GLOSSARY
Age
The age of a person on their last birthday.
Child
A person of any age who is a natural, adopted, step, or foster son or daughter of a couple or lone parent, usually resident in the same household, and who does not have a child or partner of his/her own usually resident in the household.
Couple
Two people in a registered or de facto marriage, who usually live in the same household.
Dependent child/ren/Dependants
All persons aged under 15 years; and people aged 15-24 years who are full-time students, have a parent in the household and do not have a partner or child of their own in the household.
Family
Two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship. Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.
Feelings of safety
How safe a person feels in various circumstances (i.e. when home alone during the day, when home alone after dark, or when walking alone through their local area after dark) was reported on a five point scale, from very safe to very unsafe. If the respondent indicated that they were never home alone or never walked alone after dark this response was recorded.
Household
One or more persons usually resident in the same private dwelling.
Household composition
This publication presents information for a selection of household composition categories which are based on various family and household compositions, and sometimes, the age of the selected person (the survey respondent). Categories presented are:
- couple only, one family household - a household consisting of a couple with no other related or unrelated persons usually resident
- couple family with dependent children - a household consisting of a couple and at least one dependent child usually resident in the household. Related non-dependent children may also be present in the household. Households which also have other related or unrelated residents are not included
- one parent family with dependent children - a household consisting of a lone parent and at least one dependent child usually resident in the household. Non-dependent children may also be present in the household. Households which also have other related or unrelated usual residents are not included
- lone person household - a household consisting of a person living alone
- other households - comprises all other households, including multi-family households, and households consisting of unrelated adults.
Index of relative socio-economic disadvantage
One of five of the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFAs) compiled by the ABS following each population census. Each of the indexes summarise different aspects of the socio-economic status of the people living in those areas; the index of relative socio-economic disadvantage includes attributes such as low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment and jobs in relatively unskilled occupations. The index refers to population of the area (the Census Collector's District) 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 2006 Census. For further information about the SEIFAs see Information Paper:
Census of Population and Housing - An Introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, Australia (cat. no. 2039.0).
Labour force status
Refers to the situation of respondents in relation to the labour force at the time of the survey. Categories are:
- employed - had a job or business, or undertook work without pay in a family business in the week prior to the survey, including being absent from a job or business they had
- full-time - persons who usually work 35 hours or more per week
- part-time - persons who usually work at least one hour, but less than 35 hours, per week
- unemployed - not employed and actively looked for work in the four weeks prior to the survey and available to start work in the week prior to the survey
- not in the labour force.
Main English-speaking countries
Refers to the main countries from which Australia receives, or has received, significant numbers of overseas settlers who are likely to speak English. These countries comprise the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, the United States of America and South Africa.
Non-dependent child/ren
All persons aged 15 years or over (except those aged 15-24 years who are full-time students) who have a parent in the household and do not have a partner or child of their own in the household.
Organisation or group
An organisation or group is any body with a formal structure. It may be as large as a national charity or as small as a local book club. Purely ad hoc, informal and temporary gatherings of people do not constitute an organisation.
Participants in sport and physical recreational activities
Participants comprise those people who physically undertook a sport or physical recreational activity in the last 12 months, as well as people involved in 'non-playing roles', such as coaches, officials, umpires and administrators.
Trust
To ascertain peoples feelings of trust in others, and in some major institutions, they were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the following statements, giving a rating on a 5-point scale:
- That most people can be trusted?
- That your doctor can be trusted?
- That hospitals can be trusted?
- That police in your local area can be trusted?
- That police outside your local area can be trusted?
The response categories in the five point scale were: 'strongly agree', 'somewhat agree', 'neither agree nor disagree', 'somewhat disagree', and 'strongly disagree'.
The phrase 'most people' is based on the respondent's interpretation - there is no specific definition. The idea is whether people can go about their affairs confidently, expecting that others will generally deal fairly with them and act in the ways normally expected in our society.
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