4714.0 - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2014-15  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/04/2016   
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GLOSSARY


Ability to raise $2,000 within a week in an emergency

The household spokesperson's perception of whether they or other members of the household could raise $2,000 within a week in an emergency. The reason for raising the money was left open to interpretation, with the object being to determine whether people thought their household had access to, or the ability to amass, these resources within a week for something important. An example might be to pay for an emergency operation and the money could have been obtained from any source such as savings or a loan. See also Household spokesperson.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander household

A household in an occupied private dwelling with at least one resident (including children) who has been identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. Other residents of the household may have been identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin, non-Indigenous, or have Indigenous status unknown. For more information on the current Indigenous Status standard, see Indigenous Status Standard, 2014, version 1.5 (cat. no.1200.55.008) available from the ABS website.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

People who identified themselves, or were identified by another household member, as being of Aboriginal origin, Torres Strait Islander origin, or both.

Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA)

Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) was developed by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and the National Key Centre for Social Applications of GIS. ARIA measures the remoteness of a point based on the physical road distance to the nearest Urban Centre in each of five size classes. For more information on how ARIA is defined see Information Paper: ABS Views on Remoteness, 2001 (cat. no. 1244.0) and Information Paper: Outcomes of ABS Views on Remoteness Consultation, Australia, Jun 2001 (cat. no. 1244.0.00.001). See also Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 5 - Remoteness Structure, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.005) available from the ABS web site

Age standardisation

A method of removing the influence of age when comparing populations with different age structures. Where appropriate, estimates in this publication are age standardised to the age composition of the total estimated resident population of Australia as at 30 June 2001. The age standardised rate is that which would have prevailed if the studied population had the standard age composition. For more information see the Technical Note.

Note that proportions quoted in this publication are generally not age standardised. However, some datacubes including comparisons between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people contain age standardised rates and non-age standardised rates.

Alcohol consumption risk level

Alcohol consumption risk levels in this publication have been assessed using the 2001 and 2009 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines for the consumption of alcohol. Risk in the longer term (2001 guidelines) and lifetime risk (2009 guidelines) were based on a person's reported usual daily consumption of alcohol and the frequency of consumption in the 12 months prior to interview. Risk in the short term (2001 guidelines) and single occasion risk (2009 guidelines) were assessed based on the largest quantity of alcohol consumed in a single day during the two weeks prior to interview.

2001 NHMRC Guidelines (a)


Level of risk

Low riskRisky High risk

Minimising risk in the longer term
Malesup to 4 standard drinks5–6 standard drinks7 or more standard drinks
Femalesup to 2 standard drinks3–4 standard drinks5 or more standard drinks
Minimising risk in the short term
Malesup to 6 standard drinks7–10 standard drinks11 or more standard drinks
Femalesup to 4 standard drinks5–6 standard drinks7 or more standard drinks

(a) One standard drink contains 12.5 mLs of alcohol.
Source(s): National Health and Medical Research Council (2001), Australian Alcohol Guidelines: Health Risks and Benefits.

2009 NHMRC Guidelines (a)(b)

Level of risk

Does not exceed guideline Exceeds guideline

Guideline 1 — Life time risk
Guideline 2 — Single occasion risk
up to and including 2 standard drinks
up to and including 4 standard drinks
more than 2 standard drinks
more than 4 standard drinks

(a) One standard drink contains 12.5 mLs of alcohol.
(b) Guidelines relate to both males and females.
Source(s): National Health and Medical Research Council (2009), Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from drinking Alcohol.
ASGS Remoteness Structure

The Remoteness Structure for the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) 2011 has five categories based on an aggregation of geographical areas which share common characteristics of remoteness, determined in the context of Australia as a whole. These categories are:
  • Major cities of Australia;
  • Inner regional Australia;
  • Outer regional Australia;
  • Remote Australia; and
  • Very remote Australia.

The criteria for these categories are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA). See also Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia, Non-remote and Remote.

