1379.0.55.001 - National Regional Profile, 2009-13  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/06/2015   
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INTRODUCTION

1 The National Regional Profile presents a standard set of data for a range of geographies, including state/territory and Australia. This is the third release of the National Regional Profile using the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Below state/territory, data are available for the following regions of the ASGS: Statistical Areas 2, 3 and 4; Greater Capital City Statistical Areas; Local Government Areas (LGA). LGA boundaries at 2013 are being used for this edition. See Statistical Geography (paragraphs 134 to 142) for further information about the regions in the ASGS.

2 There is a standard set of data for each region type, depending on the availability of statistics for particular geographies. Users interested in creating their own customised tables can do this by accessing data in ABS.Stat.

3 Data in the National Regional Profile are sourced from a wide variety of collections, both ABS and non-ABS. When analysing these statistics, care needs to be taken as time periods, definitions, methodologies, scope and coverage can differ across collections. Where available, data have been presented as a time series - to enable users to assess changes over time. However, when looked at on a period to period basis, some series may sometimes appear volatile. When analysing the data, users are encouraged to consider the longer term behaviour of the series, where this extra information is available. This edition provides data for the period 2009-2013, where available. All information about the data in these Explanatory Notes are relevant for the period 2009-2013.

4 While information on the datasets and terms used in the National Regional Profile are included below and in the accompanying Glossary, more detailed information about the data can be obtained by referring to the relevant source listed for each dataset. Further information about statistical terms can be found in Statistical Language! (cat. no. 1332.0.55.002).

5 All data presented in the National Regional Profile are on geographic boundaries as described in the 2011 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS 2011). For further information see the Statistical Geography page of the ABS website, or the following: Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001); Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Volume 3 - Non-ABS Structures, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.003) . For further information on how data have been presented on ASGS 2011, see Geographic Correspondences at paragraphs 134 to 142 of these Explanatory Notes. Data for Local Government Areas (LGAs) have been presented as 2013 boundaries.

6 This is the tenth release of the National Regional Profile. Previous releases are available via the 'Past & Future Releases' tab of this product. Care should be taken in comparing data within previous and current releases of the National Regional Profile as:

    • some data have been revised; and
    • previous releases refer to different geographical boundaries, based on the previous statistical geography, the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), and different releases of the NRP used different editions of the previous statistical geography (ASGC).

7 In some cases, a profile has not been produced for every region. This is usually because there are insufficient data for that region across the full range of data items, or the populations are relatively small. For example, there are no profiles produced for Other Territories (Jervis Bay, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands).

8 Some data values in the NRP have been randomly adjusted or suppressed to avoid the release of confidential details. Care should be taken when interpreting cells with small numbers. In some cases small cells have been randomly altered to zero. Caution should be exercised in deducing that there are no people or units with particular characteristics in a given area.

9 These Explanatory Notes have been presented under the following broad themes or topics: Economy (paragraphs 11 to 64), Population/People (paragraphs 65 to 97), Industry (paragraphs 98 to 120) and Environment/Energy (paragraphs 121 to 133).


CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE

10 There have been a small number of changes to the data items and series included in this issue of the profiles. These changes are summarised in the following table. Please see the relevant sections in these Explanatory Notes for more detailed descriptions.
Data SeriesChange
BankruptciesThis data on Business related and Non business related bankruptcies appears for the first time, sourced from the Australian Financial Security Authority.
Early Childhood data - Pre-school enrolmentsThis data appears for the first time, sourced from the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection.
Electricity Supply and GenerationThese experimental estimates of Energy Supply and Generation for Residential Dwellings appear for the first time, having been sourced from the Business Survey of Residential Electricity Distribution (BSRED).
Protected Land AreasData on Protected Land Areas appears for the first time, sourced from the Department of the Environment's Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database (CAPAD).
Selected Government Pensions and Allowances - Baby BonusBaby bonus data no longer appears. This payment was phased out in 2013.
Dynamic Land Cover This data has been temporarily rotated out as data for 2009-13 were not available at time of publishing.
Land UseThis data has been temporarily rotated out as data for 2009-13 were not available at time of publishing.

ECONOMY
Counts of Businesses, Entries and Exits

11 Counts of Australian Businesses, Entries and Exits data are based on snapshots of actively trading businesses as at June in each reference year, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Register (ABSBR).

12 Most businesses in Australia need to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN). These businesses are then included on the whole of government register of businesses, the Australian Business Register (ABR). The results of these studies are based, in part, on tax data supplied by the ATO under the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and ABR data supplied by the Registrar under A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999. The Taxation Administration Act 1953 requires that such data are only used for the purpose of administering the Census and Statistics Act 1905 and the Australian Business Number Act 1999 requires that such data are only used for the purpose of carrying out functions of the ABS. Further information about the two Acts can be found at www.comlaw.gov.au. Information about the ABR can be obtained from the ABR website www.abr.gov.au or the ATO website www.ato.gov.au/business. The ABS uses information from the ABR to populate its internal register of businesses, the Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Register (ABSBR), which is used as a source for business survey frames and business counts.

