6541.0.30.001 - Microdata: Income and Housing, Australia, 2011-12 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/10/2013   
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QUALITY DECLARATION

Institutional Environment
Relevance
Timeliness
Accuracy
Coherence
Interpretability
Accessability


INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs) are released in accordance with the conditions specified in the Statistics Determination section of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. This ensures that confidentiality is maintained whilst enabling micro level data to be released. More information on the confidentiality practices associated with CURFs can be found at the About CURF Microdata page.

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

RELEVANCE

Microdata from the Survey of Income and Housing are available as a Basic and an Expanded CURF.

The type of information collected includes estimates of income received by households, classified by various characteristics of the households and their residents (e.g. income quintile, principal source of household income, family composition, tenure type, age, employment status). Also available are housing costs, wealth, loans, child care and social transfers in kind.

The level of detail provided for selected data items are available within the data item lists. Also included in the data item list is a comparison between the 2011-12 Basic and Expanded CURF, and comparisons with previous CURFs.The data item list for the Basic and Expanded CURF can be found by clicking on the Downloads tab of this product.

TIMELINESS

The most recent Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) was collected from July 2011 to June 2012. The ABS has been conducting household income surveys since 1979, and has been conducting the SIH every two years since 2003-04. Initial summary and microdata products commence release approximately 12 months after enumeration is completed. The next SIH is currently being conducted for 2013–14.


ACCURACY

The microdata contains finer levels of detail of data items than what is otherwise published in other formats, for example, in Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2011–12 (cat. no. 6523.0). For more information on the level of detail provided, please see the associated data item list from the Downloads tab.

For details about the 2011–12 Survey of Income and Housing, please refer to the Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide, Australia, 2011–12 (cat. no. 6553.0).

Steps to confidentialise the data made available on the microdata are taken in such a way as to maximise the usefulness of the content while maintaining the confidentiality of respondents selected in the survey. As a result it may not be possible to exactly reconcile all the statistics produced from the microdata with other published statistics. Further information about the steps taken to confidentialise the microdata is available through the following link:
CURF confidentiality.

COHERENCE

Results from the most recent survey on this topic were published in Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2011–12 (cat. no. 6523.0). Data on earlier topics can be found on the Past and Future Releases page or by contacting the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.

For more information on the changes to SIH over time, please refer to Part 4 'Changes from Previous Surveys' in the Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide, Australia, 2011–12 (cat. no. 6553.0).

The CURF data item list also includes comparisons at the data item level with previous SIH CURFs, including lists of new items and items no longer included (since a topic was last available), and a list of items which have had minor changes (e.g. changes to data item labels or categories). The data item list for the Basic and Expanded CURF can be found by clicking on the Downloads tab of this product.


INTERPRETABILITY

The information within this product should be referred to when using the microdata. It contains information about the microdata outputs, including file structures and contents, specific information relating to how to use the CURF, notes on specific data items, conditions of use, data item listings and comparisons of estimates.

Users of the microdata should use this information in conjunction with information about the survey and topics more generally. The Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide, Australia, 2011–12 (cat. no. 6553.0) includes information on survey concepts, methods and design, data quality and interpretation, output data items, information about the availability of results and comparability with previous surveys.

ACCESSIBILITY

Microdata products are available to approved users. Users wishing to access the microdata should read the How to apply for Microdata web page, before applying for access through MiCRO. Users should also familiarise with information available via the Microdata Entry Page.

A full list of available microdata can be viewed via the Expected and available Microdata. More detail regarding types and modes of access to CURFs can be found on the CURF Access Modes and Levels of Detail web page.

The Basic CURF can be accessed on CD-ROM and through the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL). The Expanded CURF can be accessed through the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL) and ABS Data Laboratory (ABSDL).
Any questions regarding access to microdata can be forwarded to microdata.access@abs.gov.au or phone (02) 6252 7714.