Australian Dietary Guidelines

As specified by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for fruit and vegetable consumption. See also Usual daily intake of fruit and Usual daily intake of vegetables.

Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED)

The Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0) is a national standard classification which includes all sectors of the Australian education system: that is, schools, vocational education and training, and higher education. ASCED comprises two classifications: Level of Education and Field of Education.

Bullying at school

When a student or group of students uses behaviour towards another student or group at school, including:
  • verbal bullying — such as name calling or put downs, threats, teasing, including sexual harassment and innuendo;
  • bulling through technology — refers to bullying that happened online, via email or social media, or through phone communication; and
  • physical bullying — such as being punched, tripped, kicked or having belongings stolen or damaged. It may also include sexual abuse.

Canadian National Occupancy Standard for Housing Appropriateness

See Housing utilisation.

Carer

A person of any age who provides any informal assistance, in terms of help or supervision, to persons with disability or long-term health conditions or persons who are elderly.

Child care

Both formal and informal care provided for dependent children. Child care questions were only asked of selected persons aged 0–12 years within the household. See also Formal child care and Informal child care.

Clan, tribal group or language group

A group of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who share a common language and/or clan or tribal membership. The NATSISS attempts to measure a person's affiliation with such groups by asking each respondent whether they identify with a tribal group, language group or clan.

Community

Generally the term 'community' refers to the local area. However, where interviews took place in a discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community, the intention of the word 'community' meant specifically, within the bounds of the discrete Community.

Community leadership

The terms leader and leadership were left up to the interpretation of the respondent. A leader does not necessarily have to be a community elder, council member or someone holding a formal position.

Core activity restrictions

A limitation in the performance of one or more core activities such as self-care (eating, washing, dressing, toileting), mobility or communication. See also Disability status.

Cultural events, ceremonies or organisations

See also Involvement in cultural events, ceremonies or organisations.

Current daily smoker

A person who reported smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipes at least once per day at the time of interview. See also Smoker status.

Currently enrolled in formal study

Enrolled in a course of formal study for a trade certificate, diploma, degree or any other educational qualification, at the time of interview. Formal study includes any study being undertaken that will lead to a recognised qualification, issued by a relevant approved body, in recognition that a person has achieved learning outcomes or competencies relevant to identified individual, professional, industry or community needs. This includes study for a school qualification.

Disability status

A disability exists if a limitation, impairment, disease or disorder had lasted, or was likely to last for at least six months or more and which restricted everyday activities.

It is classified by whether or not a person has a specific limitation or restriction. Specific limitation or restriction is further classified by whether the limitation or restriction is a limitation in core activities or schooling/employment restrictions only.

The four levels of core activity limitation are based on whether a person needs help, has difficulty or uses aids or equipment with any of the core activities (self care, mobility or communication). A person's overall level of core activity limitation is determined by their highest level of limitation in these activities. The four levels are:
  • Profound — always needs help/supervision with core activities;
  • Severe — does not always need help with core activities;
  • Moderate — has difficulty with core activities; and
  • Mild — uses aids to assist with core activities.

Persons are classified as having only a schooling/employment restriction if they have no core activity limitations and are aged 15–20 years and have difficulties with education or are aged 15–64 years and have difficulties with employment.

Discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community

A discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community is defined as a geographic location, bound by physical or legal boundaries, inhabited or intended to be inhabited predominately by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with housing or infrastructure that is either owned or managed on a community basis.

Dwelling requires additional bedroom(s)

An indicator of overcrowding based on a comparison of the number of bedrooms in a given dwelling and household demographics such as the number of usual residents, their relationship to one another, age and sex. See also Housing utilisation.

Ear or hearing problems

Persons who had deafness, partial hearing loss, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), runny ears or glue ear (otitis media) and/or tropical ear/swimmer's ear (otitis external). This information was only collected from persons aged 0–14 years.

Education participation

Refers to a person aged 15 years and over, that was studying at an educational institution at the time of interview. Study can be either on a full-time or part-time basis.

Educational attainment

The highest level of education attained. Includes primary school, secondary schools and non-school qualifications. See also Non-school qualification.

