2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 2001  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/04/2001   
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Contents

ABS Website
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) regions
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin
Absentees
Accommodation for the retired or aged (cared)
Accommodation for the retired or aged (self-care)
Address
Adopted child
Age (AGEP)
Ancestry (ANCP)
Antarctica
ANZSIC
Apartment
Area (measurement)
Arrival, year of
ASCCEG
ASCED
ASCO
ASGC
ASIC
ATSIC Region
Attribution (component of digital geographic information)
Australia
Australian Citizenship (CITP)
Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)
Australian residents temporarily overseas
Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG)
Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED)
Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO)
Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC)
Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ASIC)
Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC)

ABS Website

See Web site.

Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander

See Indigenous Status (INGP), Community Development Employment Program (CDEP), Indigenous Area, Indigenous enumeration, Indigenous Family, Indigenous Household, Indigenous languages.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) regions

See ATSIC Region, Census Geographic Areas.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin

See Indigenous Status (INGP).

Absentees

See Temporarily absent.

Accommodation for the retired or aged (cared)

This is a category of the classification Type of Non-Private Dwelling (NPDD). It refers to accommodation for retired or aged people where the occupants are not regarded as being self-sufficient and do not provide their own meals. See also Type of Non-Private Dwelling (NPDD).

Accommodation for the retired or aged (self-care)

This is a category of the classification Dwelling Location (DLOD) which is applicable to private dwellings. It is used to code accommodation for retired or aged people who care for themselves. The definition of self-care is : ‘Accommodation where the occupants provide their own meals and are regarded as being self-sufficient’. See also Dwelling, Dwelling Location (DLOD).

Address

The address provided on the front of the census form helps census staff ensure that no dwellings are omitted from the census count.

The question asking the usual address of each person on Census Night (Question 7) is used to establish the Collection District (CD) of people who usually reside in a different area to where they were enumerated on Census Night.

Each person’s usual address of one year and five years before the census date is coded to SLA, from which information for most other ASGC codes can be derived (including State). These data provide information on the movement of people within Australia, i.e. internal migration.

Workplace address is used for coding Journey to Work data.

Some addresses are also used to verify the results of the Post Enumeration Survey (PES).

For the 2001 Census, people are being given an opportunity to agree to their name-identified information (which includes address) being retained as ‘Your Gift to the Nation’ to commemorate the Centenary of Federation. This will make a valuable contribution to preserving Australia’s history for future generations.

Not everyone may want their name-identified census information retained for future release. If a person chooses not to have their name-identified census information retained, their census form will be destroyed once the statistical processing has been completed. This will also happen if the question is left blank.

See also Confidentiality, Internal migration, Journey to Work (JTW), Postal Area, Post Enumeration Survey, Retention of name-identified information.

Adopted child

The Census does not seek to identify adopted children. An adopted child is, in most cases, reported as the child of Person 1 and/or Person 2 in the relationship question (Question 5), and is coded in the same way as a natural child. See also Child Type (CTPP).

Age (AGEP)

Age has been collected in all Australian censuses. Age data, combined with sex data, is essential for the production of accurate population estimates based on the Census count.

For 2001 AGEP classifies each person's age into single year categories, from 0 to 99 years, and 100 years or more. The upper limit of the 1996 categories was 99 years or more. For infants aged less than one year, 0 years of age is recorded. When no age is reported, the ABS imputes an age using other information on the form and information on age distribution of the population.

Age is used during processing as a cross check with other variables; for example, the age of the respondent determines whether particular questions asked in the Census are applicable.

The following age constraints apply:

  • if age is under five years, then State and SLA of usual residence five years ago (STEU5P, SLAU5P) and Usual address indicator 5 years ago (UAI5P) are not applicable;
  • if age is less than one year, then State and SLA of usual residence one year ago and 5 years ago (STEU1P, SLAU1P, STEU5P, SLAU5P), and Usual address indicator 1 year ago and 5 years ago (UAI1P, UAI5P) are not applicable;
  • age and Year of Arrival in Australia (YARP) must be logically consistent; and
  • the household or family reference person must be aged 15 years or more.
  • If age is under 15 years, then the following person variables are not applicable:

Highest Level of Schooling Completed (HSCP)
Hours Worked (HRSP)
Individual Income (weekly) (INCP)
Industry of Employment (INDP)
Industry Sector (GNGP)
Journey to Work: Destination Zone (JTWDZNP)
Journey to Work: Study Area (JTWSAP)
Labour Force Status/Status in Employment (LFSP)
Method of Travel to Work (MTWP)
Non-School Qualification: Field of Study (QALFP)
Non-School Qualification: Level of Education (QALLP)
Non-School Qualification: Year Completed (QALYP)
Occupation (OCCP)
Registered Marital Status (MSTP)
Social Marital Status (MDCP)

See also Derivations and imputations, Estimated Resident Population (ERP).

