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Household Surveys Charter
  

Who we are

ABS InterviewersContacting us
Our Mission
What you can expect of ABS Interviewers
More about us
What we doHow you can helpHousehold Surveys Charter in other languages



This Charter sets out the relationship between the ABS and members of the public who provide us with information for statistical purposes about themselves and their household.

Effective from February 2005


Who we are

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is Australia's official statistical agency. Our functions and responsibilities are set out in the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 and the Census and Statistics Act 1905. The ABS's Annual Report to Parliament provides information on our activities and achievements.

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Our Mission

We assist and encourage informed decision making, research and discussion within governments and the community, by providing a high quality, objective and responsive national statistical service.


What we do

We collect, compile, analyse and disseminate information on a wide range of social and economic matters. Our statistics are used by governments, business, industry organisations, academics and others seeking to understand Australian society and the economy.

We collect information from, and about, people and households in a variety of ways. Some information is available from administrative sources such as service providers and, if appropriate, we use that information.

Some information is collected through surveys. ABS surveys are designed to select only the required number of people or households needed to produce reliable statistics. Each person or household selected in the sample represents other people or households like them in the community. These sample surveys are usually conducted by interview either face to face or over the telephone. Some sample surveys involve the respondent completing their own survey form and returning it to us.

Once every five years we conduct a Census of Population and Housing where everyone is asked to complete, or be included on, a census form. More extensive information about the Census is available through the link above.

What you can expect of us

In our dealings with you we will:
    • be professional and courteous;
    • write to you or inform you personally if your dwelling is selected in a survey;
    • explain clearly what information we need and how the statistics compiled from this information will be used;
    • work with you to resolve any difficulties caused by our requests for information;
    • listen, and respond quickly and fairly, to any complaint that you make; and
    • protect the secrecy of the information you provide, as required by statistics legislation. Our long standing record for maintaining the secrecy of information provided to us is widely acknowledged and respected.
ABS interviewers

The ABS conducts its household surveys using a team of highly skilled and trained interviewers which numbers about 600 across Australia. ABS interviewers are authorised under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 to call at, or telephone, selected dwellings and speak with the occupants for the purpose of collecting survey information.

As with all ABS employees, interviewers have a legal obligation to keep the information they collect confidential and operate under an agreement which allows for penalties if confidentiality is broken. The ABS also uses a set of standard interviewing procedures designed to ensure interviews are conducted in a professional manner and minimise the amount of your time required.

What you can expect of ABS interviewers

In their dealings with you, ABS interviewers are bound by a Code of Conduct.

Interviewers WILL
  • Maintain a professional approach at all times and confine their relations with you to the collection of survey information.
  • Be presentable and neat.
  • Show their official identification badge.

Interviewers WILL NOT
  • Call (in person or by phone) to households or persons, either currently or previously selected in ABS surveys for any purpose other than the collection of survey information.
  • Provide literature, brochures or promotional material other than for the purpose of the survey.
  • Discuss government policies.
  • Enter your home without permission. Quite often respondents will, as a matter of courtesy, invite an interviewer inside their home.
  • Be accompanied by anyone not authorised by the ABS.

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How you can help

To help us produce high quality statistics, we ask that you:
    • answer the questions asked by the interviewer as accurately as possible; and
    • when the interviewer calls in person, provide the interviewer with a suitable table and chair as they may be using a notebook computer.
We ask the general public for their cooperation, and most people provide information willingly. (Under the provisions of the Census and Statistics Act 1905, if you are directed in writing to provide the information, you are legally obliged to do so.)

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Minimising costs to the community

We work to minimise costs to the community by:
    • using alternative sources of information instead of surveying, wherever possible;
    • seeking information in a way that reduces the time spent interviewing;
    • notifying you in advance if the survey involves a need to refer to household records;
    • thoroughly testing our questions with households before running a survey; and
    • using scientific random sampling methods to keep the size of surveys as small as possible.
Contacting us

We are happy for you to contact us direct. If you have any questions about the survey you have been asked to participate in, please ring the contact number on the letter you received telling you about the survey or the brochure enclosed with that letter. Address details for ABS offices can be found on this web site ABS address details.

For general inquiries about statistics, you can contact us by letter, fax or email, or by telephone during normal business hours.

If you have a problem which has not been resolved to your satisfaction by the contact listed above, you can write to:
      Population Survey Operations
      Attention: Household Survey Liaison Officer
      Australian Bureau of Statistics
      Locked Bag 10
      Belconnen ACT 2616

      Email:       popsurveys@abs.gov.au

If you write to us, we will send a written acknowledgment within one week. We may contact you by telephone, or arrange for an ABS staff member to visit you to resolve the issue. We will write to you advising of the outcome, usually within 4 weeks of receiving your letter.

If you are still not satisfied you can ask for a review by writing to: Complaints Review Officer, Secretariat Section, Australian Bureau of Statistics, PO Box 10, Belconnen ACT 2616.


If you have comments

We value your feedback and invite you to comment on this Charter or our performance against it. Please ring the contact number on the letter or brochure you received, or write to the Household Survey Liaison Officer at the address above.
This Household Surveys Charter is reviewed regularly and updated as necessary. We monitor our performance against this Charter - see our Annual Report.
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More about us

You can find out more about the ABS by:
    • visiting the ABS web site: http://www.abs.gov.au
    • contacting the ABS National Information and Referral Service by telephone on 1300 135 070, or
    • contacting your local public library for free access to ABS publications or our Annual Report.

Our Catalogue of Publications and Products (ABS Catalogue No. 1101.0) is available free of charge on our Web Site and through public libraries.

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