Educational institution

Includes secondary schools, colleges of technical and further education (TAFE), business colleges, industry skills centre, universities or other higher education institutions.

Employed

Persons aged 15 years and over who had a job or business, or who undertook work without pay in a family business for a minimum of one hour, in the week prior to interview. This also includes persons who were absent from a job or business.

Employment to population ratio

The number of employed persons expressed as a percentage of the population.

Equivalised gross household income

Gross household income adjusted using an equivalence scale. Equivalised gross household income is used in some analyses to enable comparison of the relative economic wellbeing of households of different size and composition.

Experiences of physical violence

A person who in the last 12 months had physical force or violence used against them.

Experiences of threatened physical violence

A person who in the last 12 months has been threatened with having physical force or violence used against them. In non-remote areas, respondents were asked how many times threats occurred face-to-face. In remote areas, respondents were asked how many times threats occurred.

Experiences with doctors

Refers to times when the respondent had seen a General Practitioner about their own health in a non-emergency situation.

Eye or sight problems

Persons who had long or short sightedness (including those who may wear glasses or contact lenses for corrective purposes), blindness, glaucoma (damage to the optic nerve at the back of the eye), cataracts (clouding of the lens), trachoma (a bacterial infection that can lead to blindness if untreated), lazy eye and/or retinopathy (damage to the retina at the back of the eye). This information was only collected for persons aged 0–14 years.

Family

Two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationships, lone parent child relationships or other blood relationship. Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.

Family and domestic violence

Refers to a person’s most recent experience of physical violence in the last 12 months where at least one of the perpetrators was an intimate partner or family member.

    • An intimate partner is the respondent’s current or previous partner (husband/wife/defacto), boyfriend/girlfriend/ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend or date.
    • A family member is the respondent’s parent, child, sibling or other family member.

Respondents were able to identify more than one perpetrator where necessary. A perpetrator may have been an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person or a non-Indigenous person.

Financial stress

Two measures aimed at identifying households that may have been constrained in their activities because of a shortage of money. These measures are the ability to raise 'emergency money' and whether a household ran out of money for basic living expenses in the 12 months prior to interview. Information on financial stress is reported by the household spokesperson. See also Ability to raise $2,000 within a week in an emergency.

Formal child care

Regulated care away from the child's home, which parents or guardians normally must pay for. Types of formal child care include before and/or after school care, long day care centres, family day care, occasional care programs and any other formal care excluding vacation care. See also Informal child care.

Health risk factors

Specific lifestyle and related factors impacting on health, including dietary behaviour, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and substance use.

Highest year of school completed

The highest level of primary or secondary education which a person has completed, irrespective of the type of institution or location where that education was undertaken.

Homelands/traditional country

An area of land with which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have ancestral and/or cultural links.

Homelessness

Refers to whether a person has ever previously been without a 'permanent place to live' for reasons other than one of the following: saving money, work related reasons, building or renovating their home, travelling/on holidays, house sitting or having just moved back to town/city. People who had previously been without a permanent place to live were considered as having had an experience of homelessness if it were for the following reasons:
    • family/relationship breakdowns;
    • tight housing/rental market;
    • violence/abuse/neglect;
    • alcohol or drug use;
    • financial problems;
    • mental illness;
    • job loss;
    • gambling;
    • eviction;
    • natural disaster or other damage to house; or
    • health issues.

Note that estimates on past experiences of homelessness collected in the 2014–15 NATSISS are not comparable with prevalence estimates of homelessness derived from the Census of Population and Housing. Concepts of homelessness, as defined in this publication exclude persons homeless residing in special dwellings, such as those in supported accommodation, or persons living in severely crowded conditions. For further information, see: Information Paper - A Statistical Definition of Homelessness, 2012 (cat. no. 4922.0) and Information Paper - Methodology for Estimating Homelessness from the Census of Population and Housing, 2012 (cat. no. 2049.0.55.001).