13 Counts of businesses produced from the ABSBR comprise actively trading businesses in the Australian economy. The population includes employing and non-employing, single location and multiple location businesses. It should be noted that it is not currently possible to account for those businesses which operate out of multiple locations, other than at their main location. This is particularly relevant for larger businesses, which commonly establish outlets in numerous states and regions across Australia. The reason for this is that data for individual business locations are not currently available from the ABSBR. Users should therefore be aware of this limitation when using counts of businesses.

14 Excluded from these counts are entities which are not considered to be actively trading in the market sector such as the Reserve Bank of Australia, General Government and Not for profit institutions serving households. Examples of some of the other excluded entities are: Social and sporting clubs, Charitable institutions; Trade Unions and other associations; Other unincorporated entity; Police services; Fire protection and other emergency services; Religious services; Business and professional associations; Labour association services; Other interest group services; and Private households employing staff. Businesses which have not submitted a Business Activity Statement (BAS) and/or have reported zero dollar amounts over five consecutive quarters (or three consecutive years for annual BAS remitters) have been excluded.

15 The data published have been confidentialised so as not to reveal the identity of any business units. The confidentialising process used in this release also means that data presented at these detailed levels will not always be additive. For example, opening stock from the beginning of the financial year, plus entries, minus exits, may not equal the closing stock for the end of the financial year. This is due to the fact that each of those components are individually rounded.

16 The Local Government Area (LGA) data shown in the National Regional Profile have been estimated from published data at the SA2 level, and also rounded and confidentialised. Some regional suppression have also been applied. The final estimates therefore should not be assumed to reflect exact numbers of business counts in any LGA, and in particular no reliance should be placed on very small counts.

17 Further information can be found in Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, June 2009 to June 2013, (cat. no. 8165.0).
Labour Force

18 These data are sourced from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Data are for persons aged 15 years or more, and are derived from the questions about whether the person had a job in the week before Census Night, whether they actively looked for work in the last four weeks before Census Night, and if they could have started work in the last week before Census night.
Youth Engagement in Work or Study

19 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. They relate to persons aged 15-19 years and are derived from questions about whether the person was working or attending a school or any other educational institution.

Selected Government Pensions and Allowances

20 Data on the number of individuals receiving selected Government pensions and allowances have been provided by the Department of Social Services (DSS), and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), in more detail:
  • Age pension data has been provided by DSS for those individuals receiving an Age pension through Centrelink, while DVA has provided data for those individuals receiving an Age Pension through DVA;
  • DSS has provided data on Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment, and Family Tax Benefit (A, B, A or B).;
  • DSS has provided data on Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowances (Other), and Parenting Payment.
  • DSS has provided data on Youth Allowances for apprentices and students.
  • DVA has provided data on persons receiving an Income Support Supplement or Service Pension.

21 Selected Government Pensions and Allowances Data have been provided to the ABS on an aggregate basis (at Local Government Area and/or Statistical Area 2 or 3 level). Totals are available for Australia, States and Territories. All data have been provided to the ABS in confidentialised form.

22 Age pension is a payment for persons who have reached Age Pension age and qualify to receive the Age Pension. Age Pension age depends on the individual's date of birth:

For men:
  • if born before 1/7/52, Age Pension age is 65

For women:
  • if born before 1/7/35, Age Pension age is 60
  • if born between 1/7/35 and 31/12/36, Age Pension age is 60.5
  • if born between 1/1/37 and 30/6/38, Age Pension age is 61
  • if born between 1/7/38 and 30/12/39, Age Pension age is 61.5
  • if born between 1/1/40 and 30/6/41, Age Pension age is 62
  • if born between 1/7/41 and 31/12/42, Age Pension age is 62.5
  • if born between 1/1/43 and 30/6/44, Age Pension age is 63
  • if born between 1/7/44 and 31/12/45, Age Pension age is 63.5
  • if born between 1/1/46 and 30/6/47, Age Pension age is 64
  • if born between 1/7/47 and 31/12/48, Age Pension age is 64.5
  • if born between 1/1/49 and 30/6/52, Age Pension age is 65

For men and women:
  • if born between 1/7/52 and 31/12/53, Age Pension age is 65.5
  • if born between 1/1/54 and 30/6/55, Age Pension age is 66
  • if born between 1/7/55 and 31/12/56, Age Pension age is 66.5
  • if born 1/1/57 or later, Age Pension age is 67

23 The majority of Age Pensions are paid by Centrelink. Age pensioners who also receive a Disability Pension from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) have the choice of having their Age Pension paid by either the DVA or Centrelink. There are therefore two separate data items, Age Pension (Centrelink) and Age Pension (DVA), published in the National Regional Profile. The Centrelink Age Pension data are provided by DSS and include overseas pension recipients in the Australian total. Both Age Pension totals for Australia also include persons whose address could not be coded to a specific region.

24 The purpose of Disability Support Pension (DSP) is to provide income support for people who have a permanent physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment. DSP is designed to give people an adequate means of support if they are unable to work for at least 15 hours per week at or above the relevant minimum wage, independent of a program or support. DSP data have been provided by DSS and include overseas pension recipients and persons whose address could not be coded to a specific region in the total for Australia.

25 Carer Payment is for people who are unable to support themselves through participation in the workforce while caring for someone with a disability, severe medical condition, or who is frail and aged. Carer Payment data have been provided by DSS and include persons whose address could not be coded to a specific region in the total for Australia.

