stats Show.’ Include your name, organisation and contact details. Victorian Public Service Graduate Training For a number of years, the Victorian Statistical Leadership Branch has provided statistical training to all Victorian Public Service (VPS) graduates as part of the annual Victorian State Services Authority Graduate Recruitment and Development Scheme (GRaDS). The ABS session forms part of a two day Project Management course and assists graduates to develop their ability to access, understand and use information on the ABS website. The session also aims to improve the ability of graduates to communicate statistical information to their audience. The ABS session asks graduates several pre-course research questions that set the context for the session and highlights some of the skills graduates will be utilising throughout their career. GRaDS 2012 training occurs early to mid-April with approximately 80 graduates attending. The ABS congratulates the 2012 VPS graduates on their placement, and wishes them well for a career of informed decision making. Of course, ABS training and development is open to almost anyone. For more information, check out the upcoming Training and Seminars or feel free to get in touch with the ABS Training Contact in your state or territory. Diversity in Victoria - What is it? Diversity is an expansive term that may relate to gender, age, language, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief. Diversity also refers to the myriad of ways we are different in other respects such as educational level, job function, socioeconomic background, personality profile, geographic location, marital status and whether or not one has family or other carer responsibilities. What’s Happening in Victoria?
Outposted Officer in Victoria - A five minute chat The need for statistical data and expertise continues to grow as more emphasis is placed on evidence based policy development and evaluation. Outposted Officers build and support strong relationships between government and ABS information services to assist in informed decision making. ABS Victoria has outposted officers working in a number of government departments and agencies, including Australian Government agencies based in Melbourne, such as the Productivity Commission and Australian Crime Commission. Predominantly though, ABS Victoria outposted officers work with the Victorian State Government. Let's meet one now. Name: Nick Skondreas Where do you work: Victorian Department of Justice Briefly, what is your role at Department of Justice (DoJ): To promote strategic relationships between DoJ and ABS, develop high quality networks, build statistical capability and support informed decision making. What do you like most about your job: I enjoy working within a different culture, meeting new people and learning how the department operates. The location (Paris end of town) is great too! Favourite holiday destination: The Greek Islands Thank you Nick!
'Population Estimates Under the New Geography' roadshow visits Townsville and Brisbane In July 2011, the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) replaced the Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) as the new national geography standard. The ASGS defines more stable, consistent and meaningful units than the ASGC and becomes the essential reference for understanding and interpreting the geographical dimension of ABS statistics. The first set of population estimates compiled under the ASGS will be released in July 2012, along with ASGC-based estimates. However, from 2013, estimates will only be prepared based on the new ASGS. In January 2012, staff from the Regional Population Unit, Andrew Howe, Tricia Dyson and Hayley Sandercock, travelled from the Adelaide Office to Queensland to deliver information sessions explaining the impact of the ABS producing the official population estimates using the new geography standard. The sessions included:
The first session was in held in Townsville at the City Council Chambers on 23 January. There was keen interest in this session, as shown by the attendance of approximately 36 people from both government and non-government organisations. Here are the presenters, Tricia and Andrew: The roadshow then moved to Brisbane where two sessions were conducted. The first was held at the Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR) on 24 January, then on 25 January, a public session was held at the ABS Brisbane Office. The public information session was well attended by approximately 40 people from government and non-government organisations, despite the unusually wet weather. Following the presentation, there were a considerable number of questions posed by the attendees, reflecting the importance of population statistics to many organisations. For further information on the new geography, see the ABS Information Paper: Population Estimates under Australia's New Statistical Geography (cat. no. 3219.0.55.001) released on 26 August 2011. This paper explains what sub-state population estimates will be produced in future, and how and when they will be released. If you would like to discuss the implications of ASGS implementation or for further information generally, please contact Glenn West on (07) 3222 6013 or email: <queensland.statistics@abs.gov.au>.
