SOUTH AUSTRALIAN STATISTICAL NEWS AND RELEASES

ABS News and Releases
Non-ABS News and Releases

ABS NEWS AND RELEASES

SA Stats (cat. no. 1345.4)
SA Stats provides an overview of the South Australian economy covering topics of demography, state accounts, prices, labour force and international merchandise trade. It is updated on a quarterly basis (Mar, Jun, Sep and Dec) and in the intervening months the publication includes feature articles that provide a South Australian focus on economic, social and environmental issues.

SA Stats, Jan 2008 (cat no. 1345.4)
Feature Articles:
- Underemployment in South Australia
- Water Use in Agriculture: A South Australian Perspective
January's feature articles focus on underemployment and water use on Australian farms. The first article is about labour force underutilisation and underemployed workers in South Australia in 2006, using data obtained from the ABS publication Underemployed Workers, Australia (cat. no. 6265.0). The second article presents information about water use for irrigation purposes by South Australian agricultural establishments from the ABS publication Water Use on Australian Farms, 2005-06 (Preliminary) (cat. no. 4618.0).

SA Stats, Feb 2008 (cat. no. 1345.4)
Feature Articles:
- South Australia's Mining Industry
- Water Supply in South Australia
February’s feature articles present information on South Australia’s mining industry and water supply. The first provides an overview of the mining industry in South Australia including the types of commodities produced, the value of the mining industry, employment, wages, exploration and capital expenditure using data from multiple sources. The second examines South Australia’s supply of water for the years 2000-01 and 2004-05 with reference to strategies for meeting Adelaide’s future water requirements based on information from the ABS publication Water Account, Australia, 2004-05 (cat. no. 4610.0).

NON-ABS NEWS AND RELEASES

Young and Female: Using Linked Data to Profile Service Use
This project was completed by the Strategic Planning and Analysis Unit in the South Australian Department of Health, as part of the Statistics Program SA, a joint initiative of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and South Australian Government.

Young and Female: Using linked data to profile service use explores characteristics of service use by young female clients across the health and community services sector in Metropolitan Adelaide, and selected areas of South Australia. While women who have multiple vulnerabilities might benefit from accessing a range of services, it is not considered that there is ‘one service’ in place that can accommodate all of their needs. Analysing the Clients in Common dataset allows characteristics or trends in the types of services used by young females to be determined.

Comparisons with young male and total clients show young female clients to be over represented in relation to clients who are users of multiple services. Spatial clustering of clients, particularly those using multiple providers, or clients who are considered ‘at risk’, such as children and young people who are under the Guardianship of the Minister, homeless clients and those accessing housing assistance, resembles the distribution of disadvantage as captured by the ABS SEIFA Index of Relative Disadvantage.

Analysis by quintiles of socioeconomic disadvantage reinforces the link between these variables, highlighting that clients with the highest use of services, using multiple providers and receiving housing assistance are also over represented in the most disadvantaged quintiles of Metropolitan Adelaide. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were found to be over-represented in clients identified as homeless and/or receiving housing assistance. Over half of all young female clients had visited a public hospital accident and emergency department, making it the highest provider of services.

Analysis of Clients in Common demonstrates the capacity of a de-identified linked data set for investigating service provision. Key interventions aimed at understanding service use by females and assessing a variety of providers across disciplines, is integral to improving service accessibility, service pathways and service effectiveness.

The full report is available on the South Australian Policy Online (SAPO) website.

The South Australian Data Linkage System
A data linkage system is being developed to provide information and evidence to decision makers to assist in the process of making informed choices. Analysis of de-identified, linked data by researchers, analysts, evaluators and policy makers will increase understanding of the impact of decision making and the complex interrelations between social, environmental, economic and health factors that influence individual and community wellbeing. Partners in this project are Department of Health (lead Government agency), University of South Australia, University of Adelaide, Flinders University, Cancer Council of SA, Department of Education and Children's Services, Trac SA and Department of Families and Communities.

Planning for the operation of the data linkage unit is currently being undertaken, with the intention that de-identified linked data will be available from mid 2009.

For further information about the South Australian Data Linkage System please contact:
David Engelhardt
Phone: (08) 8226 6615
Email: engelhardt.david@health.sa.gov.au

South Australian State Government Regions
The South Australian Government is introducing 12 State Government Regions for uniform use in planning and reporting across all state government departments and agencies. The boundaries for these regions were ratified by Cabinet on December 10, 2007 and they can be found on the Planning SA website.

These uniform regions are being adopted by departments and agencies over a two year period and will be fully in use by mid-2009 (with use of the regions in place in most departments and agencies by December 2008). This change will support better planning, reporting and coordination of government services, leading to better customer service. The adoption of the uniform regions will also strengthen links to the South Australian Strategic Plan (SASP) and in particular aid the process of ‘regionalisation’ of the SASP.

For further information or detailed data requests, please contact:
Debra Taylor, Project Manager - Implementation
Phone: (08) 8303 0663
Email: taylor.debra@saugov.sa.gov.au

Jason Phillips, GIS data and maps:
Phone: (08) 8303 0695
Email: phillips.jason@saugov.sa.gov.au