26 Newstart Allowance is a payment for people who are looking for work and allows them to participate in activities designed to increase their chances of finding work. In the period covered by these data, persons must have been aged 21 years or older but under Age Pension age to qualify. Newstart Allowance data have been provided by DSS.

27 Youth Allowance is a payment for young people who are studying, undertaking training or an Australian Apprenticeship, looking for work, or sick. Persons must be aged 15 to 24 years to qualify. Youth Allowance (Other) data as well as Youth Allowance data for apprentices and students have been sourced from DSS.

28 Parenting Payment is a payment for persons who are primary carers of children. Parenting Payment data have been provided by DSS.

29 Family Tax Benefit is paid to help with the costs of raising children. Around 75% of all families with at least one dependent child aged under 16 years are eligible to receive Family Tax Benefit. Family Tax Benefit data have been provided by DSS. The Family Tax Benefit data for 2012 are preliminary data; the fuller, 'final count' will be released in the next issue of the National Regional Profile.

30 Family Tax Benefit Part A can be paid to a parent, guardian or an approved care organisation to help with the costs of raising children. There are eligibility requirements involving the age and educational status of the child, residency and income. Family Tax Benefit Part B is an extra payment for single parents and families with one main income to help with the costs of raising children. Part B is limited to families where the primary earner has an adjusted taxable income of $150,000 or less per financial year. There are also additional eligibility requirements. Approximately three-quarters of FTB customers receive both Part A and Part B. Data presented in regard to Family Tax Benefit refer only to fortnightly instalment customers paid directly by Centrelink. The information excludes an additional 10% (approximately) who are paid by a lump sum which is claimable at the end of a financial year. The Family Tax Benefit data for 2012 are preliminary only; users should refrain from making direct comparisons with data from earlier years in past issues of the National Regional Profile.

31 Baby Bonus data were previously included in this publication but no longer appear due to the phasing out of this payment type.

32 A Service Pension can be paid to veterans on the grounds of age or invalidity, and to eligible partners, widows and widowers. The Service Pension data have been provided by DVA.

33 Income Support Supplement is an income support pension paid to: eligible war widows and widowers under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA); and persons receiving wholly dependent partners’ compensation under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA). Income Support Supplement data have been provided by DVA.

34 All Government Pensions and Allowances shown in the Profile data refer to a point in time (i.e. the number of persons receiving payment as at the pay period closest to 30 June each year) and therefore do not represent all the customers in receipt of payments during the entire financial year. Customers who have been suspended or not paid at that point of time are not included in these data.

35 All data have been provided on ASGS 2011 boundaries. For privacy reasons, all data has been confidentialised before being supplied to the ABS.
- For DSS data, some regions that have a value of less than 20 persons have been confidentialised. This applies for Newstart, Parenting payments and Youth Allowance.
- For other DSS data regions that have a value of less than 5 persons have been confidentialised. This applies for Family Tax Benefits, Disability Support, Carer Payments and Centrelink Age Pensions.
- For DVA data, all regions that have a value of less than 4 persons have been confidentialised.

36 Where a person could not be allocated to a region within a state/territory, they have been included in the totals for the state/territory. Where a person could not be allocated to a state, they have been included in the total for Australia.

37 More information about specific payments can be accessed through the Department of Social Services and Department of Veterans' Affairs websites.



Estimates of Personal Income

38 Estimates of Personal Income data are compiled from the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) Individual Income Tax Return Database and provided to the ABS by the ATO in aggregated form only. Information about individual taxpayers has not been released to the ABS. The statistics have been subjected to a confidentiality process that adjusts table cells with small values. This includes altering some small cells to zero. The statistics are based on individual income tax returns lodged for the financial year ended 30 June, and processed within sixteen months of the financial year to which they relate.

39 The ATO database covers all individuals who submit an individual income tax return and includes persons with income from one or more of a range of sources such as wages and salaries, own business, investment, superannuation and annuity, and other income.

40 Wages and salaries are the main forms of payments made to employees for their work or services. Wage and salary income, as reported on the income tax return, includes:
  • Gross Salary or wage income, as shown on the 'PAYG payment summary - individual non-business';
  • Allowances, which may include car, travel or transport allowances, allowances for tools, clothing or laundry and dirt, risk, meal or entertainment allowances;
  • Commissions, bonuses, tips, gratuities, consultation fees, honoraria and other payments for services;
  • Attributed personal services income;
  • Eligible termination payments;
  • Lump sums;
  • Reportable fringe benefits;
  • From 2009-10, Net foreign employment income.

41 Own unincorporated business income includes the following data items on the individual income tax return:
  • net income (or loss) from business;
  • distributions from partnerships and trusts for primary production activities;
  • distributions from partnerships for non-primary production activities and
  • net personal services income.

42 The data for Own unincorporated business income excludes distributions from trusts for non-primary production activities as this mainly includes income from a range of other activities (mainly investments). It also excludes the income of working directors/owners of incorporated businesses who are classified as employees and consequently their income is included under wage and salary income.

