WHAT'S NEW AT ABS ...

Environmental issues: energy use and conservation, March 2008
Education and work, Australia, May 2008
Life tables, Queensland, 2005-07
Deaths, Australia, 2007
Indigenous mortality quality study
Methods for developing Indigenous life tables
Age matters, November 2008
Children and youth news, November 2008
Demography news, November 2008
Tourism newsletter, November 2008
What's new in regional statistics, December 2008
CURF Microdata news, November 2008
CDATA newsletter, November 2008
Changes to the ABS Survey Program
ABS Release Information
Queensland Theme Page


ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: ENERGY USE AND CONSERVATION, MARCH 2008

Environmental Issues: Energy Use and Conservation, Mar 2008 (cat. no. 4602.0.55.001) was released 28 November 2008. This publication provides information on household practices in relation to domestic energy use. It covers a range of issues including use of energy for different activities (e.g water heating, cooking), household insulation, household appliances and types of heating and cooling systems.

Some results from similar past surveys (1992, 1994, 1999, 2002 and 2005 ) have been included in the publication for purposes of comparison.

Selected results for Queensland include:

• The proportion of insulated dwellings in Queensland has substantially increased since 1994 (29% in 1994 to 47% in 2008).
• In 2008 nearly three out of four (72%) dwellings in Queensland used fluorescent light bulbs. Other energy saving light bulbs were used in 57% of dwellings.
• All dwellings (100%) in Queensland use electricity. In March 2008 electricity was the primary energy source throughout Queensland for household cooking (87% for ovens and 78% for cooktops) and hot water systems (60%).
• Gas (mains gas and LPG/bottled gas) was the second most common source of energy, used by nearly one-third (31%) of Queensland households in 2008.
• Solar energy was used by 8.5% of Queensland households for heating water in 2008, up 2.5 percentage points from 1999.
• Nearly two-thirds of households (65%) had a cooler (i.e. air conditioner or evaporative cooler) in 2008 compared with 18% in 1994. Around four in ten households (44%) had a dishwasher in 2008 compared with 25% in 1994. In 2008, more than one half (56%) of households had a clothes dryer, 45% a heater and 41% a separate freezer.
• A high proportion of Queensland households had a television (99%), microwave (92%) and a DVD player/recorder (89%). Desktop computers were found in 61% of households and laptop/notebook computers in 39%.
• Less than half (44%) of all households were aware of GreenPower in 2008. Around one-third (35%) of Queensland households were willing to support GreenPower by paying extra for electricity generated from renewable energy.

EDUCATION AND WORK, AUSTRALIA, MAY 2008

Education and Work, Australia, May 2008 (cat. no. 6227.0) was released 26 November 2008. This publication provides selected information on participation in education, highest educational attainment, transition from education to work and current labour force and demographic characteristics for the civilian population aged 15-64 years. Characteristics reported on include: type of educational institution attended or attending; level and main field of education of current study and highest level and main field of educational attainment. Information on unsuccessful enrolment, and deferment of study, is included for persons not studying in the survey year. Data on apprenticeships are also provided. Some of the statistical tables are presented in time series format.

Some selected results for Queensland in May 2008 include:

• There were 2.8 million people aged 15-64 years in the scope of the survey, of whom nearly half a million (18%) were enrolled in a course of study.
• Of the half million people enrolled in study, 37% were attending a higher education institution, 28% were at school, 21% were at Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions and 13% were at other educational institutions.
• The proportion of males with a non-school qualification was 54% compared with 50% for females.
• There were 86,300 Queenslanders who had not studied for any qualification during 2007 but had since started such a course.
• There were 212,200 Queenslanders who had studied for a qualification at some time during 2007 but had since left all such courses.

LIFE TABLES, QUEENSLAND, 2005-2007

Life Tables, Queensland, 2005-2007 (cat. no. 3302.3.55.001) was released 25 November 2008. This product contains life tables for males and females resident in Queensland for the reference period. A life table is a statistical model used to represent mortality of a population. In its simplest form, a life table is generated from age-specific death rates and the resulting values are used to measure mortality, survivorship and life expectancy.

Some selected results for Queensland include:

• Based on current mortality rates, a boy born in 2005-2007 can expect to live 78.9 years while a girl can expect to live 83.6 years.

