At the broad level, 'Social marital status' is derived from 'Relationship in household' data; detailed 'Social marital status' requires the collection of broad 'Registered marital status' data as well.

The related variable 'Registered marital status' establishes the legal status of marriage arrangements in Australia. As the two concepts measure different personal characteristics and serve different purposes they are treated as separate standards with their own classifications. They can be used independently or together depending on the purposes of the analysis.

The ABS therefore recommends that 'Social marital status' is always derived when information on living arrangements is sought, whereas 'Registered marital status' need be output only where it is required specifically for the purposes of the collection.

The name of the variable is 'Social marital status'.

Several other alternative terminologies, including 'marital partnership', 'consensual union', 'consensual marital status', 'cohabitation status', 'partnership status', 'whether partnered', 'whether living with a partner', or 'de facto marital status', are not considered as appropriate as the term 'Social marital status' to describe the concept. Similarly, the alternative term 'living arrangements' is confusing as it can also be related to wider household relationships (e.g. whether the respondent lives alone or with others).

The variable 'Social marital status' is defined as: 

• a person's relationship status in terms of whether he or she forms a couple relationship with another person who is usually resident in the household.

A couple relationship is based on a consensual union and is defined as two people usually residing in the same household who share a social, economic and emotional bond and who consider their relationship to be a marriage or marriage-like union. This relationship is either a registered marriage or de facto marriage.

According to this concept, a marriage exists when two people live together as a couple, regardless of whether the union is formalised through registration. Individuals are therefore regarded as 'married' if they are in a de facto relationship with a partner, or if they are living with their registered marriage partner.

'Social marital status' is an attribute of the counting unit 'person'.

Operationally, 'Social marital status' is defined as a person's relationship status in terms of whether he or she forms a couple relationship with another person living in the same usual residence, and the nature of that relationship. It is obtained by derivation from the responses to questions in the 'Relationship in household' standard. Derivation of detailed 'Social marital status' requires the collection of broad 'Registered marital status' data as well.

It is not always practical to ask questions which will determine whether the bonding usually associated with marriage exists between two people in statistical collections. Accordingly, a social marriage is deemed to exist when:

• a registered marriage, de facto marriage or couple relationship (either opposite-sex or same-sex) is reported in response to a question about relationships within the household.

and

• when the two individuals concerned are usually resident in the same household.

The definition of 'Social marital status' involves usual residence because it is necessary operationally to consider only relationships between people who usually reside in the same household. The distinction between visitors and usual residents ensures that partnerships are identified only between people who are usually resident in the same household.

The variable 'Social marital status' applies to all people aged 15 years and over.

'Social marital status' requires the supporting variable 'Relationship in household'. Derivation of 'Social marital status' at detailed levels of the classification requires the supporting variable 'Registered marital status'.

Three classification criteria are used to form the categories of the classification: 

• whether a person is living with a partner in a couple relationship
• whether a person is living with a partner in a registered marriage, and
• whether a person in a couple relationship is living with a person of the same sex.

People who live in such unions are classified as 'married'.

At the more detailed level, those people who are defined as 'married' are further classified according to whether their relationship to their partner is through a registered marriage or through a de facto marriage.

These criteria are applied to each person's couple relationship status to produce the major categories of the 'Social marital status' classification as defined below:

Married:

a person who is living with another person in a couple relationship. This relationship is either a registered marriage, or a de facto marriage.

Not married:

a person who is not living with another person in a couple relationship. This includes persons who live alone, or with other family members, and those in shared accommodation; it also includes persons who are in a registered marriage or in a de facto marriage, but whose partners are not usually resident in the household.

Married in a registered marriage:

a person who lives with another person in a couple relationship and this relationship is a registered marriage.

In practice, a person is classified as being a partner in a registered marriage if their relationship to a person, who usually lives in the same household, is reported as husband, wife or spouse and the 'Registered marital status' of both partners (if also asked in the collection) is reported as registered married. 

Married in a de facto marriage:

a person who lives with another person in a couple relationship and this relationship is not a registered marriage.

In practice, a de facto marriage exists between an opposite-sex couple when the two people are usual residents in the same household and their relationship is reported as: partner, de facto, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, boyfriend, girlfriend or when their relationship is reported as husband, wife or spouse and the 'Registered marital status' of one or both partners (if also asked in the collection) is reported as a category other than married.

A de facto marriage exists between a same-sex couple when the two people are usual residents in the same household and their relationship is reported as husband, wife, spouse, partner, de facto, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover or boyfriend. The term girlfriend should not be used as an indication of a de facto marriage between two women who are usual residents in the same household.

The ABS recommends that partners in traditional marriages involving Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people should be coded as 'Married in a registered marriage' even though such marriages cannot be registered under the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961. This should not be a significant statistical issue for most collections.

