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GLOSSARY

AddressCoder@ABS

A web service that assigns a geographic classification to an address or a list of addresses and is used for linking and matching activities.

Automated Data Linking (ADL)

Automated linking processes used to determine possible links between Census and PES data, before any clerical matching process has begun. It employs a probabilistic linking method that uses a range of personal and address characteristics to evaluate the likelihood that a PES and Census record pertain to the same individual.

ASGC

The Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGS) was the geography standard in use during the 2006 Census. It was built using the Census Collection District (CD), which was then used to build up larger Statistical Local Areas (SLA), which in turn built larger areas. The ASGC is in the process of being replaced by the newer Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). In the 2011 PES, the ASGC was used in conjunction with the ASGS, principally in relation to the 2011 PES sample design, which was based upon the CD.

ASGS

The Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) is the new geographical standard developed by the ABS for the collection and dissemination of geographic statistics. It is a hierarchically structured classification with a number of spatial units to satisfy different statistical purposes.

Benchmark category

A benchmark category is a PES estimate (either dwelling or person based) of the Census count in a category (e.g. Country of Birth) based upon the Census response to that category regardless of the PES response (i.e. if a record has a Census COB of 'Australia' but is recorded as having a COB of 'Other Overseas' in the PES, then the record will be in the 'Australia' benchmark category).

Census count

The number of people who were counted in the Census for a category. The Census count includes imputed persons for non-responding dwellings. However, some categories (such as Indigenous status and Country of birth) do not include any imputed persons, as Census assigns a not-stated category to all the imputed person records.

Census Collection District (CD)

A Census collection district (CD) was the basic geographic unit of collection in the 2006 Census, but was also used in several aspects of the 2011 PES. A CD was generally a Census workload area that one collector could cover, delivering and collecting forms in a specified period.

Collect, Analyse, Reduce, De-duplicate and Systematise (CARDS)

A series of processes which prioritised and organised ADL output for use by the MSS system.

Collector Workloads (CLWs)

A Collector Workload (CLW) is a geographic grouping of 450 dwellings (on average) which define an area in which, generally, a single Collector operated in the 2011 Census.

Computer Assisted Interviewing (CAI)

Computer-assisted interviewing (CAI) is a method of data collection whereby responses are recorded directly into an electronic questionnaire on a notebook computer.

Contact sector

The Census contact sector comprises all Census dwellings, excluding imputed dwellings and those from which late return Census forms were received.

Correlation bias

A bias arising when people who were not counted in the Census are more likely to be missed in the PES than people with similar values of the characteristics used in PES estimation (such as age, sex and Indigenous status) who were counted in the Census.

Coverage

Survey coverage refers to the population units which have a chance of being selected in the survey sample. For the quality of the survey estimates, it is desirable that the survey coverage matches as closely as possible the survey scope. Coverage rules are generally applied in all household surveys to ensure that each person is associated with only one dwelling, and hence has only one chance of selection.

Discrete Indigenous community

A discrete Indigenous community is defined as a geographic location, bounded by physical or legal boundaries, and inhabited or intended to be inhabited predominantly by Indigenous people, with housing or infrastructure that is either owned or managed on a community basis.

Dwelling

A dwelling is a building or structure in which people may live. This can be a building, such as a house; part of a building, such as a flat; or it can be a caravan or tent, humpy or a park bench. Houses under construction, derelict houses, vacant tents, or unoccupied converted garages, are not counted as dwellings in the Census. There are private and non-private dwellings.

Dwelling Link

A link between a PES dwelling and a Census dwelling based upon at least one linked person between the two.

Dwelling Link Rating

The Dwelling Link Rating is a numeric indicator of the strength of a dwelling link and used to rank the links for preference in later processing. These are derived primarily by combining the Person Link Rating of individuals in the dwelling with the addition of some other criteria.

Estimated Resident Population (ERP)

Estimated Resident Population (ERP) is the official measure of the population of Australia based on the concept of residence. It refers to all people, regardless of nationality or citizenship, who usually live in Australia, with the exception of foreign diplomatic personnel and their families. It includes usual residents who are overseas for less than 12 months. It excludes overseas visitors who are in Australia for less than 12 months.

Freely Extensible Biomedical Record Linking (FEBRL)

This is the software application that was used to run the Automated Data Linking process in the 2011 PES.

Greater Capital city/rest of state/territory

Greater Capital Cities are defined as areas covered by the Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA) in each state and territory. GCCSAs are aggregates of Statistical Area 4s (SA4). The GCCSAs combined with the Rest of State regions cover the whole of Australia and aggregate directly to States and Territories.

For more information, see Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (cat: 1270.0.55.001), Australia, July 2011.

Gross overcount

The number of people in the Census who should not have been counted, either because they had already been counted or because they were overseas and should not have been counted at all. If a person was counted in the Census three times, for example, they would contribute two counts to the gross overcount (assuming they should have been counted in the Census).

Gross undercount

The number of people who should have been counted in the Census but were not.