DEATHS, AUSTRALIA, 2007

Deaths, Australia, 2007 (cat. no. 3302.0) was released 25 November 2008. This product presents statistics on deaths and mortality for Australia, states and territories, and sub-state regions. Information on characteristics of the deceased include place of usual residence, age at death, sex, Indigenous status and country of birth. Information is also provided on infant deaths, life expectancy and death rates.

Some selected results for Queensland include:

• In 2007 there were 25,801 deaths (13,582 males and 12,219 females) of usual residents of Queensland registered. This was a 5.4% increase over the number registered in 2006.
• The median age at death was 79.7 years in 2007 an increase of 3.3 years over the median age recorded in 1997. Over the same period the median age at death for males increased by 3.4 years to 76.7 years and for females the median age at death increased by 2.6 years to 83.0 years.
• In 2007 there were 594 deaths of usual residents of Queensland where the deceased person was identified as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or both origins.
• There were 308 infant deaths (deaths of children aged less than one year) registered in 2007. Queensland's infant mortality rate (5.0 infant deaths per 1,000 live births) was the second highest after the Northern Territory (8.5).

INDIGENOUS MORTALITY QUALITY STUDY, 2006-07

Information Paper: Census Data Enhancement - Indigenous Mortality Quality Study, 2006-07 (cat. no. 4723.0) was released 17 November 2008. This information paper outlines the findings from the Indigenous Mortality Quality Study which was conducted as part of the Census Data Enhancement (CDE) project. The paper discusses some of the issues encountered in conducting the analysis, the results of the analysis and recommendations for future work in this area.

The CDE project included a number of quality studies which brought together data from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing and other specified datasets. One aim of these studies was to better understand and improve ABS collections.

The CDE Indigenous Mortality Quality Study involved linking Census records with death registration records to examine differences in the reporting of Indigenous status across the two datasets. The aims of the project were to:

• assess the undercoverage of Indigenous deaths in death registration records;
• identify factors that may be contributing to undercoverage of Indigenous deaths in death registrations; and
• assess the feasibility of calculating and applying adjustment factors to improve estimates of Indigenous mortality.

METHODS FOR DEVELOPING INDIGENOUS LIFE TABLES

Discussion Paper: Assessment of Methods for Developing Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2006 (cat. no. 3302.0.55.002) was released 17 November 2008. Life expectancy estimates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are an important aspect of assessing Indigenous disadvantage. The compilation of accurate life tables to derive life expectancy estimates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians presents particular difficulties. Specifically, the standard approach to compiling life tables and resulting life expectancies at birth requires complete and accurate data on deaths that occur in a period, and an estimate of the population exposed to those deaths at the mid-point of the period. These data are required by age and sex. In the case of Indigenous mortality estimation, this situation is far from being perfect. Both Indigenous population estimates and death registrations have limitations.

Despite these limitations, the importance of life expectancy estimates and population projections for the purposes of planning, policy and program formulation, evaluation, research, analysis, and resource distribution purposes are well recognised by the ABS.

The objective of this Discussion Paper is to highlight the issues associated with compiling life tables and life expectancy estimates for Indigenous Australians. The paper discusses the different methods available, the data limitations and the resulting outcomes for the different methods. An ABS preferred approach of using a direct demographic method, by adjusting the death registration data by the undercoverage factor obtained from the Census Data Enhancement Indigenous Mortality Quality Study, to derive Indigenous life tables is presented.

The purpose of the Discussion Paper is to give users and stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback and to ensure all issues associated with compiling life tables and life expectancy estimates for Indigenous Australians are adequately considered before finalising the Indigenous life tables in early 2009.

AGE MATTERS, NOVEMBER 2008

Age Matters, Nov 2008 (cat. no. 4914.0.55.001) was released 17 November 2008. The Age Matters newsletter is designed to highlight developments in ageing related statistics. It includes information on relevant ABS publications and other information of likely interest to researchers and policy makers in this field.

Interested readers are also invited to visit the Ageing theme page on the ABS website.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH NEWS, NOVEMBER 2008

Children and Youth News, Nov 2008 (cat. no 4105.0) was released 27 November 2008. This newsletter provides information on a large range of statistical releases, developments and events relevant to children and youth. This issue presents some recent findings on the mental health of young people, births in Australia as well as alcohol and drug use by young people.

DEMOGRAPHY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2008

Demography News, Nov 2008 (cat. no. 3106.0) was released 26 November 2008. Demographic statistics provide measures of the Australian population, its size, growth, composition and geographic distribution, as well as the components that shape population change: births, deaths and migration.

