3.3.2 NO 2011 CENSUS RECORD
A person included in the 2006 Census sample may have had no equivalent 2011 Census record because they were no longer in scope for the Census due to migration from Australia, or death between 2006 and 2011, or they may simply have been missed in the Census.
According to mortality data compiled by the ABS from data supplied by the Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages, about 700,000 people died in Australia between 2006 and 2011. If 5% of these people were represented in the 2006 sample, then it could be expected that up to 35,000 people could not have been linked due to death between 2006 and 2011. Similarly, migration data shows that just over one million people left Australia as permanent emigrants over the same period, potentially resulting in up to 50,000 people from 2006 Census sample being unlikely to have a corresponding 2011 Census record.
Due to the size and complexity of the Census, it is inevitable that some people are missed and some are counted more than once. It is for this reason that the Census Post Enumeration Survey (PES) is run shortly after each Census, to provide an independent measure of Census coverage. The PES determines how many people should have been counted in the Census, how many were missed (undercount), and how many were counted more than once (overcount). It also provides information on the characteristics of those in the population who have been missed or overcounted.
The net undercount rate for the 2011 Census was 1.7%, with a higher rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for the non-Indigenous population (see
Census of Population and Housing - Details of Undercount, 2011 (cat. no. 2940.0)) Thus, roughly, 15,000 people from the 2006 Census sample could have been missed in the 2011 Census. This estimate is a starting point only and does not take into account the likelihood of people being missed in successive Censuses.
When taking into account all of these factors, it is estimated that over half of the unlinked 2006 Census sample (100,000 out of the 180,000 unlinked records) would not have a corresponding record in the 2011 Census. This would indicate that the initial linkage rate of 82% could be representative of up to 91% of the population that actually had an opportunity to be linked.
Print Page
Print All