Household

Consists of a person living alone, or two or more related or unrelated persons who live and eat together in private residential accommodation. In this survey, each household contained at least one identified Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander resident.

Household tenure type

The nature of a household's legal right to occupy the dwelling in which they usually reside. In this publication, households are grouped into one of four broad tenure categories:
    • owner without a mortgage — the dwelling is owned by a resident of the household and there are no outstanding mortgages or loans secured against the dwelling;
    • owner with a mortgage — a household where an outstanding mortgage or loan amount secured against the dwelling, for the purposes of housing, is greater than zero;
    • renter — a household who pays rent to reside in the dwelling. In this publication, renters are further classified into one of three broad types according to whom rent is paid;
      1. state or territory housing authority;
      2. private landlord - a real estate agent, parent or other relative not in the same household, or another person not in the same household;
      3. other renter — Indigenous Housing Organisation/Community housing/council, the owner/manager of a caravan park, Defence Housing Authority employer, an employer (including a government authority), a housing cooperative, community or church group, or any other landlord not included elsewhere; and
    • other tenure — includes households which are participants of a life tenure scheme, participants in a rent/buy (or shared equity) scheme, living rent-free or are in a tenure arrangement not included elsewhere (e.g. house-sitting, payment in kind for a specific service).

Household spokesperson

The person nominated as most able to provide information about the household as a whole. This person responded to questions that applied to the household. The household spokesperson was not necessarily of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin, and they did not need to be a selected person to act as household spokesperson.

Housing utilisation

This information is based on the Canadian National Occupancy Standard for Housing Appropriateness, a widely used measure that is sensitive to both household size and composition. The following criteria are used to assess bedroom requirements and households requiring at least one additional bedroom are considered to be overcrowded:
    • There should be no more than two persons per bedroom;
    • A household of one unattached individual may reasonably occupy a bed-sit (i.e. have no bedroom);
    • Couples and parents should have a separate bedroom;
    • Children aged less than five years, of different sexes, may reasonably share a room;
    • Children aged five years and over, of different sexes, should not share a room;
    • Children aged less than 18 years and of the same sex may reasonably share a bedroom; and
    • Single households members aged 18 years and over should have a separate bedroom.

Incarceration

Where a respondent reported being 'sent to jail by a judge or magistrate'.

Illicit substance use

The use of substances for non-medical purposes. Includes: analgesics, tranquillisers; amphetamines; marijuana; heroin; cocaine; hallucinogens (both synthetic and naturally occurring); ecstasy and other designer drugs; methadone; petrol and other inhalants; and kava. This was a voluntary module and collected information on a person's substance use in the 12 months prior to interview.

Income from selected cultural activities

Income received from selected cultural based activities and customs including the sale of paintings and art works, weaving, dyed cloth, sculptures, pottery, wooden art and craft; growing, collecting or making native fruits or herbs into food or ointments; arranging or participating in cultural dancing or performances; providing or participating in cultural tourism ventures/activities; and interpreting or translating from or into Australian Indigenous languages.

Includes income gained through a full-time, part-time or casual position; seasonal work; and ad hoc income.

Informal child care

Informal child care includes non-regulated care provided by siblings, grandparents, other relatives or unrelated people such as friends, neighbours, nannies or baby-sitters, within the home or elsewhere. Informal care may be paid or unpaid. See also Formal child care.

Informal learning

The active involvement by the primary carer in selected activities that support or encourage children's learning activities. See also Informal learning activities.

Informal learning activities

The selected informal learning activities include: telling a story, listening to the child read, helping with homework or other educational activities; watching TV, a video or DVD with the child; assisting the child to draw, write or with other creative activities; playing music, singing songs, dancing or doing other musical activities with the child; playing a game (including board games) or doing sporting activities together indoors or outdoors; and taking part in or attending a playgroup with the child. Activities done at school/preschool or that the child engages in independently were excluded. See also Informal learning.

Involvement in cultural events, ceremonies or organisations


Participation in traditional or contemporary Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cultural events and ceremonies in the 12 months prior to interview. Events include: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ceremonies; NAIDOC week activities; sports carnivals; festivals or carnivals involving arts, craft, music or dance; funerals/sorry business; and involvement with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisations.