43 Investment income includes:
  • interest from financial institutions;
  • net rent and dividends or distributions (including imputation credits) from an Australian company, corporate unit trust or public trading trust;
  • distributions from trusts - non-primary production which mainly includes income from investments with cash management trusts, property trusts, money market trusts, mortgage trusts and unit trusts;
  • Australian franking credits from a New Zealand company

44 Superannuation and annuity income includes superannuation and similar pensions and annuities paid by an Australian superannuation fund, a retirement saving account provider, a registered organisation or life assurance company and pensions paid by a fund established for the benefit of Commonwealth, state or territory employees and their dependants. Also included in this category are bonuses from life insurance companies and friendly societies.
45 A change to legislation relating to superannuation, taking effect from 1 July 2007, meant that people aged 60 years and over who receive superannuation income in the form of a lump sum or income stream (such as a pension) from a taxed source, will now receive that income tax free. Therefore, if a person has no other income, or their total income is below the tax-free threshold, or any tax payable is mitigated by a tax offset (such as Senior Australian Tax Offset), then this person will not be required to lodge a tax return. This change to legislation has resulted in a break in the income series for superannuation and annuities with fewer persons reporting income from this income source for the 2007-08 income year onwards.

46 There have been other breaks in series associated with the introduction of a one-off tax bonus introduced as part of the Economic Stimulus Package in response to the Global Financial Crisis. This one-off tax bonus was available to all individuals whose 2007-08 taxable income was $100,000 or less, whose adjusted tax liability was greater than zero and who had filed their 2007-08 tax return by 30 June 2009. The Australian Taxation Office has reported in their Taxation Statistics publications that there was a 7.1% increase in individual tax lodgements for the 2007-08 financial year, in part due to individual lodgements being brought forward to access the tax bonus. This was followed by a fall of 2.8% in individual tax lodgements in 2008-09. There have been breaks in series between 2006-07 and 2007-08 and between 2007-08 and 2008-09 in the number of earners and total income reported for each income source and for total income, however average total income and average income for each income source have not been materially affected.

47 Other income (excluding Government pensions and allowances) is made up of selected sources of other income reported on the individual income tax return that were not allocated to one of the above categories. Net foreign employment income was reported under Other income up to 2008-09, but reported separately from 2009-10. Net foreign employment income is included in Wages and salaries from 2009-10, and there is a break in the series for Other income from 2008-09 to 2009-10.

48 Averages presented are calculated by dividing the total income reported for each income source by the total number of taxable taxpayers for that income source. For example, average Wage and salary income is the total Wage and salary income reported for an area divided by the total number of Wage and salary earners in that area.

49 A geographic correspondence has been used to present the original data on Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2011 boundaries. Further general information on Geographic Correspondences can be found in paragraphs 134 to 142.

50 Further information on these statistics can be found in Estimates of Personal Income for Small Areas, Time Series, 2005-06 to 2010-11 (cat. no. 6524.0.55.002).


Wage and Salary Earners

51 These statistics are based on individual income tax returns lodged for the financial year ended 30 June, and processed within sixteen months of the financial year to which they relate.

52 There have been breaks in series associated with the introduction of a one-off tax bonus introduced as part of the Economic Stimulus Package in response to the Global Financial Crisis, as explained in paragraph 46. There have been breaks in series between 2006-07 and 2007-08 and between 2007-08 and 2008-09 in the data presented for the number of Wage and salary earners. Also some table elements may not exactly match the sum of their components due to data transformations applied by ABS.

53 There has been a change in the classification used by the ATO to code occupation data. In 2009 the ATO changed from using the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) to the Australian and New Zealand Standard of Occupations (ANZSCO). The occupation categories from 2008-09 presented in this edition of the NRP are not therefore comparable to those featured in previous editions of this product. For this reason, the more recent data for occupations are shown.
54 Further information on these statistics can be found in Wage and Salary Earner Statistics for Small Areas, Time Series, 2005-06 to 2010-11 (cat. no. 5673.0.55.003)

Rent and Mortgage Payments

55 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and are household rent and mortgage payments including site fees if the dwelling is a caravan, or manufactured home in a caravan park, or a manufactured home estate.
Building Approvals

56 Data for building work approvals are compiled from:
  • permits issued by local government authorities and other principal certifying authorities;
  • contracts let or day labour work authorised by Commonwealth, State, semi-government and local government authorities;
  • major building activity in areas not subject to normal administrative approval (e.g. building on remote mine sites).

57 The data included in this profile relate to all residential building approvals valued at $10,000 or more and all approved non-residential building jobs valued at $50,000 or more.

58 Building ownership is classified as either public or private sector and is based on the intended owner of the completed building at the time of approval.

59 Type of work can include 'new', 'alterations and additions' and 'conversions'. Unless otherwise specified, building data in the NRP is total building, which is the sum of new, alterations and additions, and conversions.

60 The type of building is the building's intended predominant function according to the ABS Functional Classification of Buildings 1999 (revision 2011) (cat. no. 1268.0.55.001).

61 Construction activity not defined as building (eg. construction of roads, bridges, railways etc) is excluded from building statistics.

62 The data relate to the financial years ending 30 June, 2009 to 2013. For further information see Building Approvals, Australia (cat. no 8731.0)

Bankruptcies

63 Data on Business related and Non business bankruptcies by region have been provided by the Australian Financial Security Authority from their extensive Personal Insolvency collection. See www.afsa.gov.au for more information.

64 Unless an individual declares their situation to be directly related to a proprietary interest in a business, all other bankruptcies (even those for which details are not stated) are classified as non business related.

