A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Welcome to the latest newsletter from the National Migrant Statistics Unit.
There have been several important data releases over the past six months. Most notable among these was the release of the initial results from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Census data remain one of the primary sources of information about the overseas born, including recently arrived migrants. It also contains a range of information about other topics such as ancestry, language, religion, labour force, income and housing, with much of the data being available for small geographic areas. I invite you to visit the ABS website and look at the QuickStats and MapStats facilities. You will be surprised by the amount of information available at your fingertips.
In August the National Migrant Statistics Unit released the first edition of the Guide to Migrant Statistical Sources (cat. no. 3414.0). This electronic publication contains information relating to over 90 different data sources that are relevant to migrants and ethnicity. The sources include federal and state government agencies, academic institutions and the ABS. If you know of other sources that do not appear in this first edition we would be pleased to hear from you.
I anticipate that the long awaited Migrant Data Matrices (cat. no. 3415.0) will be available in November. This product provides users with a series of data cubes that contain information from ABS surveys that has been cross tabulated with data items such as country/region of birth, year of arrival and English language proficiency. It is hoped that this information will assist users with policy development and research.
The 2007 "Characteristics of Migrants Survey" will be run in November 2007. A substantial amount of work has occurred to improve the quality and usefulness of the survey, particularly in the area of determining 'visa category'. It is expected that the initial results from the survey will be available in mid 2008.
The National Migrant Statistics Unit will continue to develop relationships with policy agencies, data users and data custodians in an effort to create new products and reports that provide and support relevant analysis in this field. If you have an interest in this area, we would be pleased to hear from you (see Newsletter contact details).
Andrew Middleton
Acting Director
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