The 'Social marital status' classification is a four level hierarchical structure. The one digit level is referred to as the broad level; the second level (two digit) as the detailed level; and the subsequent third and fourth levels are referred to as further disaggregations of the detailed level. The classification is as follows:

This classification uses a two-digit code rather than a four-digit code, which would usually be used in a four level hierarchical classification structure. Using a two-digit code reduces storage and processing costs. The code structure also allows consistency in the coding of de facto couples (using the digits 5, 6, 7 and 8) with the 'Relationship in household' classification.

Not applicable.

The following supplementary codes are used to code non-responses:

9 Not stated
98 Not stated

The 'Social marital status' classification applies to all people aged 15 years and over.

The concept of 'Social marital status' is fundamental to the identification of couples and families. It is therefore an essential component of the 'Relationship in household', 'Family composition', 'Income unit composition' and 'Household composition' variables.

The ABS applies the classification criteria listed above to 'Relationship in household' data using either a selection process within a computer assisted coding instrument for household surveys, or the Census of Population and Housing processing system.

The methodology for collecting 'Social marital status' varies according to the type of collection and the level of detail required. In household surveys, broad 'Social marital status' is always derived from information collected on the household form.

Where more detailed information is required, a computer-assisted interviewing (CAI) module is activated. This contains an integrated question set which allows further levels of detail to be ascertained and also collects data on 'Registered marital status'. This integrated method can be used as either an element of the CAI package or in the self-completed format presented below.

Broad 'Social marital status' is always the first level of this variable to be derived from the 'Relationship in household' variable. The derivation of detailed 'Social marital status' requires the collection of broad 'Registered marital status' as well. Details of the type of de facto marriage present may be obtained by asking additional questions.

The codes and categories of 'Relationship in household' that are required to derive 'Social marital status' are:

The following points should be noted:

• The scope of the 'Social marital status' variable does not include people under the age of 15 years.
• The operational definition of 'Social marital status' confines marriages within households. If a married couple are not usually resident together they are considered to be 'Not married' in the 'Social marital status' classification but they would be considered 'Married' in the 'Registered marital status' classification providing they are not separated from each other. People who are not usual residents are classified as a 'Visitor' in the 'Relationship in household' classification and are out of scope of the 'Social marital status' classification. Footnotes should be added to any output to explain the details of the 'Social marital status' classification (e.g. 'The category 'not married' includes people who are not currently living with their registered marriage spouse or with a de facto partner': see the 'Output' section).
• People in this category are coded to 'Married' in the broad 'Social marital status' classification and to 'Married in a registered marriage' in the detailed 'Social marital status' classification. people classified as 'Husband, wife, or partner in a de facto marriage' in the 'Relationship in household' classification are coded to 'Married' in the broad 'Social marital status' classification and to 'Married in a de facto marriage' in the detailed 'Social marital status' classification. Codes 15-18 in the 'Relationship in household' classification can be used to further disaggregate data according to whether the couples are of the same or opposite sex (see Table 1).
• People classified as 'Lone parent', 'Dependant student (aged 15-24 and studying full-time)', 'Non-dependant child', 'Other related individual' and 'Non-family member' are coded to 'Not married'.

'Social marital status' and 'Registered marital status' are reported from interviewer based household surveys using the three stage method outlined below. These stages are usually performed in the ABS using the CAI instrument.

Broad 'Relationship in household' data are used to identify usual residents of a household who are aged 15 years or older. In particular, the data are used to identify people who are in a couple relationship with another member of the household. A series of marital status questions is then used to distinguish between registered and de facto marriages and to identify the 'Registered marital status' of people who are in scope.

In household-based collections, the broad 'Social marital status' of each household member is derived primarily from 'Relationship in household' information. 'Age' and 'Usual residency' data are also required as parties to 'Social marital status' must be aged 15 years or over and be usual residents of the same dwelling.

A 'Social marital status' of 'Married' exists when the relationship between two people aged 15 years and over and usually resident in the same household is reported as: husband, wife, spouse, partner, de facto, common law husband/wife/spouse, lover, boyfriend or girlfriend. Responses of 'Child under 15' and 'Visitor' indicate people who are out of scope of this variable. All other responses are coded as 'Not married'.

This derivation will result in broad 'Social marital status' classifications of:

To derive detailed 'Social marital status', part of the 'Registered marital status' variable must also be collected. A 'Social marital status' of 'Married in a registered marriage' exists when the relationship between two people who usually live in the same household is reported as husband, wife, spouse or partner and their 'Registered marital status' is reported as registered married.

A 'Social marital status' of 'Married in a de facto marriage' exists when the relationship between two people who usually live in the same household is reported as partner, de facto, common law husband/wife/spouse, fiance, lover, boyfriend or girlfriend, etc.; or when their relationship is reported as husband, wife or spouse and their 'Registered marital status' is reported as a category other than registered married.