POPULATION/PEOPLE

Estimated Resident Population

65 Population data in the profiles, unless otherwise stated, are the estimated resident population (ERP) for the selected region as at 30 June for the year shown. Data are shown to the nearest whole number without rounding, but accuracy to the last digit should not be assumed.

66 The concept of ERP links people to a place of usual residence within Australia. Usual residence is defined as that place where each person has lived or intends to live for six months or more in a given reference year.

67 Population estimates for most sub-state regions in the NRP are built up from Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2). The ERP as at Census date is calculated based on usual residence Census counts, excluding short-term overseas visitors in Australia, with an allowance for Census net undercount and the number of residents temporarily overseas at Census date. As the census is not held on 30 June (the 2011 Census was held on 9 August), further adjustments taking into account births, deaths and migration for the intervening period are made to obtain ERP at 30 June.

68 For post-censal years, estimates at the Australian level take into account natural increase and net overseas migration, while estimates for states and territories also use estimated interstate migration. The absence of migration data at the SA2 level means that it is not possible to estimate SA2 populations by taking into account natural increase and net migration. Instead, ERP for most SA2s is calculated using a mathematical model, where relationships are established between changes in population and changes in indicator data between the two most recent Censuses. Current indicators include dwelling approvals, Medicare enrolments and counts of people on the Australian Electoral Roll. Changes in these indicators are used to estimate changes in the population of each area since the Census.

69 Estimates for SA2 are apportioned into Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) regions using Census counts and indicator data. Estimates for Local Government Areas (LGAs) are aggregated from SA1 estimates, including split SA1s where they cross LGA boundaries.

70 Users will notice that there is no ERP data for the unincorporated LGAs in WA, Queensland and Tasmania. This is because they do not have geographically defined unincorporated areas. In contrast, the Population Census does show data for these unincorporated LGAs, depicting mainly off-shore and migratory populations.

Working Age Population

71 The working age population (aged 15-64 years) measure is used to give an estimate of the total number of potential workers within an economy.

Median Age

72 For any distribution, the median value is that which divides the relevant population into two equal parts, half falling below the value, and half exceeding it. Thus, the median age is the age at which half the population is older and half is younger.
Births

73 Data on births are presented on the basis of the usual residence of the mother regardless of where in Australia the birth occurred or was registered. The data refer to live births registered during the calendar year shown, and are supplied to the Australian Bureau of Statistics by each state/territory Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for compilation into the aggregate statistics in this publication. For more information refer to Births, Australia (cat. no. 3301.0).

Deaths

74 Data on deaths are presented on the basis of the usual residence of the deceased regardless of where in Australia the death occurred or was registered. The data refer to deaths registered during the calendar year shown, and are supplied to the Australian Bureau of Statistics by each state/territory Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for compilation into the aggregate statistics in this publication. For more information refer to Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3302.0).
Population Density

75 The population density for a region is calculated by dividing the 2011 Estimated Resident Population (paragraphs 65 to 70) by the Land Area (paragraph 121) to obtain the number of persons per square kilometre.

Average Number of Usual Residents Per Private Dwelling

76 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

77 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and includes people who identified their origin as being Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Census data are being used in this issue of the National Regional Profile.

Overseas Born Population

78 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. The Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), Second Edition, Revision 1 (cat. no 1269.0) was used to classify responses for birthplace of individuals. This classification used the current names of countries, so if a person uses a former name the current name is coded. For example, Siam would be coded to Thailand. If an individual's birthplace was not stated on the Census form, an attempt was made to derive it from other answers.

79 The data shown exclude overseas visitors, persons at sea at the time of the Census, and persons whose responses on the Census form inadequately described their country of birth or for whom the birthplace was not stated (and could not be derived).

Speaks language other than English

80 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. These data identify the language spoken at home, and are coded using the Australian Standard Classification of Languages (ASCL) (cat. no. 1267.0). Only one language is coded for each person.

Post School Qualifications

81 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. These data are for persons aged 15 years and over and show the level of education based on the highest completed non-school qualification of persons (eg. bachelor degree, diploma).

82 The full classification for levels of education and fields of study, together with an explanation of the conceptual basis of the classification, can be found in the publication Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0).

Occupation of Employed Persons

83 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and are for employed people aged 15 years and over. Two occupation questions are used in the Census. The first of these asks for occupation title, while the second asks for the main tasks usually performed by the person in their occupation. Collecting both occupation title and task information ensures more accurate coding of occupations.

84 Occupations are coded using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) (cat. no. 1220.0). The Occupation code assigned is based on the main job held during the week prior to Census Night.

Method of Travel to Work

85 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and are from the question about how the person got to work on Tuesday 9 August 2011.

Households

86 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and describe the type of household within a dwelling. Family households can contain non-family members (unrelated persons and visitors). A maximum of three families can be coded to a household. Lone person households can contain visitors.

Families

87 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Families have been classified in terms of the relationships that exist between a single family reference person and each other member of that family. Different types of families are distinguished based on the presence or absence of couple relationships, parent-child relationships, child dependency relationships or other blood relationships, in that order of preference.

88 The family type is derived from people enumerated in the household who usually reside there and who share a familial relationship. Partners and dependent children usually present but temporarily absent are also included in this derivation. Boarders and other non-family members are excluded.

Internal Migration

89 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Internal migration is the movement of people from one defined area to another within a country. The Census asked if the person had a different address one year ago, and five years ago.

