1249.0 - Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG), 2016  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/07/2016   
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ABOUT CODES

STANDARD CODE SCHEME

The classification levels and classification codes are related as follows:

  • broad groups are represented by one-digit codes
  • narrow groups are represented by two-digit codes
  • cultural and ethnic groups are represented by four-digit codes.

The relationship between codes and classification levels are illustrated in the following example of the categories in the 'Oceanian' broad group:


1 OCEANIAN
11 Australian Peoples
1101 Australian
1102 Australian Aboriginal
1103 Australian South Sea Islander
1104 Torres Strait Islander
12 New Zealand Peoples
1201 Maori
1202 New Zealander
13 Melanesian and Papuan
1301 New Caledonian
1302 Ni-Vanuatu
1303 Papua New Guinean
1304 Solomon Islander
1399 Melanesian and Papuan, nec
14 Micronesian
1401 I-Kiribati
1402 Nauruan
1499 Micronesian, nec
15 Polynesian
1501 Cook Islander
1502 Fijian
1503 Niuean
1504 Samoan
1505 Tongan
1506 Hawaiian
1507 Tahitian
1508 Tokelauan
1511 Tuvaluan
1512 Pitcairn
1599 Polynesian, nec


Narrow group categories have two-digit codes where the first digit represents the parent broad group code and the second digit represents the sequence of narrow groups within the parent broad group (e.g. '1 Oceanian' contains '11 Australian Peoples', '12 New Zealand Peoples', '13 Melanesian and Papuan', '14 Micronesian' and '15 Polynesian').

Cultural and ethnic groups have four-digit codes where the first two digits represent the parent narrow group code and the final two digits represent the sequence of cultural and ethnic groups within a narrow group (e.g. '11 Australian Peoples' contains '1101 Australian', '1102 Australian Aboriginal', '1103 Australian South Sea Islander' and '1104 Torres Strait Islander'). Cultural and ethnic groups are in alphabetical order within each narrow group with the exception of residual 'not elsewhere classified' (nec) categories or where new groups have been added following reviews of the classification.

Cultural and ethnic groups do not have codes ending with '0' or '9' because these codes have specific functions within the code scheme, as explained below.


RESIDUAL 'NEC' CATEGORIES

Residual or 'not elsewhere classified' (nec) categories are designed to capture cultural and ethnic groups that are not separately identified in the main structure of the classification due to their low statistical significance. These categories are represented by four digit codes where the first two digits identify the narrow group and the final two digits are '99'. All cultural and ethnic groups which are not separately identified in the classification are included in the 'nec' category of the narrow group to which they relate. The classification currently has 24 'nec' categories at the cultural and ethnic group level for narrow groups where they are required.

'NEC' codes are part of the main structure of the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG).


RESIDUAL 'OTHER' NARROW GROUPS

In some broad groups, codes are reserved for residual categories at the narrow group level. These codes consist of the broad group code followed by '9'. The title of these categories commence with 'Other' and they consist of separately identified cultural and ethnic groups which do not fit into substantive narrow groups on the basis of the classification criteria. The two residual categories of this kind currently in the classification are '49 Other North African and Middle Eastern' and '69 Other North-East Asian'.


SUPPLEMENTARY CODES

Supplementary or 'not further defined' (nfd) codes are used to code responses that are insufficiently specific for the main classification structure to be used. They exist for operational reasons only, and no data would be coded to them if sufficiently detailed responses were obtained in all instances.

There are three types of supplementary codes:
  • four digit codes ending with two or three zeros
  • four digit codes commencing with three zeros
  • four digit codes commencing with the digits '09' to meet specific needs.

Supplementary 'nfd' codes ending with zeros

Codes ending in zero are described as 'not further defined' (nfd) codes and are used to code responses which cannot be accurately coded to substantive (four digit) cultural and ethnic groups but which can be coded to a higher level (broad or narrow group) of the classification structure. For example, the response 'Scandinavian' does not contain sufficient information to be coded directly to a substantive cultural and ethnic group, but it can be coded to narrow group '24 Northern European' which covers all the cultural and ethnic groups that are encompassed by the term 'Scandinavian'. It is allocated the 'nfd' code '2400 Northern European, nfd'.

Similarly, responses which do not contain sufficient information to be coded to a specific cultural or ethnic group, or to a narrow group, but which are known to fall within the range of cultural and ethnic groups of a particular broad group, can be coded at the broad group level. For example, the response 'Celtic' does not contain sufficient information to be coded directly to a cultural or ethnic group or narrow group, but it can be coded to broad group '2 North-West European' as all Celtic cultural and ethnic groups originated and developed in North-West Europe. It is allocated the 'nfd' code '2000 North-West European, nfd'.

Supplementary codes commencing with zeros

Four-digit codes commencing with '000' enable coding of responses that cannot be coded to any category in the ASCCEG. There are two supplementary codes of this kind: '0000 Inadequately described' and '0001 Not stated'.

Supplementary codes commencing with '09'

Four digit codes commencing with '09' are used to code ancestry responses which broadly describe the region of origin but cannot be coded to either a substantive cultural or ethnic group or to one of the 'nfd' codes. These codes allow the collection and storage of data for responses such as African, Asian, and European.

Using supplementary codes enables responses or input data which can only be assigned codes at the broad or narrow group levels of the classification to be processed within a collection at the four digit level. This allows the coding process to be as precise as the input data quality allows, preserving data that would otherwise be discarded as uncodable or aggregated with other data to which it is unrelated in the 'inadequately described' supplementary category.

Supplementary codes are not part of the classification structure. They are listed separately in Table 2 of the ASCCEG data cube (accessible from the 'Downloads' tab).