Ancestry (ANCP)

A person’s ancestry, when used in conjunction with the person’s birthplace and whether the person’s parents were born in Australia or overseas, provides a good indication of the ethnic background of first and second generation Australians. It will be particularly useful to identify distinct ethnic or cultural groups within a country such as Maoris or Australian South Sea Islanders, and groups which are spread across countries such as Kurds or Indians. Country of Birth alone cannot identify these groups. This information is essential in developing policies which reflect the needs of our society and for the effective delivery of services to particular ethnic communities.

Respondents were asked to consider and mark the ancestries they most closely identified with, and to count their ancestry back as far as three generations. Respondents had the option of nominating several ancestries but only the first two answers are processed for output purposes.

The Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) is used to classify responses given to the Ancestry question. See also Birthplace, Indigenous Status (INGP), Language Spoken at Home (LANP), Proficiency in Spoken English (ENGP), Religious Affiliation (RELP), Year of Arrival in Australia (YARP).

Antarctica

Australians in Antarctica are within the scope of the Census and are coded to an Off-Shore Collection District (CD) in Tasmania.

ANZSIC

See Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).

Apartment

See Dwelling Structure (STRD).

Area (measurement)

Area is calculated for Collection Districts (CDs) in square kilometres using digital boundary data which define the CD. The areas of other spatial units used in the Census are usually calculated by aggregating the areas of the component CDs.

The digital CD boundaries are only representations of the 'real world' bounds of a collector's area. The real world boundary is complex, where the digital version is simplified. This results in a less than perfect measurement of the true area of the CD. The degree to which the measured area is inaccurate is, in most cases, only slight.

Calculation of the actual area of a CD is two dimensional. The effects of changes in elevation are not considered in the area calculations provided by the ABS. CDs that consist of bodies of water only i.e. 'Water CDs', are excluded from the area calculation.

For census purposes, the area of a Local Government Area (LGA) is calculated by aggregating the areas of component CDs (excluding Water CDs). This area may not correspond to the legally determined area.

See also Water Collection Districts.

Arrival, year of

See Year of Arrival in Australia (YARP).

ASCCEG

See Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups.

ASCED

See Australian Standard Classification of Education.

ASCO

See Australian Standard Classification of Occupations.

ASGC

See Australian Standard Geographical Classification.

ASIC

See Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).

ATSIC Region

There are 36 administrative areas used by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) for the election of Regional Councils which represent the local Indigenous population. The administrative areas consist of 35 ATSIC Regions and one Torres Strait Regional Authority provided for under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act, 1989, sections 91(1) and 142(1) respectively. In general terms all 36 administrative areas are collectively referred to as ‘ATSIC Regions’.

For Census purposes, an ATSIC Region is approximated by aggregating the Collection Districts (CDs) which lie mostly or completely within the ATSIC Region. The 36 ABS derived ATSIC Regions cover in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps.

(Note: the ATSIC boundaries used in the 1996 Census changed in 1999 resulting in corresponding changes to the ABS derived boundaries.)

Census statistics, including a range of Indigenous statistics, are available by ATSIC Region. Indigenous Profiles are also produced for ATSIC Regions.

See also Indigenous Area, Indigenous Location.

Attribution (component of digital geographic information)

Attribution assigns information about a spatial (geographic) feature, such as a street or school, to that feature when it is stored digitally. This allows for the identification or selection of the feature based on its name or another property. It is this attribution which gives spatial data 'intelligence' within a geographic information system.

Australia

The total Australian population in census tabulations comprises all people counted in Geographical Australia: the six States, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory, and the external Territories of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Prior to 1996, census tabulations excluded Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands from the Australian total but the counts were available separately. See also Confidentiality, Geographical Australia, Other Territories.