90 The percentage of persons in a region who lived at a different address within Australia (one year ago, five years ago) is calculated as a proportion of the persons usually resident in the region.

91 Data collected in the Census only reflect movements which coincide with these particular points in time (i.e. one year ago and five years ago) in the intercensal period, even though there may have been multiple movements during this period.

92 Persons temporarily absent, visitors, and households containing only visitors, are excluded from these data.


Unpaid Work

93 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Data on unpaid work show the proportion of persons usually resident in the region who did any voluntary work in the last twelve months, or any unpaid work (caring for own children, caring for other children, caring for family members or others) in the last two weeks.

Access to Internet at Home

94 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. These data show the proportion of occupied private dwellings in the region that have access to the internet.

95 The categories of access are: 'no internet connection', 'broadband', 'dial-up' and 'other'. Broadband access includes ADSL, cable, wireless and satellite connections. Dial-up includes analog modem and ISDN connections. Other includes access through mobile phones.

Early Childhood - Enrolment in Preschool Programs

96 These data are from the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection. Statistics from this collection are published in Preschool Education, Australia, 2013 (cat. no 4240.0) and Microdata: Preschool Education, Australia, 2013 (cat.no. 4240.0.55.003). For more information about these statistics, please refer to the Explanatory Notes of Preschool Education, Australia, 2013 (cat. no. 4240.0) and National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2013 (cat. no. 4240.0.55.001).

97 Where the finer regional details of enrolments are not stated or unknown, these are included in the State/Territory totals but not shown separately elsewhere.



INDUSTRY

Motor Vehicle Census

98 Motor Vehicle Census data refer to vehicles registered with a motor vehicle registration authority. For 2009 to 2010, this was as at 31 March in the reference year, and for 2011-2013 this was as at 31 January.

99 The Motor Vehicle Census includes all vehicles registered with a state, territory or other government motor vehicle registry for unrestricted use on public roads with the following exceptions:
  • recreational vehicles such as trail bikes and sand dune buggies intended for off-road use in most states (in Victoria and Queensland these vehicles must be registered and are included in the statistics);
  • consular vehicles;
  • vehicles registered by the defence forces.

100 Vehicles on register are those vehicles registered at the date of the census, or had registration expire less than one month before that date.

101 Motor Vehicle Census data are presented by region of owner, and based on the postcode of the owner. A geographic correspondence has been used in order to present the postcode data on Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2011 boundaries. Due to rounding, the sum of the individual components of vehicles will not necessarily add up to total registered motor vehicles. Further information on Geographic Correspondences can be found in paragraphs 137 to 140.

102 The Australia total includes records that could not be allocated to a state or territory. Therefore aggregating state and territory totals will not equal the Australia total.

103 Further information can be found in Motor Vehicle Census, Australia (cat. no. 9309.0). Note that data in that release are by state of registration, and so state/territory totals will not be the same as in this National Regional Profile (which is presented by state of residence of owner).

Agricultural Commodities

104 Agricultural Commodities data are estimates obtained from the 2010-11 Agricultural Census. The scope of the Census was all businesses undertaking agricultural activity recorded on the ABS Business Register (ABSBR) above a minimum size cut off of $5,000. The measure of size was based on the ABS' Estimated Value of Agricultural Operations (EVAO) or a derived value based on Business Activity Statement turnover if EVAO was not available.

105 Since not all of the businesses that were selected provided data, there are estimated data components. The estimates are subject to sampling variability; that is, they may differ from the figures that would have been produced if all businesses had provided data. One measure of the likely difference is given by the Standard Error (SE) which indicates the extent to which an estimate might vary by chance because only a sample was taken or had responded. there are about two chances in three that a 'sample' estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if all businesses had responded, and about nineteen chances in twenty that the difference will be less than two SE.

106 In Agriculture data, sampling variability of the estimates is measured by the Relative Standard Error (RSE) which is obtained by expressing the Standard Error as a percentage of the estimate to which it refers. In the National Regional Profile, Agriculture data with an RSE greater than 50% are not presented.

107 Agriculture Census data have been produced on Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2011 (ASGS 2011).

108 For further information see Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0).

Gross Value of Agricultural Production

109 The value of agricultural production estimates are derived by the multiplication of price and quantity of individual agricultural commodities. Quantity data for most crops were collected in the 2010-11 Agricultural Census. Remaining commodity data (livestock disposals and livestock products excluding eggs) are obtained from other ABS collections with some information non-ABS sources. Price information refers to the average unit value of a given commodity realised in the market place. Price information for livestock slaughterings and wool is obtained from ABS collections. price information for other commodities is obtained from non-ABS sources, including marketing authorities and industry sources.

110 The estimates of gross value are subject to sampling error. (see paragraph 102 for a discussion of sampling error in Agriculture data). In the National Regional Profile, Agriculture data with a relative standard error (RSE) greater than 50% are not presented.

111 Further information on Value of Agricultural Production can be obtained in the ABS publication Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia (cat. no 7503.0).

Employed Persons by Industry

112 These data are from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing and are for all employed people aged 15 years and over.

113 Industry is coded using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification, 2006 (ANZSIC) (cat. no. 1292.0). The industry code assigned is based on the main job held during the week prior to Census Night.

