1287.0 - Standards for Income Variables, Jun 2015  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/06/2015   
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PROCESSING THE DATA

CODING

Standard input

The standard input for income is actual dollar amounts. In collections using income ranges, the input categories are those ranges.

Income can have positive, zero or negative values. While most incomes are reported as a positive value, people can report negative incomes if they incur losses in their unincorporated businesses or have negative returns from their investments.

'Total income' is a continuous variable, that is, a variable that can take on any of a range of values.

'Total income' is classified according to its components, that is, the source of income.

The classification criteria

An individual may receive income from more than one source. 'Total income' is the sum of the following income components, before income tax and the Medicare Levy and the Medicare Levy Surcharge are taken out:

    • employee income
    • profit or loss from self employment (own unincorporated business income)
    • government pensions and allowances
    • investment income
    • superannuation pensions and annuities
    • other current transfers received.
    The classification is a three level hierarchal classification that groups sources of income at the broad, narrow, and detailed levels.

    At the broad, or top, level of the classification for 'Total income', the income components are grouped according to whether they are received from:
      • an employer, including their own incorporated business
      • a profit or loss from their own unincorporated business
      • a government pension or allowance paid by a government entity under social security and related government programs
      • any other source. This is output as 'Other income'.

    Investment income, superannuation pensions and annuities, and other current transfers are grouped together (under 'Other income') in output as generally finer levels of disaggregation are not supported by the estimates due to low numbers receiving income from these sources.

    At the narrow, or second, level of the classification, 'Any other source' is classified according to whether income is received from:
      • investments, that is, income received as a result of the ownership of financial and non-financial assets
      • superannuation pensions and annuities
      • other current transfers
      • other income nec.

    At the detailed, or third, level of the classification, investment income, government pensions and allowances, and other current transfers are further broken down into their component groupings as outlined in the next section.

    The standard classification

    This section presents the standard classification for 'Total income' broken down into its component parts, that is individual 'Sources of income'.


    Broad level

    1 Employee income
    2 Unincorporated business income
    3 Government pensions and allowances
    9 Other income

    Narrow level

    1 Employee income
      11 Employee income

    2 Unincorporated business income
      21 Unincorporated business income
    3 Government pensions and allowances
      31 Government pensions and allowances
    9 Other income
      91 Investment income
      92 Superannuation pensions and annuities
      93 Other current transfers received
      94 Other income nec (not elsewhere classified)

    Detailed level

    1 Employee income
      11 Employee income
        1101 Employee income

    2 Unincorporated business income
      21 Unincorporated business income
        2101 Unincorporated business income
    3 Government pensions and allowances
      31 Government pensions and allowances
        3101 Age Pension
        3102 Newstart Allowance
        3103 Service Pension (DVA)
        3104 Disability Support Pension (Centrelink)
        3105 Wife Pension
        3106 Sickness Allowance
        3107 Widow Allowance (Centrelink)
        3108 Special Benefit
        3109 Partner Allowance
        3110 Carer Payment
        3111 Family Tax Benefit
        3112 War Widow(er)'s Pension (including income support supplement) (DVA)
        3113 Disability Pension (DVA)
        3114 Parenting Payment
        3115 Carer Allowance
        3116 Youth Allowance
        3117 Austudy / ABSTUDY
        3118 Paid Parental Leave Scheme
        3119 Schoolkids Bonus*
        3198 Pensions and allowances from overseas governments
        3199 Other government pensions and allowances nec
    *No longer applies after 1 July 2016

    9 Other income
      91 Investment income
        9101 Interest
        9102 Dividends
        9103 Rent
        9104 Royalties
        9199 Investment income nec
      92 Superannuation pensions and annuities
        9201 Superannuation pensions and annuities
      93 Other current transfers received
        9301 Workers' compensation
        9302 Payments from accident/sickness insurance
        9303 Transfers from other households
        9304 Scholarships
        9399 Other current transfers nec

      94 Other income nec
        9499 Other income nec

      Coding procedures

      The coding procedures can be found in the standard for Sources of income. Income receipts not separately identified in the classification are included in the relevant residual or 'Not elsewhere classified' (nec) categories.