Australian Citizenship (CITP)

This variable identifies holders of Australian citizenship.

Citizenship data are used to obtain information on the tendency of different migrant groups to take out citizenship and to measure the size of groups eligible to vote. The data are useful cross-classified with birthplace, year of arrival in Australia and age data.

Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) is used to classify responses to questions on industry in Australian censuses. First published in 1993, it has been used in the Census since 1996. Earlier censuses were coded according to the Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ASIC).

The ANZSIC has a four level hierarchical structure, comprising Divisions (the broadest level), Subdivisions, Groups and Classes (the finest level). The seventeen Divisions (identified by an alphabetic character) provide a broad overall picture of the economy whilst the Subdivision, Group and Class levels provide increasingly detailed dissections.

The following example illustrates the hierarchy :

Division C:    Manufacturing
Subdivision 21:  Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing
Group 218:     Beverage and Malt Manufacturing
Class 2182:    Beer and Malt Manufacturing

The ANZSIC class is the basic building block of the classification and is defined in terms of a specified range of activities which characterise, that class. These are referred to as the primary activities of the class. For example, for Class 2250 Footwear Manufacturing, the primary activities are the manufacturing of boots, sandals, shoes, thongs, etc.

An establishment may undertake a range of tasks that belong to different ANZSIC classes, for instance a Chinese restaurant may also sell takeaways. Each business in the census is classified according to the ANZSIC class of its predominant activity which, in this case, would be Class 5730 Cafes and Restaurants and not Class 5125 Takeaway Food Retailing.

For the 2001 Census, employed persons are coded to an ANZSIC class according to the business of their employer, and the main goods produced, or main services provided, by the employer's business. This information is sourced from Questions 38 and 39 on the census form.

An extended version of the ANZSIC classification is used for the Census which incorporates undefined classes in addition to the normal defined classes. These undefined classes have unique four digit codes and can represent any one of the four levels of the classification. They are a device to facilitate the coding of businesses for which insufficient information has been provided to enable coding to a defined class.

An example of an undefined class is Class 2110: Meat and Meat Product Manufacturing, undefined. This class may apply if the response to the industry questions on the census form were 'meat manufacturing', that is, it could not be determined which one of the following defined classes of group 211 actually applies:

Class 2111    Meat Processing
Class 2112    Poultry Processing
Class 2113    Bacon, Ham and Smallgood Manufacturing.

The 1993 edition of the ANZSIC is used to classify the 2001 Census. For more information refer to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (Cat. no. 1292.0), available in hard copy, on disc and from the ABS web site www.abs.gov.au.

See also Industry of Employment (INDP).

Australian residents temporarily overseas

Census figures exclude Australian residents temporarily overseas. However, Overseas Arrivals and Departures data enables their inclusion in the Estimated Resident Population. See also Estimated Resident Population (ERP).

Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG)

The Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) is the Australian statistical standard for classifying data relating to the ethnic and cultural composition of the Australian population. ASCCEG is a classification of cultural and ethnic groups based on the geographic area in which a group originated or developed and the similarity of cultural and ethnic groups in terms of social and cultural characteristics.

ASCCEG is used in the 2001 Census to classify Ancestry (ANCP). For more information refer to the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (Cat. no. 1249.0), available in hard copy, and from the ABS web site www.abs.gov.au.

Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED)

The new Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) has been developed to allow greater comparability of data on education and training. It is used for coding responses to questions on year of schooling completed and the level of education and field of study for completed non-school qualifications. It will be used for the first time in the 2001 Census. Data on qualifications reported in the 1991 and 1996 Censuses was coded to the ABS Classification of Qualifications (ABSCQ).

ASCED classifies education according to two elements: Level of Education and Field of Education. Level of Education is an hierarchical classification and comprises 9 broad levels, 15 narrow levels and 64 detailed levels. Field of Education refers to the subject matter taught in a course, unit, and modules of study. It is also an hierarchical classification and comprises 12 broad fields of study, 71 narrow fields and 356 detailed fields.

Where the respondent does not provide adequate information for the response to be coded to the most detailed levels of the 2 elements — Level of Education and Field of Education — the response is coded to the next highest classification level. Where this occurs, special ‘Not further defined’ (n.f.d.) categories are used. These categories are represented by codes ending in a zero or zeroes.