Responses of 'Child under 15' and 'Visitor' indicate people who are out of scope of this variable. All other responses are coded as 'Not married'.

To identify a registered marriage, Q1 below is asked to determine if a husband, wife or partner relationship is either a registered marriage or a de facto marriage. 
 

If the answer is 'Yes', the detailed 'Social marital status' of each member of the couple is 'Married in a registered marriage' (see Table 1). If the answer is 'No', the detailed 'Social marital status' is 'Married in a de facto marriage' (also see Table 1).

Further details of same-sex couple de facto marriages are identified by cross classifying with the couples' reported sex.

This stage is necessary for the collection of the 'Registered marital status' variable. If the answer to Q1 above is 'Yes', then the 'Registered marital status' of each member of the couple is 'Married'. If the answer is 'No' the following question is asked:
 

'Registered marital status' is coded according to the response category chosen in Q2 above (see Table 2). However, some respondents may give answers that are different from the first five options listed in Q2. The categories 'de facto', 'single' and 'not married' are included on the interview form or the interviewer's computer screen. However, these categories are not included on any prompt card that is shown to the respondent.

If the response 'De facto', 'Single' or 'Not married' is given rather than one of the five standard response categories above, the following question is asked:
 

If the response is 'No', then the person's 'Registered marital status' is 'Never married'. If the response is 'Yes', the following question is asked:

'Registered marital status' is coded accordingly (see Table 2).

Question 2:
1 = Never married
2 = Widowed
3 = Divorced
4 = Separated but not divorced
5 = Registered married
6 = De facto
7 = Single
8 = Not married

Question 4:
1 = Widowed
2 = Divorced
3 = Separated

The data that form the input to the 'Social marital status' classification are derived from those collected for 'Relationship in household'. The question module is explained in the 'Relationship in household' standard. The methodology is the same as that described above in 'Stage 1 - Deriving broad 'Social marital status''.

The Census of Population and Housing also asks the following question about 'Registered marital status', responses to which are used to refine 'Social marital status' in the manner described above in 'Stage 2 - Deriving detailed 'Social marital status''.

The standard input categories are the same as the categories of the 'Social marital status' classification with the additional supplementary category, 'Not stated':

'Social marital status' output may be presented in aggregate form, comprising the two categories 'Married' and 'Not married', or in an expanded form as follows:

Output at a greater level of detail than the expanded form above is not generally recommended as the reporting of same-sex couple relationships is likely to be low. Such data are thus expected to be statistically insignificant and their output in some collections may breach ABS confidentiality provisions.

Therefore output for 'Married in a de facto marriage' should be accompanied by a footnote stating that the category includes partners in same-sex de facto relationships.

In publications and discussions where both the 'Registered marital status' and 'Social marital status' concepts are addressed, clear labels and footnotes must be used to differentiate 'Registered marital status' categories from 'Social marital status' categories.

Footnotes should state that in the 'Social marital status' classification:

• The category 'Married' includes de facto marriages and registered marriages.
• The category 'Married in a de facto marriage' includes same-sex couples.
• The category 'Not married' includes people who are not currently living with their registered marriage spouse or with a de facto partner.

A footnote should state that in the 'Registered marital status' classification:

• The category 'married' excludes de facto marriages.

In addition, definitions for the concepts and categories used should be listed in a glossary of terms. These should be consistent with those outlined in the Glossary. In some instances, there may be a need for explanatory notes to further clarify the concepts.

Care should be taken when using the term 'Not married' in relation to 'Registered marital status' to prevent confusion with the 'Social marital status' category. The term 'Not registered married' should be used in preference to 'Not married', if there is any possibility of ambiguity. It should be noted that the term 'Not registered married' relates to those people whose 'Registered marital status' is coded as 'Never married', 'Widowed' or 'Divorced'.

If the term 'Not married' is used where the data refer to 'Registered marital status', the ABS advises it should be footnoted as follows:

• 'Refers to people whose 'Registered marital status' is 'Never married', 'Widowed' or 'Divorced', including those who are living with a de facto partner.'

The term 'Ever married' can be used to refer to all people whose 'Registered marital status' is other than 'Never married'.

In many circumstances the most useful application of 'Registered marital status' will be in combined output with 'Social marital status'. Where such output is required, the following output structure is standard.

It is not anticipated that many collections will present data cross-tabulated in this way. However, when this is necessary, the following format is recommended for output tables:

No specific measurement issues apply to the variable 'Social marital status' beyond the normal constraints affecting statistical collections, such as problems with confidentiality and standard errors which may prevent the output of data for some of the categories of the classification.

Because of the close connection between 'Social marital status', 'Registered marital status', 'Relationship in household', 'Family composition' and 'Household composition', none of these should be changed without first considering any implications of the proposed change for the other related classifications.