Welcome to this video which will introduce you to the main geographical levels used by the ABS for organising data.

Most ABS data is presented using a geographical classification known as the Australian Standard Geographical Classification or ASGC. When searching for, or using, ABS data, it is useful to understand how the classification works.

There are seven classification structures available within the ASGC, each designed to suit a different purpose. Some structures cover the whole of Australia, while others cover only parts of Australia.

We will now look more closely at the Main Structure which incorporates the most commonly used geography.

The Main Structure has six levels. The lowest level is called a Collection District or CD. Collection Districts are only published in Census years, while the rest of the Main Structure is published each year. Collection Districts are the basic building blocks for the Main Structure. A Collection District is an area that contains about 200 dwellings, but it can vary greatly in size, depending on population density. Only data from the Census of Population and Housing is available at this level. Data at the Collection District level is useful for looking at the characteristics of the population in small areas. And because of their small size they can be grouped together to roughly follow an area of interest, such as in this case, Sydney Harbour Collection Districts with waterfront boundaries.

For most other data, the smallest geographical unit is the Statistical Local Area, or SLA. There is a wide range of data available by Statistical Local Area, including population estimates, building approvals, and birth and death statistics. Statistical Local Areas are either whole Local Government Areas, or aggregate together to form Local Government Areas. Areas of Australia not administered by local governments (called unincorporated areas) are divided into Statistical Local Areas as well.

The third level in the structure is the Statistical Subdivision or SSD. Statistical Subdivisions combine Statistical Local Areas to form socially and economically homogenous regions characterised by identifiable links between the people who live in them. They are useful, for example, when you want to compare two or more larger regions.

The fourth level is the Statistical Division or SD. Each capital city is defined as a Statistical Division, while the rest of Australia is divided up into relatively homogenous regions.

The fifth level of the structure is the State or Territory and the top level is Australia. You will find that most data on the website is readily available by State or Territory.

There are other geographic structures in the ASGC, including a Local Government Area structure and a Remoteness structure. You can find out more about each of the structures in the ASGC in the Manual. It is accessible by starting from the ABS home page, selecting the Methods & Standards link, then selecting Geography Classifications, then selecting the item Australian Standard Geographical Classification. This will take you to the latest edition of the ASGC.

There are also some Census specific classifications published in Statistical Geography Volume 2 - Census Geographic Areas. This publication defines other popular geographic areas by combining Collection Districts in different ways. For example, State Suburbs approximate suburbs, Postal Areas approximate postcode areas, while statistics about the Indigenous population are sometimes provided using a classification called the Australian Indigenous Geographical Classification.

Thank you for watching this tutorial, we hope you found it useful.