GLOSSARY
Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)
The ASGS brings all the regions for which the ABS publishes statistics within the one framework and has been in use for the collection and dissemination of geographically classified statistics since 1 July 2011. It is the current framework for understanding and interpreting the geographical context of statistics published by the ABS.
Capital city
Refers to the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas of states and territories as defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard.
Centre of population
The centre of population is a measure used to describe the spatial distribution of a population. The method used to calculate centres of population in this product is based on the centroid and population of each Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1). To calculate the centre of population for an area, the latitude and longitude coordinates of the centroid of each SA1 in that area are multiplied by the SA1's ERP to obtain weighted latitudes and longitudes for each SA1. These are summed to obtain a weighted latitude and longitude coordinate for the area, then divided by the total population of the area to obtain a single latitude and longitude coordinate.
Commonwealth Electoral Division (CED)
An area legally prescribed for returning one member to the House of Representatives, Australia's Federal Lower House of Parliament. Data for CEDs are approximated by aggregating the data for Statistical Areas Level 1 that best fit the area. Where the Australian Electoral Commission revise their boundaries, the CEDs will be updated on an annual basis in July in conjunction with updates of other ASGS Non-ABS Structures.
Estimated resident population (ERP)
The official measure of the population of Australia is based on the concept of usual residence. It refers to all people, regardless of nationality, citizenship or legal status, who usually live in Australia, with the exception of foreign diplomatic personnel and their families. It includes usual residents who are overseas for less than 12 months over a 16-month period. It excludes overseas visitors who are in Australia for less than 12 months over a 16-month period.
Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA)
Represent the socioeconomic area of each of the eight state and territory capital cities. These boundaries are built from aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 4. GCCSA boundaries represent a broad socioeconomic definition of each capital city, they contain not only the urban area of the capital city, but also surrounding and non-urban areas where much of the population has strong links to the capital city, through for example, commuting to work.
Intercensal difference
The difference between two estimates of a Census year population as at 30 June: the first based on the latest Census and the second produced by updating from the previous Census-based estimates which do not take account of information available from the latest Census.
Local Government Area (LGA)
An ABS approximation of an officially gazetted LGA as defined by each state and territory local government department. LGAs cover incorporated areas of Australia, which are legally designated areas for which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. The major areas of Australia not administered by incorporated bodies are the northern parts of South Australia and all of the Australian Capital Territory and the Other Territories. These regions are identified as 'Unincorporated' in the ABS LGA structure.
Mesh Block
The smallest geographic region in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) which forms the basis for all larger regions of the ASGS. They broadly identify land use such as residential, commercial, agricultural and parks. There are approximately 358,000 Mesh Blocks and they cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.
Net undercount
The difference between the actual Census count (including imputations) and an estimate of the number of people who should have been counted in the Census. This estimate is based on the Post Enumeration Survey (PES) conducted after each Census. For a category of person (e.g. based on age, sex and state of usual residence), net undercount is the result of Census undercount, overcount, differences in classification between the PES and Census and imputation error.
Population growth rate
Population change over a period as a proportion (percentage) of the population at the beginning of the period.
Post Enumeration Survey (PES)
The Census Post Enumeration Survey (PES) is a household survey conducted following the Census. The PES allows the ABS to estimate the number of people missed in the Census and the number counted more than once or in error. Historically more people are missed than are counted more than once in Australia, leading to a net undercount. Results from the PES contribute to a more accurate calculation of the estimated resident population (ERP) on Census night, which is then backdated to 30 June of the Census year.
Rebasing
The 2016 Census of Population and Housing forms the base for newly compiled estimates for 30 June of the Census year, which can be compared with the alternative estimates produced by updating the 2011 Census-based estimates. Of these two estimates, the more recent Census-based estimate is assumed to be the true estimate. To overcome the break in continuity that this implies, population estimates for all years in between the two most recent Censuses are then revised. This complete exercise is known as 'rebasing', as the population estimates are compiled from a new base, the most recent Census.