ABS Stat Summit Spatially enabling data: bringing your data to life On 22 March 2012, the ABS in South Australia will be holding a Stat Summit for academics, staff in state and local government agencies, and other interested participants. This interactive discussion will cover the progress being made with collecting, presenting and sharing information within a geospatial context in South Australia. The featured speakers are Professor Graeme Hugo, Director of the Australian Population and Migration Centre at the University of Adelaide, providing his insights on the potential and challenges of spatially enabling data in Australia; David Harvey, from the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), discussing the Spatial Data Sharing Initiative and opportunities for sharing spatial data across government; and Ben Searle, Geospatial Specialist at the ABS, providing an overview of how the ABS can contribute to spatially enabling data through the development of a Statistical Spatial Framework. This free event will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Hindmarsh Square, starting with registration at 9:30am and followed by light lunch and networking at 12:00pm. Seating is limited, so please RSVP before 15th March 2012, by emailing sa.statistics@abs.gov.au. For more information, contact Grant Hudson on (08) 8237 7475. Rethinking Statistics Workshop On 10 February 2012, fourteen policy makers and statisticians from the Government of South Australia and ten officers from the South Australian office of the ABS came together to participate in a workshop titled "Rethinking Statistics - Putting the policy into statistics and the statistics into policy". This one day workshop was led by Jon Hall (Director, Office of the Statistician & External Engagement) and he was joined by Linda Bencic (Director, Victorian Statistical Leadership Branch) in presenting the highly engaging and interactive workshop which received very positive feedback from participants. For more information about this workshop, please refer to the Seminars and Training page of this newsletter.
Tasmania Together 10 Year Review Tasmania Together is a long term plan to 2020 developed by Tasmanians for Tasmanians in 2001. It is governed by the Tasmania Together Progress Board, an independent statutory authority that reports directly to Parliament. The 20 year plan encompasses social, economic and environmental goals which reflect community priorities, as expressed during extensive community consultations undertaken throughout Tasmania in 2000, 2005 and 2010. The five year reviews identify current and emerging areas of concern, allowing the Board to adapt its 20 year plan to reflect the issues that matter most to Tasmanians. The ABS has been involved with Tasmania Together since its inception in an advisory role and almost half of the benchmarks are sourced from ABS data. The Tasmania Together Progress Board's 10 Year Review was completed in November 2011 with the suite of recommendations being endorsed by the Tasmanian Parliament. The recommendations included new benchmarks around income distribution, social disorder, school attendance, infant health, homelessness, transport and renewable energy. There are now 12 goals and 155 benchmarks in the Tasmania Together Plan. The online benchmark reports have been updated with the approved changes and can be viewed on the Tasmania Together website. The new Plan will be available in March 2012 and the next biennial Tasmania Together Progress Report is due for release in August 2012. Rethinking Statistics - Putting the policy into statistics and the statistics into policy. On 30 January, the ABS hosted a one day National Statistical Service workshop for Tasmanian Government policy makers, statisticians and ABS staff to come together to explore the changing role of statistics and the importance of developing relationships between data users and producers to improve evidence based policy decision making. The workshop was presented by Jon Hall (Director, Office of the Statistician & External Engagement), and he was joined by Marie Apostolou from the National Statistical Services Leadership Branch. For further information about the workshop please refer to the Seminars and Training page of this newsletter. For further information about ABS events and training in Tasmania please contact Jen Scheppers (03) 6222 5917 or email us at tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au. ABS Graduates in Tasmania In 2011, the ABS welcomed 164 graduates - the largest number of graduates to ever commence its Graduate Development Program. Graduates were located in all ABS Offices, including three in the Hobart Office. The program provides the opportunity to gain exposure to the organisation working in various sections and across a number of projects. The 2011 Graduates joined the ABS at a great time as 2011 was the 100th anniversary of Census. This meant that Graduates participated in Census activities across Australia and thoroughly enjoyed being able to contribute to the largest logistical peace time operation undertaken in Australia. In Tasmania, graduates were given the opportunity to develop and implement a Pilot Literacy Strategy to support people with low literacy levels to complete their Census forms. Our graduates also worked with local Neighbourhood Houses and Learning and Information Network Centres (LINCs) to implement successful fill-in-form sessions in key 'high need' locations around Hobart. We have recently welcomed our 2012 graduates to the Hobart Office and we are looking forward to seeing their upcoming projects. Applications for the 2013 Graduate Program close 19 April 2012. For more information please visit the Careers page at our website (https://www.abs.gov.au).
