Compare data services

Glossary of terms used in this table 

Explanations of terms used in this table

Glossary of terms used in this table

* Further information about costs:

1. Costs shown are GST inclusive and indicative. GST is not applicable for some clients.
2. The ABS/Universities Australia Agreement provides a range of ABS products and services including microdata to members of participating Australian universities. Students, staff and researchers at participating universities will not be invoiced for TableBuilder and MicrodataDownload, which are fully covered by the agreement. Some DataLab access charges apply but have been subsidised under the agreement. 
3. Detailed pricing information for each data service:
   • TableBuilder
   • MicrodataDownload
   • DataLab
   • Information consultancy service
   • Data integration service 

Data output

Data and output can be in either aggregate form (such as tabular data) or microdata (unit records):

• Aggregate data is produced by grouping information into categories and combining values within these categories, for example, a count of the number of people of a particular age (obtained from the question ‘In what year were you born?’). Also referred to as tabular data or macrodata, aggregate data is typically presented in tables.
• Microdata is a dataset of unit records where each record contains information about a person or organisation. This information can include individual responses to questions on surveys, censuses or administrative forms.

Level of detail

Data services are provided in different levels of detail, so it is important to check that the service will meet your needs:

• broad ranges - limited data items may be included, data items may be provided in groups, such as 5 or 10 year age ranges, broad geographies only may be included, such as state/territory and capital city/balance of state
• detailed - more data items may be included, data may be provided in single values, or finer ranges, finer geographies may be included, such as statistical areas, local government areas and suburbs or postcodes
• very detailed - many data items may be included, data may be provided in single values, such as individual income amounts, very fine geographies may be included, such as mesh block level
• customised - finer detail for some data items may be offset by broader detail for other data items, in order to provide you with the level of detail you need for your request

Output timing

Some data services allow you to view your output immediately, and are available for you to use at any time of day. Other services, such as DataLab, you need to wait for an ABS staff member to clear your output before it is provided to you. For data services that are not self-service, such as Information consultancies or Data integration services, the ABS will create your output, and then provide it to you. The creation process can take several weeks or months for complex requests.

Platform

Data services are provided in various forms such as:

• ABS website - you can access datasets or information directly from a web page
• online system - you log into a system from a web page via a user interface, where the system is hosted on a secure server
• API - you use an Application Programming Interface (API) from your environment to access a system using machine to machine interaction
• email or secure transfer - if ABS is providing your output to you, we will let you know how the data will be sent to you

Self-service/ABS provided service

Some data services are available immediately, and can be used at any time of the day. In other cases you may need to contact the ABS first to arrange access, but once you have been approved, the service is usually available 24 hours/7 days. Other services are provided by the ABS, so you will need to specify your needs, then allow time for the ABS to complete the work before you receive your output.

Statistical skills 

All ABS data requires some statistical understanding to interpret what the data means:

• all levels - data services that are designed to get you started, or to be used by intermediate or advanced users to complement more complex services
• intermediate - some statistical training or experience needed to use these services, such as TableBuilder
• advanced - you need to have several years of statistical training or experience to use these services, such as DataLab