Involvement in sporting, social or community activities

Participation in activities in the 12 months prior to interview including: attending sporting events as a player, coach, spectator, referee or other official; attending a native title meeting; community or special interest group activities; church or religious activities; attending funerals/sorry business or Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ceremonies or festivals; going to a cafe, bar, restaurant, the movies, theatre or concert; visiting libraries, museums, art galleries, parks, zoos, botanic gardens or theme parks; and watching Indigenous TV or listening to Indigenous radio.

Labour force status

Identifies whether a person is employed, unemployed or not in the labour force. See also Employed, Not in the labour force and Unemployed.

Long-term health condition

A long-term health condition is a current disease or disorder that has lasted, or is likely to last, for six months or more. The exception to this is a periodic condition (e.g. asthma, epilepsy or schizophrenia, where people suffer attacks or relapses at irregular intervals) where the attack or relapse has occurred in the last 12 months. Respondents were asked to report only those long-term conditions diagnosed by a doctor or nurse in the 2014–15 NATSISS.

A person was considered to have a mental health condition in the 2014–15 NATSISS where they reported any of the following long-term conditions:
    • depression;
    • anxiety;
    • behavioural or emotional problems; or
    • harmful use of, or dependence on, drugs or alcohol.

Main language spoken at home

The language a person most commonly uses at home.

Major structural problems

Refers to the general condition of a dwelling and identifies specific structural problems such as rising damp, major cracks in walls/floors, sinking or moving foundations, sagging floors, walls or windows that are not plumb, wood rot or termite damage, major electrical problems, major plumbing problems and major roof defects.

Margin of error (MoE)

Describes the distance from the population value that the sample estimate is likely to be within, and is specified at a given level of confidence. Confidence levels typically used are 90%, 95% and 99%. For example, at the 95% confidence level the MoE indicates that there are about 19 chances in 20 that the estimates will differ by less than the specified MoE from the population value (the figure that would have been obtained if all the dwellings had been enumerated). For more information see the Technical Note.

Maternal health

Maternal health refers to antenatal health of the birth mother of a selected child. Maternal health questions were asked of children (via proxy) aged 0–3 years. In cases where the proxy was not the birth mother the proxy answered these questions wherever possible.

Mean

The sum of values divided by the number of values.

Mental health condition

See Long-term health condition.

Mortgage

A loan which is secured against a dwelling.

Multiple response

A multiple response category allows respondents to choose more than one response to a question.

Non-remote

Geographical areas within the 'Major cities of Australia', 'Inner regional Australia' and 'Outer regional Australia' categories of the Australian Standard Geographical Standards (ASGS).

Non-school qualification

Non-school qualifications are awarded for educational attainments other than those of pre-primary, primary or secondary education. They include qualifications at the Postgraduate Degree level, Master Degree level, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate level, Bachelor Degree level, Advanced Diploma and Diploma level, and Certificates I, II, III and IV levels. Non-school qualifications may be attained concurrently with school qualifications.

Not in the labour force

Persons who were not in the categories 'employed' or 'unemployed' as defined. See also Labour force status.

Out-station (or homeland)

A discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community that is administered by, or linked to, an organisation such as a resources agency or a larger parent discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community for the provision and maintenance of services.

Overall life satisfaction

Overall life satisfaction is a summary measure of subjective wellbeing against a scale ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 means 'not at all satisfied' and 10 means 'completely satisfied'. It measures a person's perceived level of life satisfaction in general and doesn't take into account specific illnesses or problems the person may have.

Overcrowding

See Housing utilisation.

Participation rate

The number of persons in the labour force (employed plus unemployed) expressed as a percentage of the population. See also Employed, Unemployed and Labour force status.

Permanent place to live

For the purposes of the NATSISS, a permanent place to live was left up to the respondent's interpretation. However, if the respondent sought clarification, it was defined as a usual address at a dwelling with kitchen and bathroom facilities, and some security of tenure.

