ABS NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

APA Conference 2010



Registration available now online

The 15th Biennial Australian Population Association (APA) Conference will be held from Tuesday 30 November to Friday 3 December 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise.

The theme of the conference will be the impacts of generational change.

The Australian Population Association invites you to join some of Australia's principal demographic thinkers and contribute to the debate. Should Australia continue to allow a large overseas migrant intake and what are the consequences? Will current high fertility levels continue into the future? Can we overcome potential impacts on living standards by working harder and smarter?

Highlights of the 2010 national conference program include:

• W.D. Borrie Lecture to be given by Dr Don Rowland on the theme: Policies and predicaments in global ageing
• Eminent keynote speakers
• Panel discussions
• Special presentation from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship on challenges, planning and reforms to Australia’s temporary and permanent migration programs
• A range of plenary and concurrent sessions covering key population and demographic issues, and
• A joint session with APA / PANZ / Asia Pacific.

With registration costs starting at $495 (or $280 for day registration), this represents excellent value.

Trade displays and a wide range of sponsorship opportunities are still available, and can be secured by contacting the Conference Manager - Event Solutions.

See the APA Conference website for program details, sponsorship opportunities and to register on-line now.

Register now


CURF Microdata News, August 2010

Curf Microdata News, August 2010 (cat. no. 1104.0) was released on 27 August 2010.

CURF Microdata News is a quarterly newsletter created by the Microdata Access Strategies Section at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). It is aimed at informing new and current Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) Microdata users about issues and developments in the access to, and use of, CURF Microdata.

This issue contains details of recent and future CURF releases, recent changes to Microdata titles and catalogue numbers, and CURFs that may enhance already-gathered information.

The following important CURFs were released in July 2010:

• Multipurpose Household Survey, Expanded CURF, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 4100.0.55.001)
• Education and Training, Basic CURF, Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 6278.0.55.002)
• Education and Training, Expanded CURF, Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 6278.0.55.004)

Information Paper: Non-Profit Institutions - A Draft Information Development Plan, Jul 2010

Information Paper: Non-Profit Institutions - A Draft Information Development Plan, Jul 2010 (cat. no. 5256.0.55.001) was released on 27 August 2010.

The Draft Information Development Plan (IDP) for the Non-Profit Institutions sector was prepared in response to a recommendation in the Productivity Commission Research Report “Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector”, 2010. This draft document is released to help guide discussion of the statistical needs and priorities for the sector, and also to draw attention to the statistical potential of information held in government administrative systems.


Measures of Australia's Progress, 2010

Measures of Australia's Progress, 2010 (cat. no. 1370.0) was released on 15 September 2010.

Measures of Australia's Progress (MAP) presents reliable, easy to understand information that describes how Australia is progressing across a range of social, economic and environmental measures. MAP is designed to inform and stimulate public debate and encourage all Australians to assess a broader view of progress.

How has Australia progressed?

• Health: Life expectancy at birth improved during the decade 1998 to 2008. A boy born in 2008 could expect to live to 79.2 years, while a girl could expect to reach 83.7 years.
• Education and training: During the past 10 years, the Australian population became more educated - between 1999 and 2009 the proportion of people with a vocational or higher education qualification rose from 49% to 63%.
• Work: Despite the recent economic downturn, Australia's annual average unemployment rate was lower in 2009 (5.6%) than in 1999 (6.9%).
• National income: Australia experienced significant real income growth during the past decade. Between 1998-99 and 2008-09, real net national disposable income per capita grew by 2.6% a year.
• National wealth: National wealth, as measured in Australia's balance sheet, grew over the last decade. Real national net worth per capita increased by about 0.9% a year between June 1999 and June 2009.
• Household economic wellbeing: In the decade to 2007-08, the real average household income of low income Australians grew by 41%.

Where can Australia improve?

• Biodiversity: There's been a decline in Australia's biodiversity over the past decade with the number of threatened animals increasing by 37%.
• Atmosphere: Australia's total net greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 were 16% higher than they were in 1998.

2011 Census Countdown



In less than one year from now, the ABS will be conducting the 16th Census of Population and Housing on 9 August 2011, marking 100 years of Census taking in Australia. Data from the Census has long supported planning, decision-making and funding at all levels of government, and is behind the services and facilities you use in your community every day. This Census will be the largest peace time logistical exercise undertaken in Australia's history and a lot of planning must go into making it a success.

The Queensland Census Management team recently celebrated "One Year Until Census" with the rest of the Queensland ABS Regional Office. ABS staff across the country have been working diligently behind the scenes designing urban and rural area census collector workloads, as well as developing strategies to ensure specific population groups are counted accurately. In Queensland, these groups include travellers, the homeless, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the mining industry, ethnic groups and occupants of secure apartment buildings.

There has been considerable emphasis placed on improving the enumeration of Queensland's Indigenous population in the 2011 Census. Additional resources have been allocated to Indigenous Enumeration, allowing Local Engagement Managers in Mt Isa, Cairns and Mackay to build the relationships which will provide the foundation for a more accurate count of the Indigenous population in Queensland.

It has long been known that having good quality field staff is paramount to the success of the Census. District Manager positions will be advertised in October 2010, followed by Area Supervisors in February 2011 and then Census Collectors in April 2011. If you are interested in undertaking one of these roles, or know of someone who would be interested, check the Careers page on the ABS website or your local newspaper around these times for details on how to apply.

For more information about the planning for the 2011 Census, please see the brochure 2011 Census of Population and Housing Local & Regional Engagement Strategy (cat. no. 2911.0.55.001) or contact the Queensland Census Management Unit on 1800 334 696.

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