Classification and coding
The classification criteria
The criteria used to structure the 'Household composition' classification are:
- The presence or absence of families in a household.
- The number of families in a family household.
- The presence of non-family members.
- Whether there is more than one household member in a non-family household.
The standard classification and code structure
The standard 'Household composition' classification comprises the following categories:
| 1 | One family household | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | One family household with only family members present | ||||
| 12 | One family household with non-family members present | ||||
| 2 | Multiple family household | ||||
| 21 | Two family household | ||||
| 211 | Two family household with only family members present | ||||
| 212 | Two family household with non-family members present | ||||
| 22 | Three or more family household | ||||
| 221 | Three or more family household with only family members present | ||||
| 222 | Three or more family household with non-family members present | ||||
| 3 | Non-family household | ||||
| 31 | Lone person household | ||||
| 32 | Group household | ||||
Supplementary codes
The 'Household composition' classification contains three supplementary codes:
- '1 Not stated/inadequately described'.
- '2 Visitor only household'.
- '3 Other not classifiable'.
The first code is used to code responses which do not provide sufficient information to be coded to any level of the structure or when no information is given. The second is used when all of the individuals present are visitors and such households fall within the scope of a particular collection. The third category is used to process responses which are not within the scope of the classification, for example when all of the individuals present are under 15 years old.
Scope of the classification
The 'Household composition' classification is designed to classify all households within all private dwellings in Australia. Household data are not sought from persons usually resident in non-private dwellings, which are out of scope of the classification (see the 'Discussion of conceptual issues' section on the 'Underlying Concepts' page for further information).
Operationally, any dwelling where all members are aged under 15 years is out of scope of the classification and therefore coded to '03 Other not classifiable'. This approach is consistent with that used in the 'Family composition' classification.
Although 'Household composition' is an attribute of the counting unit Household, where output requires, families and persons may be classified by the 'Household composition' of their household.
Application of the classification to other variables
The 'Household composition' classification should only be applied to the variable 'Household composition'.
Coding procedures
The standard classification and codes for 'Household composition' are derived from 'Relationship in household' and 'Family composition' data. Responses to the 'Household composition' variable are stored as codes of the classification.