Remoteness Area (RA)
An aggregation of non-contiguous geographical areas which share common characteristics of remoteness. The criteria for defining RA boundaries are based on the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+) which measures the remoteness of a point based on the road distance to the nearest urban centre. The RA categories range from Major Cities to Very Remote. Within the Australian Statistical Geography Standard, each RA is created from a grouping of Statistical Areas Level 1 which have a particular degree of remoteness.
Remoteness Structure
This structure is used to classify areas which share common characteristics of remoteness into Remoteness Areas. The degree of remoteness of each area is determined using the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+).
Rest of state
Within each state and territory, the area not defined as being part of the Greater Capital City Statistical Area is represented by a Rest of state region.
Significant Urban Area (SUA)
Aggregations of whole Statistical Areas Level 2 to define and contain major urban and near-urban concentrations of over 10,000 people. They include the urban population, any immediately associated populations, and may incorporate together one or more closely associated Urban Centre and Localities and the areas between. They are designed to incorporate any likely growth over the next 20 years. SUAs do not cover the whole of Australia, and may cross State boundaries.
State Electoral Division (SED)
An area legally prescribed for returning one or more members to the State or Territory Lower Houses of Parliament. Data for SEDs are approximated by aggregating the data for Statistical Areas Level 1 that best fit the area. Where the Australian Electoral Commission revise their boundaries, the SEDs will be updated on an annual basis in July in conjunction with updates of other Australian Statistical Geography Standard Non-ABS Structures.
Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1)
An area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard designed as the smallest unit for the release of Census data. They generally have a population of 200 to 800 people, and an average population of about 400 people. SA1s in remote and regional areas generally have smaller populations than those in urban areas. SA1s aggregate to all Non-ABS ASGS Structures except Local Government Areas and Tourism Regions. There are approximately 57,500 SA1s and they cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. Population estimates are prepared for SA1s by breaking down estimates from the SA2 level.
Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2)
A general-purpose medium-sized area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard built from whole SA1s. Their aim is to represent a community that interacts together socially and economically. SA2s are based on officially gazetted suburbs and localities. In urban areas, SA2s largely conform to one or more whole suburbs, while in rural areas they generally define the functional zone of a regional centre. SA2s generally have a population range of 3,000 to 25,000 people, and an average population of about 10,000 people. There are approximately 2,300 SA2s and they cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. SA2s are the base unit for preparing sub-state population estimates.
Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3)
An area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard built up from SA2s to provide a standardised regional breakup of Australia. SA3s aim to create a standard framework for the analysis of ABS data at the regional level through clustering groups of whole SA2s that have similar regional characteristics. Their boundaries reflect a combination of widely recognised informal regions as well as existing administrative regions such as State Government Regions in rural areas and Local Government Areas in urban areas. SA3s generally range in population from 30,000 to 130,000 people. There are around 360 SA3s and they cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.
Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4)
An area defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard designed for the output of labour force data and to reflect labour markets. In rural areas SA4s generally represent aggregations of multiple small labour markets with socioeconomic connections or similar industry characteristics. Large regional city labour markets are generally defined by a single SA4. Within major metropolitan labour markets SA4s represent sub-labour markets. SA4s are built from whole SA3s. They generally have a population of over 100,000 people to enable accurate labour force survey data to be generated. There are 107 SA4s and they cover the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.
Urban Centre and Locality (UCL)
Aggregations of Statistical Areas Level 1 which represent population centres with populations exceeding 200 persons. Centres with a core urban population of 1,000 persons or more are considered to be Urban Centres, whilst smaller centres with populations of between 200 and 999 people are considered to be Localities.
Usual residence
Usual residence within Australia refers to that address at which the person has lived or intends to live for a total of six months or more in a given reference year. For the 30 June reference date, this refers to the calendar year around it.
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