Tourist Accommodation Establishments

114 Data on the number of tourist accommodation establishments are derived from the quarterly Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA). The STA is a mail-out collection that completely enumerates all in-scope accommodation establishments within Australia.

115 The in-scope establishments presented in this profile include: hotels, resorts, motels, private hotels, guest houses and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms or units.

116 The main source of coverage is from the Australian Automobile Association through AAA Tourism Pty Ltd. This is supplemented by notification of new tourism developments and their likely opening dates in selected guides, major tourism journals and periodicals and newspapers. Periodic comparison with lists of accommodation establishments provided by the various tourism organisations and industry associations is also undertaken.
117 The STA does not have a sample component and the data are not subject to sampling variability. However, other inaccuracies collectively referred to as non-sampling error may affect the data. These non-sampling errors may arise from a number of sources, including:
        • errors in the reporting of data by providers;
        • errors in the process of capturing data;
        • imputation for missing data;
        • definition and classification errors;
        • incomplete coverage.

118 Every effort has been made to reduce non-sampling error to a minimum by careful design and testing of questionnaires, and efficient operating procedures and systems used to compile statistics.

119 Data from March 2012 onwards have been classified according to ASGS, 2011.

120 Further information on these statistics can be found in Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data, Australia (cat. no. 8635.1.55.001 - 8635.8.55.001).

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Land Area

121 The land area data are based upon the boundaries in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2011. The areas of the regions were calculated using ABS standard Geographic Information Systems software using the digital boundaries of the regions.

Water Use on Australian Farms

122 Water use data are from the 2010-11 Agricultural Census. Data was collected from agricultural businesses on the ABS Business Register undertaking agricultural activity above a minimum size cut off of $5,000.

123 The estimates are based on responses to the Agricultural Census and since not all of the businesses that were selected provided data, the estimates are subject to sampling variability. That is, estimates may differ from figures that would be produced if all businesses had provided data. In the National Regional Profile, Water Use data with a relative standard error (RSE) greater than 50% are not presented.

124 For further information see Water Use on Australian Farms, 2011-12 (cat. no. 4618.0).
Electricity Supply and Generation for Residential Dwellings

125 Experimental estimates of Energy Supply and Generation for Residential Dwellings have been sourced from the Business Survey of Residential Electricity Distribution (BSRED), Experimental Estimates. The data were extracted from administrative records held by electricity distribution businesses in each state and territory. The data represent a census of these businesses and are therefore not subject to sampling error. Nonetheless, non-sampling errors may still arise during data extraction and processing. The ABS has also made various adjustments to overcome instances of non-response, late response and incomplete data; such modifications affect data for several states. More generally, the ABS has worked closely with providers to ensure that the data presented meet the quality requirements of decision makers and that definitions (or terminology) reflect industry understanding.

126 Data are provided for dwellings that generate electricity (e.g. from solar panels) for two metering categories:
  • Gross metering refers to dwellings with meters that record electricity supply and generation separately. For 2010-12 such split data was available for NSW regions only.
  • Net metering refers to dwellings with meters where electricity generated is first consumed by the dwelling with any excess generation exported to the electricity grid. If a dwelling's electricity requirements exceed its generation then energy is imported from the electricity grid. Total electricity consumption and generation is unknown; only the shortfall of electricity that is imported to the dwelling, or the excess of electricity generated that is exported to the grid, can be captured by this type of meter.

127 Data items presented include: the number of dwellings with electricity generating meters, non-generating meters and total meters; median kilowatt hours of energy supplied to dwellings with non-generating meters; and median kilowatt hours generated/supplied by gross meters and net meters for those dwellings with electricity generation capacity. Data were not obtained from businesses servicing the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

128 The source data were originally provided to ABS on a locality/postcode basis. The ABS then applied an allocation method to semi-randomly redistribute these records to Statistical Area Level 2 regions, using geographical correspondences and other geocoding tools. Local Government Areas were not selected as an output geography due to (i) the tendency for LGA boundaries to change from year to year and (ii) potential data distortions that can occur from using more than one correspondence step to generate new data geographies.

129 More information about the data can be obtained from: Household Energy Consumption Survey, User Guide, Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 4671.0) and Household Energy Consumption Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2012 (cat. no. 4670.0)
Protected Land Areas

130 This data refers to areas of land dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biodiversity. The information is sourced from the Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD), Commonwealth of Australia (2012), as maintained and updated by the Department of the Environment.

131 The Department has especially converted CAPAD data (for Reported, Gazetted Areas) into ABS Statistical Geographies - such as Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) and Local Government Areas (LGA) - to match the geographic preferences of the ABS National Regional Profile dataset. Where there is no Gazetted Area for a record, the GIS Area (based on current spatial data and an Albers equal area projection for Australia) has been sourced to enable geographic conversions.

132 The process of splitting CAPAD into geographic regions can generate many small areas. Slivers of land - with an area less than 1 hectare and which are less than 2 per cent of the unsplit protected area - have been removed. Therefore there is a small difference between area totals for States when compared with LGA or SA2 regions. Also, the numbers of Protected Land Areas (PLAs) should be considered as indicative only.

