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Description
For the main job held last week, what was the business's name?
For self-employed persons, provide the name of the Person's business.
For teachers, provide the name of the school.
Business name
Public/private sector (GNGP)
Latest release
Census of Population and Housing: Census dictionary
Reference period
2021
Released
15/10/2021
Definition
This variable classifies employed people according to whether they are employed in the government (public) or non-government (private) sector. The public sector is further broken down into National, State and Territory or Local Government.
Scope
Employed persons 15 years of age and over
Categories
| Code | Category |
|---|---|
| 1 | National Government |
| 2 | State/Territory Government |
| 3 | Local Government |
| 4 | Private Sector |
| & | Not stated |
| @ | Not applicable |
| V | Overseas visitor |
Number of categories: 7
Not applicable (@) category comprises:
- Unemployed persons, looking for either full-time or part-time work
- Persons not in the labour force
- Persons with Labour Force Status (LFSP), not stated
- Persons aged under 15 years
See Understanding supplementary codes for more information.
Question(s) from the Census form
For the main job held last week, what was the employer’s business name?
What best describes the industry or business of the employer at the location where the person works?
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Description
What best describes the industry or business of the employer at the location where Person 1 works?
Examples for industry or business of the employer: Secondary school education, Gold mining, IT consulting service, Domestic cleaning services, Apartment construction.
More information
Industry or business
Example
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Description
What best describes the industry or business of the employer at the location where Person 1 works?
Examples for industry or business of the employer: Secondary school education, Gold mining, IT consulting service, Domestic cleaning services, Apartment construction.
More information
Industry or business
Health
Example
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Description
What type of health service does Person 1's employer operate?
Type of business
Hospital (except psychiatric hospitals)
Psychiatric hospital
Nursing home
General practice
Dentistry practice
Optometry practice
Physiotherapy practice
Ambulance service
Pathology or diagnostic imaging service
Federal government administration
State government administration
Retail pharmacy
Pharmaceuticals wholesaling
Pharmaceuticals manufacturing
Medical equipment wholesaling
Other (please specify)
What are the main goods produced or main services provided by the employer’s business?
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Description
What are the main goods produced or main services provided by the employer's business?
Describe as fully as possible, using two words or more.
For example: Providing education to secondary school students, Mining gold ore, Providing information technology advice, House cleaning, Construction of residential buildings.
More information
Goods produced/services provided
More information
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Description
What are the main goods produced or main services provided by the employer's business?
Describe as fully as possible, using two words or more.
For example: Providing education to secondary school students, Mining gold ore, Providing information technology advice, House cleaning, Construction of residential buildings.
More information
For self-employed persons, please describe the main goods and services provided by their business.
For the main job held last week, what was the person’s workplace address?
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Description
For the main job held last week, what was Person 1's workplace address?
For people who work from home for an employer, write the employer's workplace address.
For people with no fixed place of work:
if the person usually travels to a depot to start work, provide the depot address
otherwise enter ‘None’ in the ‘Suburb/Locality’ box.
This information is used to calculate daytime populations and to plan transport activities.
More information
Street number
Street name (examples: Graham Avenue, George Street)
Suburb/Locality
State/Territory
Postcode
Property/Building name (if any)
More information
Image
Description
For the main job held last week, what was Person 1's workplace address?
For people who work from home for an employer, write the employer's workplace address.
For people with no fixed place of work:
if the person usually travels to a depot to start work, provide the depot address
otherwise enter ‘None’ in the ‘Suburb/Locality’ box.
This information is used to calculate daytime populations and to plan transport activities.
More information
If the complete address is not known, please provide as much of the address as possible.
Include the name of the building or property where the person works, if known.
For Norfolk Island and other external territories, such as Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Jervis Bay, please select 'Other external territory' in the State/Territory box.
For people currently working from home due to lockdown or other COVID-related reasons, write the employer's workplace address.
How this variable is created
Data for this variable is captured automatically from written responses to Labour Force questions on the Census form. The employer's business name and the workplace address of the employed person is used to classify employed persons into the public or private sector. If the person's employment cannot be determined as public sector, responses are coded to private sector as the default code. If the person's employment in the public sector cannot be further broken down into National, State and Territory or Local Government, responses are imputed on a proportional basis to National, State and Territory or Local Government.
History and changes
Questions on what industry people are employed in has been asked in all Censuses since 1911. A separate variable to classify the sector as public or private was first provided for the 1971 Census.
Over time, the name of this variable has changed, but the meaning and the purpose of the question has remained the same:
- 1971: Industry Sector (GOVT)
- 1976-2006: Industry Sector (GNGP) - noting that in 1996-2001 a category for Community Development Employment Program was included
- 2011-2021: Public/Private Employer Indicator (GNGP)
No changes have been made for 2021.
Data use considerations
There are no data use considerations for this variable.
This variable does not have a non-response rate as it is created during Census processing by using responses from more than one question on the Census form.