ACT Office has a new Regional Director Mariette O’Connell was appointed acting Regional Director of the ACT Office in January 2012. Mariette began her career with the ABS in 2002 as a graduate and has worked across a number of areas in social statistics and form design. She came to the ACT office in 2008 and has held a number of positions including Census Engagement Officer and State & Territory Statistical Services Director. In 2011, Mariette spent five months in Darwin leading the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics team and assisting with the 2011 Northern Australia Census enumeration. As acting Regional Director, Mariette leads a team that promotes Census and the effective use of data through engagement with the ACT government, business and local community. The ACT Office would like to thank Stephen Collett for the contributions he has made to the ACT Office during his time as the Regional Director. Stephen built a strong level of professionalism and commitment in the office. He worked with the ACT government to improve its statistical capability and negotiated a new ACT statistical plan. Stephen also initiated the development of an enhanced version of the Socio-economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) to enable the ACT government to identify pockets of disadvantage in otherwise more affluent areas. Stephen worked closely with the NSW/ACT Census Management Unit in the successful management of the Census in south-eastern NSW and the ACT. We wish Stephen all the best in the future. Information Session to be held in Canberra: Estimated Resident Population under ASGS In December 2010, the ABS released the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) which is gradually replacing the Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC). The ASGS defines more stable, consistent and meaningful units than the ASGC and will become the essential reference for understanding and interpreting the geographical dimension of ABS statistics. The ABS will present an information session in Canberra on 1 March 2012 and will address concerns about the classification for both ACT and surrounding regions. The session will focus on how the population estimates are currently prepared and released and how this will change when released under the new geography in future. There will also be time for questions and discussion. To register for this session and for more information please refer to the Seminars and Training page of this newsletter. ABS outposting to the ACT Government Chief Minister and Cabinet Directorate The ABS is currently working with the ACT Government to assist with a project to improve the quality of statistical information for service provision based on location of residence. This will involve conducting a review and appraisal of the challenges across all ACT Government Directorates in the capture of address information and the need for a standardised geo-coding approach to residential address information. This work is being facilitated by an outposted ABS officer, Tim Power. The outposting will provide a report setting out current issues and specifying recommendations on options to improve ACT governments systems including geo-coding methodology, validation of residence, statistical analysis and reporting. It will also outline options to better capture data on ACT service delivery and options to implement consistent geo-coding protocols across Directorates. For more information contact tim.power@abs.gov.au. New Australian Capital Territory Information Development Plan between ABS and ACT Government The Australian Capital Territory Information Development Plan 2012 to 2015 (IDP) has been developed jointly by the ACT regional office of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the ACT Government, the IDP recognises the key role that quality statistics play in informed decision making within governments, business and the community. The IDP is scheduled for joint signature by the ACT Government and ABS in late March 2012. The IDP will provide a high level strategic framework within which the ACT government and the ABS can collaborate to improve the quality and availability of statistical information for the ACT, while protecting confidential information. Ten key activities for collaboration have been agreed to advance the IDP. The ABS and the ACT government recognise that good quality data will contribute to the national statistical service and assist ACT Government departments develop effective policies and programs. Government administrative and private transaction record databases are seen as a key source of statistics, with survey-based collections used to supplement, calibrate and bridge gaps in these data. The ABS and ACT Government recognise each other as partners in developing and improving statistical information, and will continue to collaborate in this work. ABS thanks festival goers for completing 2011 Census The ABS marquee returned to the 2012 National Multicultural Festival to thank the community of the ACT and surrounding regions for their support in completing the 2011 Census. Staff from the ACT Regional Office, along with some ABS graduates, thanked the community for their contribution toward the 2011 Census with promotional materials such as balloons, bags, writing pads and stress balls. Festival goers who visited the marquee also left with the knowledge that the first release of results from the 2011 Census were to be released from June this year. It was pleasing to see most people were happy that the information they had supplied was being put to good use. There was also opportunity for people to enquire about all types of data available from ABS as well as gaining insight into the upcoming 2011 Census products and services on offer. The day was a raging success with plenty of interest generated. For the latest 2011 Census news, visit the Census homepage on the ABS website or subscribe to updates via Census 2011 General Information. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
|
||||||||||||||