Private dwelling

The premises occupied by a household. This includes, houses, flats, home units, garages, tents and improvised dwellings. Excludes hostels, hospitals and prisons.

Profound/severe core limitations

A limitation in the performance of one or more core activities of self-care, mobility or communication. People who needed assistance to perform one or more of these activities, some or all of the time, were categorised as having a profound or severe core activity limitation. See also Disability status and Core activity restrictions.

Proxy

A proxy is a person who answers survey questions on behalf of the selected person. In the 2014–15 NATSISS, proxy interviews were conducted for all selected persons aged 0–14 years. Wherever possible, the proxy was a parent or guardian. If no parent or guardian was available, then a close relative or other household member who had responsibility for the child provided responses.

Psychological distress (Kessler-5)

The Kessler-5 (K5) measure of psychological distress consists of a subset of five questions from the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10 (K10), which was developed in 1992 by Professors Ron Kessler and Dan Mroczek. The K10 is a non-specific psychological distress scale that consists of 10 questions designed to measure levels of negative emotional states experienced in the four weeks prior to interview.

The 2014–15 NATSISS included five questions from the K10, providing a measure of the social and emotional wellbeing of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The K5 included:
    • About how often did you feel nervous?
    • About how often did you feel without hope?
    • About how often did you feel restless or jumpy?
    • About how often did you feel everything was an effort?
    • About how often did you feel so sad that nothing could cheer you up?

Responses to the five questions were considered together, resulting in a minimum possible score of 5 and a maximum possible score of 25. Low scores indicate low levels of psychological distress and high scores indicate high levels of psychological distress.

Rate ratio

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to non-Indigenous rate ratios are calculated by dividing the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a particular characteristic by the proportion of non-Indigenous people with the same characteristic. A rate ratio of 1.0 indicates that the prevalence of the characteristic is the same in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations. Rate ratios greater than 1.0 indicate higher prevalence in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and rate ratios less than 1.0 indicate higher prevalence in the non-Indigenous population. Rate ratios produced for this publication were based on age standardised proportions to one decimal place.

Remote

Geographical areas within the 'Remote Australia' and 'Very remote Australia' categories of the Australian Standard Geographical Standards (ASGS) Remoteness Structure.

Respondent

An Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who was selected to participate in the 2014–15 NATSISS survey and who completed an interview. In non-remote areas (excluding discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander communities), up to two adults and two children per household were randomly selected. In remote areas, one adult and one child were randomly selected as respondents. A proxy provided answers on behalf of children aged 0–14 years. The collection of information from people aged 15–17 years required permission from a parent or guardian. If this was not provided, then the interview was not conducted. See also Proxy.

School attendance

Refers to children aged 2–14 years who attend preschool, kindergarten or school, including:
    • children who attend school via correspondence or School for the Air;
    • children unable to attend a school because of physical or social/psychological problems, that have a private tutor or are schooled at home/on line;
    • children who attend specials schools for the disabled; and
    • children who are home schooled.

Self-assessed health status

A person's general assessment of their own health against a five point scale which ranged from excellent through to poor. Self-assessed health status provides an indicator of overall health, reflecting an individual's perception of their physical, mental, social or spiritual health.

Smoker status

Information was collected from persons aged 15 years and over on their smoking habits and the extent to which they were smoking at the time of the interview. Smoking refers to the regular smoking of tobacco products, including manufactured (packet) cigarettes, roll-your-own cigarettes, cigars and pipes, but excluding chewing tobacco and the smoking of non-tobacco products (eg marijuana). Based on this information, people were characterised as:
    • Current smoker — they currently smoke daily, weekly or other regular pattern (but less than weekly);
    • Ex-smoker — they previously smoked daily or had smoked 100 or more cigarettes in their lifetime or had smoked pipes, cigars or other tobacco products at least 20 times in their lifetime; or
    • Never smoked — they had never smoked daily and had smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and had smoked pipes, cigars or other tobacco products less than 20 times in their lifetime.

