The statistics in this publication were compiled from the Family Characteristics topic in the Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS), which was conducted as a supplement to the ABS Monthly Population Survey (MPS), from July 2009 to June 2010.
The Family Characteristics topic collected information on household and family composition including demographic, labour force, and family types. A particular focus is families with children aged 0 -17 years. The additional information collected for families with children included information about family structure, the social marital status of the parents, and contact and visiting arrangements for children with non-resident parents and grandparents. Comparison with data obtained from the 1997, 2003 and 2006-07 Family Characteristics surveys helps to show how the number and proportions of various family types have changed over time. The Child Support topic collected child support information for resident children aged 0-17 years who have a natural parent living elsewhere, and natural children aged 0-17 years living elsewhere with the other natural parent. The information collected included information about the type of child support arrangement (registered with the Child Support Agency or other), the number of children covered by the child support arrangement, the methods of determining the child support arrangement, amounts and frequency of child support payments (received or made) and any other contributions (received or made) other than cash payments.
Datacubes at the national level, in Excel spreadsheet format, will be available on the 'Details' tab in May 2011. Selected State/Territory datacubes will be available from late June 2011.