Standard output for Level of Education is at the 2 digit level. However some data at the 3 digit level can be made available from ABS Information Consultancy. Standard output for Field of Education is at the 6 digit level.

The ASCED publication is expected to be released in mid-2001 (Cat. no. 1272.0).

Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO)

The Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) is used to code responses to questions on occupation in Australian censuses. In ASCO, a job is defined as a set of tasks performed by an individual and an occupation is defined as a set of jobs with similar sets of tasks. Within ASCO, occupations are classified according to two criteria: skill level and skill specialisation.

ASCO First Edition was published in 1986 and was used in both the 1986 and 1991 Censuses. ASCO Second Edition has been used since the 1996 Census.

In ASCO Second Edition, there are five hierarchical levels. These are:

  • Major Groups (9) — the broadest level of ASCO. Major groups are distinguished from each other on the basis of skill level and broadly defined skill specialisation. Each Major Group consists of at least one Sub-Major Group.
  • Sub-Major Groups (35) — these are subdivisions of the Major Groups and have been introduced in ASCO Second Edition. Sub-Major Groups are distinguished from each other on the basis of broadly defined skill specialisation. Each Sub-Major Group consists of at least one Minor Group.
  • Minor Groups (81) — these are subdivisions of the Sub-Major Groups. Minor Groups in the same Sub-Major Group are distinguished from each other on the basis of a more narrowly defined skill specialisation. Each Minor Group consists of at least one Unit Group.
  • Unit Groups (341) — these are subdivisions of the Minor Groups. Unit Groups in the same Minor Group are distinguished from each other on the basis of a finer degree of skill specialisation. Unit Groups consist of one or more occupations.
  • Occupations (987) — the most detailed level of ASCO. Occupations in the same Unit Group are distinguished from one another on the basis of detailed skill specialisation.

The ASCO codes use six digits. The first digit in the code represents the Major Group. The first and second digits indicate the Sub-Major Group. The first, second and third digits indicate the Minor Group. The first, second, third and fourth digits indicate the Unit Group, whilst all six digits indicate occupation.

The following example illustrates the coding conventions:

Major Group:    2    Professionals

Sub-Major Group:    24    Education Professionals

Minor Group:    241    School Teachers

Unit Group:     2413    Secondary School Teachers

Occupation:   2413–11    Secondary School Teacher

Where the respondent does not provide adequate information for the response to be coded to occupation level, the response is coded to the next highest level which is sufficiently broad to include all possibilities implied by the available information. Where this occurs, special ‘Not further defined’ (NFD) categories are used at the more detailed levels of the classification. These categories are represented by codes ending in one or more zeros.

Standard output for occupation data is at the 1, 2, 3 or 4 digit level of ASCO. However, in some cases 6 digit level data can be made available from ABS Information Consultancy. Contact details for Information Consultancy are provided on the back cover of this publication.

Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC)

The Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) was 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.

The ASGC areas used for the Census are:

  • Collection District (CD)
  • Statistical Local Area (SLA)
  • Local Government Area (LGA)
  • Statistical Subdivision (SSD)
  • Statistical Division (SD)
  • Statistical District (S Dist)
  • Statistical Region (SR)
  • Major Statistical Region (MSR)
  • Urban Centre/Locality (UC/L)
  • Section of State (SOS)
  • State/Territory (S/T)

There is a separate entry in this dictionary defining each of these geographical areas.

The ASGC facilitates the standardisation of terminology and comparability of data.

For more information see:

  • Statistical Geography Volume 1: Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) 2001 (Cat. no. 1216.0)
  • Statistical Geography Volume 2: Census Geographic Areas, Australia (Cat. no. 2905.0)
  • Statistical Geography Volume 3: Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) Urban Centres/Localities (Cat. no. 2909.0)

See also Census Geographic Areas.

Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ASIC)

See Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC).

Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC)

The Australian Statistics Advisory Council (ASAC) was established by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975. Under section 18(1) of the Act, the Council is to advise the Minister and the Statistician on '...(a) the improvement, extension and coordination of statistical services provided for public purposes in Australia; (b) annual and longer term priorities and programs of work that should be adopted in relation to major aspects of the provision of those statistical services; and (c) any other matters relating generally to those statistical services'.

Part of the role of ASAC involves monitoring progress on the development of the Census. In particular, ASAC advises the Minister on topics being considered for inclusion in the Census.




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