This newsletter provides information about the latest demographic research and analysis being undertaken by the ABS.

TOURISM NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 2008

Tourism Newsletter, Nov 2008 (cat. no. 8602.0) was released 5 December 2008. This product is an electronic newsletter reporting on the Australian tourism industry and included in this edition is information on recent tourism industry related issues and updates, description of current ABS work related to tourism statistics, and information for users about recent and forthcoming ABS publications.

WHAT'S NEW IN REGIONAL STATISTICS, DECEMBER 2008

What's New in Regional Statistics, Dec 2008 (cat. no. 1386.0) was released 3 December 2008. This product is a biannual newsletter about regional and small area statistics. It includes topical articles and reviews of relevant ABS publications. 'What's New in Regional Statistics' highlights developments in statistics relevant to regions, including metropolitan, urban, non-urban and rural areas, and other information of likely interest to researchers, policy makers and other users of small area data.

Interested readers are invited to visit the Regional Statistics theme page on the ABS website for links to other related information.

CURF MICRODATA NEWS, NOVEMBER 2008

CURF Microdata News, Nov 2008 (cat. no. 1104.0) was released 26 November 2008 and is a quarterly newsletter created by the Microdata Access Strategies Section at the ABS.

CURF Microdata News is aimed at informing new and current Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) Microdata users about issues and developments in the access to, and use of, CURF Microdata. The newsletter periodically covers topics such as available and forthcoming microdata releases, terms and conditions of access, responsible access to microdata and best practice tips, pricing, microdata research outputs, frequently asked questions, and information about applying for ABS CURF microdata.

Interested readers are also invited to visit the CURF Microdata Entry Page on the ABS web site for relevant up-to-date information about each of these matters, as well as all application forms.

CDATA NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 2008

CDATA Newsletter, Nov 2008 (cat. no. 2066.0) was released 21 November 2008. The 'CDATA Newsletter' aims to provide Census data users with an effective means of notification of the implications of certain Census development issues and arising data issues. It also aims to assist with notifying users of the release dates of Census data (released over several stages) and the content of these releases, by facilitating a two-way communication process between ABS and Census users. In effect, this will enable information exchange between users (i.e. for meeting corporate objectives of informed/increased use of statistics).

The CDATA Online product was released on the ABS website 27 October 2008. CDATA Online is an online tool that combines information on Australian society from the 2006 Census, with web-based graphing and mapping capabilities. CDATA Online allows you to create your own tables of Census data on a range of different topics such as age, education, housing, income, transport, religion, ethnicity, occupation and more. This free online product allows you to create tables, maps and graphs of Census characteristics for all ABS geographic areas.

The product is designed to provide clients with a high degree of freedom in selecting and combining the geographical areas most suited to their needs. The tables, graphs and maps created in CDATA Online can be downloaded in a variety of formats.You can access CDATA Online as a Guest User or as a Registered User. Registration is free, and registered users of CDATA Online can save their custom geographies, data items and tables for use in future sessions.

The CDATA Online product can be accessed from the ABS website. Readers are encouraged to visit the website <www.abs.gov.au/census> and experience the power of CDATA Online.

CHANGES TO THE ABS SURVEY PROGRAM

The ABS is facing a tight budget situation in 2008-09, which has led to a range of reductions in the ABS work program. The Australian Statistician, Brian Pink, has outlined a number of strategies to address the situation in the document Changes to the ABS survey program for 2008-09 on the ABS Website. Use the link to see what the implications are for the affected surveys or programs and how to get further information.

ABS RELEASE INFORMATION

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website provides the expected release details for all statistical products due for publication in the coming six months.

The web page 'Releases Scheduled for the Next Six Months' is revised on the ABS website at the beginning of each month. This six-month forecasting is intended to keep clients informed about products and when they will become available.

All ABS core statistical and other statistical publications that usually have a catalogue number will be detailed as well as prominent non-statistical publications such as the ABS Annual Report and Australian Statistics Advisory Council Annual Report.

Access 'Releases Scheduled for the Next Six Months' from the ABS Home page via 'Future Releases' or use this link.

Information on all ABS product releases can also be accessed from ABS Release Advice. This web page also provides links to Previous Releases, Releases Scheduled for the Next Six Months and Main Economic Indicator Releases.

QUEENSLAND THEME PAGE

This page provides access to Queensland statistical information including statistical releases and links to non-ABS sources. A wide range of economic and social statistics is covered.