Hot-deck imputation

An imputation process whereby a donor record is located and relevant responses copied from the donor record to a non-responding record. The donor record will have similar characteristics to the non-responding record and must also have the required variable(s) stated. In addition, the donor record will be located geographically as close as possible to the location of the record to be imputed.

Indigenous

Refers to people who identified themselves, or were identified by another household member, as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Indigenous Community Frame (ICF)

The Indigenous Community Frame (ICF) is a listing of all discrete Indigenous communities from which the sample of communities was selected for the 2011 PES. The selection unit on the ICF is a community set. A set usually comprises a main community, a number of outstations and the non-community dwellings within the CDs associated with the main community. If a community set is selected then a selection of the dwellings in the main community, all the dwellings in some outstations, and a selection of the non-community dwellings will be enumerated in the survey.

Imputation

A statistical process for predicting values where no response was provided to a question and a response could not be derived.

Imputed dwelling (in Census)

A dwelling which is considered to be occupied in the Census, and where Census data is imputed because no Census form was received (i.e. the dwelling was classified as non-contact or refusal).

Late return

A Census form which was returned after the start of PES enumeration.

Mainstream Sample

The term 'mainstream' refers to the PES private dwelling sample, that is, all PES selections other than those from the discrete Indigenous communities sample.

Match and Search System (MSS)

The main PES clerical review facility, which allows processors to search, view, compare, and record matches between PES and Census data.

Net undercount

The difference between the PES estimate of the number of people who should have been counted in the Census and the actual Census count (including imputations). The estimated net undercount for a category of person is the net result of undercount, overcount, differences in classification between the PES and Census (e.g. age, sex, Indigenous status) and imputation error in the Census.

Non-contact sector

The Census non-contact sector comprises late-return and imputed dwellings.

Non-private dwelling

An establishment which provides a communal type of accommodation, such as a hotel, motel, hospital or other institution. Non-private dwellings were not included in the 2006 PES sample.

Non-sampling error

Non-sampling error arises from inaccuracies in collecting, recording and processing the data. Every effort is made to minimise non-sampling error by the careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers, and efficient data processing procedures. Non-sampling error also arises because information cannot be obtained from all people selected in the survey.

Other territories

The 'Other territories' comprise Jervis Bay Territory and the external territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Outstation (or homeland)

A discrete Indigenous community that has a population of less than 50 people AND is administered by, or linked to, an organisation such as a Resource Agency or larger parent discrete Indigenous community for the provision and maintenance of services.

Part of state

Parts of state refer to the Greater Capital City or Rest of State in each state and territory. In a number of processes, such as estimation, the different parts of state are dealt with separately.

Person link

A link between a single PES respondent and a single Census respondent based upon agreement on certain criteria.

Person Link Rating

The Person Link Rating (PLR) is a numeric indicator of the strength of a person link. This is generated through the CARDS process and used to stratify ADL links by quality. It is used through matching processing and contributes to the Dwelling Link Rating (DLR) of the PES dwelling in which the person was enumerated.

PES address

The address at which the respondent was enumerated in the PES.

PES population estimate

An estimate (based on PES and Census data) of the number of people who should have been counted in the Census.

Private dwelling

A private dwelling is a residential structure which is self-contained, owned or rented by the occupants, and intended solely for residential use. A private dwelling may be a flat, part of a house, or even a room, but can also be a house attached to, or rooms above shops or offices.

Remote areas

Within the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), the Remoteness Structure classification comprises six categories called Remoteness Areas (RAs). Each RA is created from the grouping of Collection Districts (CDs) identifying a (non-contiguous) region in Australia having a particular degree of remoteness. The categories range from 'Major Cities of Australia' to 'Very Remote Australia'.

The degree of remoteness of each Collection District (CD) was determined using the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+), which was recalculated using 2006 Census statistics. It is envisaged that ARIA+ will be recalculated after the 2011 Census and the results will be used to construct the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure based on aggregations of Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s).

Statistical Areas 1, 2, 3 & 4

Statistical areas are the geographic areas under the ASGS geographic classification used in the PES. Each area is built from aggregates of the lower area and cover Australia without gaps or overlap.

• Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1s) are the smallest unit at which census data will be released and are built from aggregated meshblocks. They generally comprise 200 to 800 people in urban and regional areas (with an average of 400 persons in urban areas and fewer in regional areas), or a single Discrete Indigenous Community (and sometimes some/all of its outstations).
• SA2s are general-purpose medium-sized areas designed to represent a community that interacts together socially and economically. They comprise between 3000 and 25,000 persons.
• SA3s are areas which have similar regional characteristics. They generally comprise between 30,000 and 130,000 persons, however, as they are regionally rather than statistically based, these numbers are flexible.
• SA4s are the largest sub-State regions in the Main Structure of the ASGS. They comprise a minimum of 100,000 persons (generally 1-3 times this size in rural areas and 3-5 times this size in urban areas).