GLOSSARY

Administrative data

Information that is collected for purposes other than that of a statistical nature. This type of information is often obtained from records or transactional data from government agencies, businesses or non-profit organisations which use the information for the administration of programs, policies or services.

Adopted Child

The Census of Population and Housing does not seek to identify adopted children. An adopted child is, in most cases, reported in the Census as the child of Person 1 and/or Person 2, and is coded in the same way as a natural child.

Australian Early Development Census

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) was previously known as the Australian Early Development Index. This name change came into effect on 1 July 2014. The AEDC is a population measure of children's development as they enter school. It is an adapted version of the Canadian Early Development Instrument, developed in response to communities' increasing interest in knowing how their children were developing. A population measure places the focus on all children in the community and therefore the AEDC reports on early childhood development across the whole community. It is recognised that moving the focus of effort from the individual child to all children in the community can make a bigger difference in supporting early childhood development. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) recognised the need for all communities to have information about early childhood development, and endorsed the Australian Early Development Census as a national progress measure of early childhood development. For more information see the AEDC website.

AEDC domains

The AEDC measures five domains of early childhood development. These domains are closely linked to the predictors of good adult health, education and social outcomes.

The five domains are:

• Physical health and wellbeing (which looks at whether children are healthy, independent, and physically ready for the school day, as well as their gross and fine motor skills).
• Social competence (which looks at children's overall social competence as well as how they play, share and get along with other children).
• Emotional maturity (which looks at whether children are able to concentrate during the school day, help others, are patient and not aggressive or angry).
• Language and cognitive skills (which is mainly based on those skills necessary for school, including literacy, numeracy and memory).
• Communication and general knowledge (which looks at whether children can communicate easily and effectively, and have adequate general knowledge).

The AEDC also provides sub-domain and individual question level information. However, it is recommended that this information be used with caution as a measure of child development. Further information about the AEDC domains is available on the AEDC website at About the AEDC domains.

AEDC domain scores fall into one of three categories: on track, developmentally at risk or developmentally vulnerable. To determine whether an individual domain score is on track, at risk or vulnerable, national AEDC cut-offs were established during the first national AEDC data collection in 2009 - the national AEDC population. The 2009 cut-off points apply to all future data collections, including the 2012 collection. Further information is available on the AEDC website at Understanding your AEDC results.

Developmental vulnerability

Children who score below the 10th percentile of the national AEDC population are classified as 'developmentally vulnerable'. These children demonstrate a much lower than average ability in the developmental competencies in that domain.

Core activity need for assistance

This Census data item identifies those people needing help or assistance in one or more of the three core activity areas of self-care, mobility and communication because of a long-term health condition (lasting six months or more), a disability (lasting six months or more) or old age.

Bronze linkage

Linking data without the use of name and address or a statistical linkage key.

Deterministic linkage

Data linking methodology which combines records that match exactly (using a unique identifier such as a social security number or Australian Business Number) or are a close match based on common variables such as name and address (using a proxy identifier, referred to as a linkage key, which is created for matching records).

Foster Child

The term 'foster child' generally refers to a child being raised by an unrelated family in the absence of any natural, adoptive or step parent(s). In practice, a person is coded to foster child in the Census of Population and Housing if the response 'foster' is reported for that person, regardless of the individual's dependency status.

Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD)

The Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) summarises information about the economic and social conditions of people and households within an area, including both relative advantage and disadvantage measures. IRSAD is an index of the Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (see SEIFA definition below).

Interpretation of Index Scores (IRSAD)

A low score indicates relatively greater disadvantage and a lack of advantage in general. For example, an area could have a low score if there are (among other things):

• many households with low incomes, or many people in unskilled occupations
  AND
• few households with high incomes, or few people in skilled occupations
  A high score indicates a relative lack of disadvantage and greater advantage in general. For example, an area may have a high score if there are (among other things):
• many households with high incomes, or many people in skilled occupations
  AND
• few households with low incomes, or few people in unskilled occupations

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment that has been used to measure the academic performance of Australian students in Year levels 3, 5, 7 and 9, since 2008. NAPLAN was developed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) with support from federal, state and territory education departments, and Catholic and independent education authorities. The assessment aims to test the knowledge and skills that are considered essential for children to progress satisfactorily through their schooling and life. For more information see the National Assessment Program website.

NAPLAN Assessment Scales

NAPLAN results are measured against four scales, one for each of the domains of reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. This report uses the reading, writing and numeracy domains. The development of student achievement from Year 3 through to Year 9 for each domain is measured along a ten band scale that describes the progression of their performance and skills through each year level. Testing takes place at Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 levels.

NAPLAN National Minimum Standard

The national minimum standards represent minimum performance standards in literacy and numeracy for a given year level, below which students will have difficulty progressing satisfactorily at school.

Probabilistic linkage

Data linking methodology based on the relative likelihood that two records refer to the same entity given a set of similarities/differences between the values of the linking variables (e.g. name, date of birth, sex) on the two records. Complex methods and sophisticated data linking software are used to achieve high quality results.

Remoteness Structure

The Remoteness Structure is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as part of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The Remoteness Structure divides each state and territory into several Remoteness Areas based on their relative access to services. For more information see Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 5 - Remoteness Structure, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.005)

Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)

SEIFA is compiled by the ABS following each Census of Population and Housing. There are five of different SEIFA measures, each summarising different aspects of the socio-economic condition of areas. In this publication we have used the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD), which broadly measures both advantage and disadvantage in terms of people's access to material and social resources, and their ability to participate in society. The index refers to the area in which a person lives, not to the socio-economic situation of the particular individual. The index used in this publication was compiled following the 2011 Census. For more information about the SEIFA see: Census of Population and Housing - Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia, 2011 (cat. no. 2033.0.55.001).

Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3)

Geographic areas referenced in this publication are Statistical Area Level 3s.

Statistical Area Level 3s (SA3s) are built from aggregations of whole Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) boundaries to represent regions of between approximately 30,000 people and 130,000 people to cover the whole of Australia. The regional breakups have been designed to reflect regional identity. These are areas with both geographic and socio-economic similarities. In many cases, these areas are defined by existing administrative boundaries such as State Regional Development Areas or one or more LGAs.

For more information please refer to the online publication: Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001).