133 Data are presented for: number of Protected Land Areas (PLAs) by selected types (for example, Nature Reserves, Indigenous Protected Areas); area of PLAs (hectares); and PLAs (hectares) as a percentage of total regional land area. Much other data, for example relating to PLA types, land governance arrangements and marine regions, are readily available from the Department of the Environment. For more information please refer to: http://www.environment.gov.au/land/nrs/science/capad/2012



STATISTICAL GEOGRAPHY

134 The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is used by the ABS for the collection and dissemination of geographically classified statistics. The ASGS replaced the Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) from July 2011.

135 The ASGS is an essential reference for understanding and interpreting the geographic context of statistics published, not only by the ABS but also by other organisations, and its use enables comparability across datasets.

136 This edition of the National Regional Profile uses ASGS 2011. Where available, data has been sourced for regions of the ASGS. In some cases, historical data has not been available on ASGS, and so has not been available to include in the profiles. Some data based on postcodes have been converted to data for regions of the ASGS 2011 using geographic correspondences. Data for Local Government Areas (LGAs) are presented at 2013 boundaries.

Geographic correspondences

137 The use of geographic correspondences enables data to be converted from one type of geographic region to another. Geographic correspondences are usually provided as conversion factors based on relative population distributions and/or land area shares.

138 The application of correspondences allows:
  • the source data to be more easily compared with standard ABS output;
  • the source data to be output for other standard ABS geographic areas such as Statistical Areas 2-4 and Local Government Areas (LGA); and
  • extra flexibility, in that data can be provided for a variety of geographies of interest to data users.

139 When analysing data produced by correspondences, the following limitations need to be taken into account:
  • in applying the correspondences it is assumed that the particular characteristics of any data item are uniformly distributed across the region. Therefore, data produced by correspondences may not truly reflect the distribution of the characteristics of the population. In some cases, where the same region is split across two or more new regions and there are no other contributing regions, distinct numerical estimates will be derived but rates or averages will be identical for each new region (as these will be equivalent to the original rate or average of the contributing regions);
  • the conversion factors are usually based on total population only but have been applied across all data items in a series;
  • some official postcodes (such as Post Office boxes, etc.) do not correspond to residential areas but may still have been reported under the current home address field in certain administrative data series. Data for these and other 'invalid' postcodes - such as those due to incorrect reporting or processing errors - are included in state and territory totals or for Australia where the state or territory was not known; and
  • figures produced by correspondences have been rounded. Therefore, there may be small differences between the sum of the component items and the totals shown.

140 While care was taken in producing the correspondences the ABS will not guarantee the accuracy of data produced by correspondences. ASGS correspondences are found on the Statistical Geography page of the ABS website.


Geographic regions

141 The statistics in this product are presented according to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGS), 2011. Under this classification, statistical areas below Australia and state/territory level are defined as follows:
  • Local Government Areas (LGAs): These areas are the spatial units which represent the geographical areas of incorporated local government councils. The various types of LGAs are cities (C), NSW local government areas (A), boroughs (B), rural cities (RC), towns (T), shires (S), district councils (DC), municipalities (M), SA regional councils (RegC), Qld regional councils (R) and SA Aboriginal councils (AC). Note: In some states/territories, there is an 'Unincorporated' LGA region, which represents the balance of the state/territory that is not incorporated.
  • Statistical Area 2 (SA2): Statistical Areas Level 2 are a medium-sized general purpose area. They replace the Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) defined by the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). Their aim is to represent a community that interacts together socially and economically. On average they have a population of approximately 10,000 people. Most are designed to be within the population range 3,000 - 25,000. There are 2214 SA2s covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.
  • Statistical Area 3 (SA3): There are 351 SA3s covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. They are built up of whole SA2s. SA3s are designed to provide a regional breakdown of Australia. They generally have a population of between 30,000 and 130,000 people. In the major cities, they represent the area serviced by a major transport and commercial hub. They often closely align to large urban local government areas. E.g. Parramatta, Geelong. In regional areas, they represent the area serviced by regional cities with a population over 20,000 people. In outer regional and remote areas, they represent areas which are widely recognised as having a distinct identity and have similar social and economic characteristics. There are a small number of "zero SA3s". These have an effective design population of zero and represent very large National Parks close to the outskirts of major cities.
  • Statistical Area 4 (SA4): Statistical Areas Level 4 are geographical areas that will replace the previous Labour Force Regions and are used for the output of a variety of regional data, including the 2011 Census Data. There are 106 SA4s covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. They are built up from whole SA3s. In regional areas, SA4s tend to have populations of between 100,000 to 300,000 people. In metropolitan areas, SA4s tend to have larger populations (300,000 – 500,000 people).
  • Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA): Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are geographical areas that are designed to represent the functional extent of each of the eight state and territory capital cities. Within each state and territory, the area not defined as being part of the greater capital city is represented by a Rest of State region. There are 16 GCCSA regions covering the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. They are built up from whole Statistical Areas Level 4 (SA4s). There are 8 regions representing each of the Australian State and Territory capital cities and 7 regions covering the rest of each state and territory—this excludes the ACT where there is only one GCCSA region for the entire territory. There is also one for the Other Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
142 For further information see the Statistical Geography page of the ABS website, or the following: Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.001); Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Volume 3 - Non-ABS Structures, July 2011 (cat. no. 1270.0.55.003). Maps of Statistical Areas 2-4 and GCCSA can be found in the Downloads tab of cat. no 1270.0.55.001.