Sporting, social or community activities

See Involvement in sporting, social or community activities.

Statistical significance

Differences between population estimates are said to be statistically significant when it can be stated with 95% confidence that there is a real difference between the populations. For more information see the Technical Note.

Support in time of crisis

The existence of a support network outside a person's household. Such support could be called upon in a time of crisis and could take the form of emotional, physical and/or financial help.

Support provided to relatives living outside the household

Refers to both financial and non-financial assistance provided to relatives living outside the household. Includes providing or helping to pay for housing, food, clothing, education, child support, bills or other items, as well as assisting with transport by driving or lending a car.

Stressors

Selected significant events that have caused stress to a respondent or someone they are close to.

Unfair treatment

Refers to when a person experienced unfair treatment because they are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Unfair treatment at school

Refers to when another student, group of students, teacher, or other school staff member discriminates against a student because they are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Unemployed

Persons aged 15 years and over who were not employed but were actively looking for work in the four weeks prior to interview, and were available to start work in the previous week. See also Labour force status.

Unemployment rate

The number of unemployed persons, expressed as a proportion of the labour force (ie. unemployed plus employed).

Usual daily intake of fruit

Refers to the number of serves of fruit (excluding beverages) usually consumed each day, as reported by the respondent. A serve is approximately 150 grams of fresh fruit or 50 grams of dried fruit. Adequate daily fruit intake refers to whether the respondent met the minimum number of serves as recommended in the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. While the NHMRC guidelines are expressed to the nearest half serving, data in the 2014–15 NATSISS is collected in whole number serves per day only. In cases where the guideline states a half serving in the published data the respondent must have stated they consume the next whole number of serves per day to have reached the guidelines. For example children aged 4–8 years must have consumed 2 serves of fruit to reach the guideline of 1.5 serves per day. This is consistent with the approach taken for the 2014 National Health Survey.

Adequate daily fruit and vegetable intake has also been classified according to the NHMRC 2003 Dietary Guidelines.

Usual daily intake of vegetables

Refers to the number of serves of vegetables (excluding drinks and beverages) usually consumed each day, as reported by the respondent. A serve is approximately half a cup of cooked vegetables (including Legumes) or one cup of salad vegetables — equivalent to approximately 75 grams. Adequate daily vegetables intake refers to whether the respondent met the minimum number of serves as recommended in the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines. While the NHMRC guidelines are expressed to the nearest half serving, data in the 2014–15 NATSISS is collected in whole number serves per day only. In cases where the guideline states a half serving in the published data the respondent must have stated they consume the next whole number of serves per day to have reached the guidelines. For example children aged 4–8 years must have consumed 5 serves of vegetables to reach the guideline of 4.5 serves per day. This is consistent with the approach taken for the 2014 National Health Survey.

Adequate daily fruit and vegetable intake has also been classified according to the NHMRC 2003 Dietary Guidelines.


2003 NHMRC Australian Dietary Guidelines — Recommended daily services of fruit and vegetables, by age

AgeFruit (a)Vegetables (b)

5–7 years12
8–11 years12
12–17 years34
18+ years25

(a) Fruit guidelines relate to both males and females
(b) Vegetable guidelines rate to both males and females



2013 NHMRC Australian Dietary Guidelines — Recommended daily services of fruit and vegetables, by age

AgeFruit (a)Vegetables (for males)Vegetables (for females)

2–3 years12.5 (b)2.5 (b)
4–8 years1.5 (b)4.5 (b)4.5 (b)
9–11 years255
12–18 years25.5 (b)5
19–50 years265
51–70 years25.5 (b)5
70+ years255

(a) Fruit guidelines relate to both males and females
(b) Rounded up to nearest whole number of serves in published data


Weight of child at birth

As reported by the proxy of selected children aged 0–3 years. Weights were reported in metric or imperial measurements, and converted to grams. The World Health Organisation defines low birth weight as less than 2,500 grams, and very low birth weight as less than 1,500 grams.