FEATURE ABS RELEASES


MEDIA RELEASES AND PUBLICATIONS

Media Release: Reinstatement of full monthly Retail trade sample.

The following is an extract from a statement released on November 5, 2008.

The Australian Statistician, Brian Pink announced today that the ABS will reinstate the full monthly sample for the Retail Business Survey.

The Statistician recognised that global developments over recent months had heightened public interest in government action to support the economy and consequently, there was closer scrutiny of economic data. In addition, key macroeconomic statistics users had indicated that more robust monthly retail trade data are their top priority at this time for improved economic statistics.

Whilst month-on-month changes in retail sales are difficult to measure reliably, even with the best survey designs and robust samples, reinstating the full monthly sample will reduce some of that uncertainty.

At this stage it is expected that results from the reinstated sample will be available early in 2009.

Full media release.

Australian Bureau of Statistics - Annual Report, 2007-08 (cat. no. 1001.0)

The Annual Report is one of the suite of ABS corporate publications and it reports on the operations of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.


Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (Revision 1.0) (cat. no. 1292.0)

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classificaton (ANZSIC) 2006 was released in February 2006. As a result of using this new classification in statistical collections, the ABS identified some areas where clarifications are needed.

Revisions to ANZSIC 2006 are shown in this release. The revisions are minor, maintaining the scope, concepts and structure of ANZSIC 2006. It concentrates on the revision of primary activities to capture new and emerging activities, clarifies class definitions to overcome practical difficulties in implementation and corrects minor errors and omissions.

The minor revisions facilitate the consistent interpretation of the classification by all concerned and allow the inclusion of activities especially for industries that are subject to frequent changes (e.g. information technology).

Original publication is available on the ABS web-site.

In addition, an index search functionality is also available on the web-site.
Measures of Australia's Progress: Summary Indicators, 2008 (Edition 2) (cat. no. 1383.0.55.001)

Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP): Summary Indicators is part of the suite of Measures of Australia's Progress products produced by the ABS.

This publication provides a national summary of the most important areas of progress (including: Individuals, The economy and economic resources, The environment, and Living together) and presents them in a way which can be quickly understood. The purpose of MAP is to inform and stimulate public debate and encourage all Australians to assess the bigger picture when contemplating progress.
CDATA Online, 2006 (cat. no. 2064.0)

CDATA Online is an online tool that combines information on Australian society from the 2006 Census, with web graphing and mapping capability. 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 geographical 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. You can access data for areas as small as a Collection District (approximately 225 households) or as large as an entire state or territory or all of Australia. CDATA Online allows you the freedom to select and combine areas that interest you by creating your own customised geographic areas.

With CDATA Online you are able to cross-tabulate chosen Census data variables to produce a table which can also be viewed as a graph or a thematic map. Predetermined basic tables are available for selection based on broad topics via a topic list. Once a table has been created it can be further customised by adding and removing data items and geographic areas, and by creating custom data groups. 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 free from the ABS web site and a comprehensive user manual is also available online. In addition the Adelaide office of the ABS will be conducting free seminars early in 2009. Refer to Upcoming ABS Statistical Training in South Australia for more information.
Dicussion Paper: Assessment of Methods for Developing Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2006 (cat. no. 3302.0.55.002)

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 Straist Islander (Indigenous) Australians presents particular difficulties.

The ABS has previously compiled experimental life tables for Indigenous Australians following the 1996 and 2001 Censuses of Population and Housing. Those estimates were compiled using different indirect demographic methods and were subject to a range of caveats. Because of these caveats, the estimates have been labelled 'experimental'. In spite of those caveats, the resulting estimates have been used extensively.

In considering compilation of life tables for Indigenous Australians following the 2006 Census, the ABS has been investigating a range of different methodologies. These investigations have once again highlighted the sensitivity of these estimates to the underlying assumptions, input data and methods explored.

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 discussed 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 (CDE) Indigenous Mortality Quality Study, to derive Indigenous life tables is presented.
National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 2007 (cat. no. 4326.0)

This publication presents a summary of results from the 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, conducted by the ABS from August to December 2007. The survey collected information from approximately 8,800 Australians aged 16-85 years.

The survey provides information on the prevalence of selected lifetime and 12-month mental disorders by three major disorder groups: Anxiety disorders (eg. Social Phobia), Affective disorders (eg. Depression) and Substance Use disorders (eg Alcohol Harmful Use). It also provides information on the level of impairment, the health services used for mental health problems, physical conditions, social networks and caregiving, as well as demographic and socio-economic characteristics.

Mental health is one of Australia's National Health Priority Areas and funding for this survey was provided by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Information from the survey will contribute to research in the field of mental health and assist in the formation of government policies and legislation.
A Profile of Carers in Australia (First Issue) (cat. no. 4448.0)

A Profile of Carers in Australia provides an overview of the characteristics and activities of people who provide informal assistance to someone with a disability, long-term health condition or to older people (aged 60 years and over). Information was drawn from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing and from three ABS Surveys: the 2003 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC); the 2006 General Social Survey (GSS) and the 2006 Time Use Survey (TUS). To help readers understand the differences between the data sources, the collection methodology and output from the different surveys and the Census are examined in a technial appendix.

Seleceted findings include:

• Around 2.5 million Australians aged 15 years and over care for someone at home because of a disability or old age.
• Women were more likely than men to be carers (17% of women and 14% of men).
• Carers tended to be an older group. The median age of the carer population aged 15 years and over was 48 years while for non-carers it was 40 years.
• Of parents aged 35-54 years, 22% of mothers and 15% of fathers were carers. About half of these carers were caring for a child with a disability. The other half were combining raising young children with care of another relative or friend.
• For all age groups, carers were more likely to have a disability themselves (35% of all carers had a disability compared with 22% of all people).