Compare data services

There are a number of ways to access ABS data, in addition to data available on the website:

• this table will help you choose the best data service for you
• not all topics are available in all data services
• additional information has been provided below the table to explain some of the terms used

Data service	TableBuilder Guest	TableBuilder	Census products Data in Pictures QuickStats Community Profiles DataPacks	Data by region	ABS.Stat (beta system)	Information consultancy service	Basic microdata in MicrodataDownload	Detailed microdata in DataLab	Data integration service
Topics	Census of Population and Housing, including: - Persons - Families - Dwellings	- Businesses in Australia - Census of Population and Housing - Disability, ageing and carers - Education - Health - Income and housing - Labour force - Migrants - Motor vehicles - more available data	Census of Population and Housing	Census of Population and Housing	- Census - Economy - Health - Industry - Labour - People - Snapshots of Australia	Most ABS topics, including: - Census of Population and Housing - Demography - Economic data - Environment and energy - Industry - International trade - Social data - Trade	- Census of Population and Housing - Disability, ageing and carers - Education - Health - Income and housing - Labour force - Migrants - more available data	- Census of Population and Housing - Integrated data including BLADE and MADIP - Disability, ageing and carers - Education - Health - Income and housing - Labour force - Migrants - more available data	Customised integrated data extracts, such as: - MADIP - Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE) using: - data already held by ABS - new data you want to link
Self service or ABS provided service	Self-service	Self-service	Self-service	Self-service	Self-service	ABS provided service	Self-service	Self-service	ABS provided service
Free or charged	Free	Free and charged options	Free	Free	Free	Charged	Charged	Charged	Charged
Level of detail	Broad ranges	Very detailed	Broad - detailed	Detailed	Detailed	Customised	Broad ranges	Very detailed	Very detailed
Geography	State/Territory	- State/Territory - Greater capital city - Local Government Area - Mesh block - Remoteness area - Statistical area (SA) SA1-SA4 - Suburb - Postal area - Socio-economic index for Australia (SEIFA) - check data item lists	- State/Territory - Greater capital city - SA2-SA4 - Remoteness area - Local Government Area - Suburb - Postal area	- State/Territory - Greater capital city - SA1-SA4 - Mesh block - Remoteness area - Local Government Area - Suburb - Postal area - SEIFA	- State/Territory - Greater capital city - SA2-SA4 - Local Government Area	Customised	- State - Greater capital city - Remoteness area check data item lists	- State/Territory - Greater capital city - SA1-SA4 - Mesh block - Remoteness area - Local Government Area - Suburb - Postal area - SEIFA - check data item lists	Customised
Data output	Aggregate data	Aggregate data	Aggregate data	Aggregate data	Aggregate data	Aggregate data	Microdata (unit records)	Microdata	Microdata and aggregate data
Output timing	Immediate	Immediate	Immediate	Immediate	Immediate	1-8 weeks	Immediate	Output vetted by ABS before release in 1-2 working days	2-6 months
Statistical skills	All levels	Intermediate users	All levels	All levels	All levels	All levels	Intermediate users	Advanced users	- Advanced users (microdata) - All levels (aggregate data)
Platform	Online system	Online system	Website	Website	Website Machine to machine/API	Emailed or securely transferred to you	Download to your own environment in SAS, SPSS, Stata or CSV	Online or ABS offices using R, SAS, SPSS, Stata, Python	- Access in DataLab (microdata) - Emailed or securely transferred to you (aggregate data)
Prerequisites	Conditions of use	Conditions of use	None	None	None	None	- Conditions of use - Responsible officer undertaking	- Safe researcher training - Project and data custodian approval - Conditions of use - Declarations and undertakings - Statistical skills	- Safe researcher training - Project and data custodian approval - Conditions of use - Declarations and undertakings - Statistical skills
Registration required	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Getting access	Access Guest	How to apply	Access Census products	Access Data by Region	Access ABS.Stat	Information consultancy request form	How to apply	How to apply	data.services@abs.gov.au
Further help	TableBuilder user guide	TableBuilder user guide	Compare Census products	Virtual tour	Web user guide API user guide	Information consultancy guide	Responsible use of microdata guide	Responsible use of microdata guide	data.services@abs.gov.au
Data service	TableBuilder Guest	TableBuilder	Census products	Data by region	ABS.Stat	Information consultancy	Basic microdata in MicrodataDownload	Detailed microdata in DataLab	Data integration service

Additional information about terms used in this table

Data output

Data and output can be in either aggregate form (such as tabular data) or microdata (unit records):

• Aggregate data is produced by grouping information into categories and combining values within these categories, for example, a count of the number of people of a particular age (obtained from the question ‘In what year were you born?’). Also referred to as tabular data or macrodata, aggregate data is typically presented in tables.
• Microdata is a dataset of unit records where each record contains information about a person or organisation. This information can include individual responses to questions on surveys or administrative forms.

Geography

Most datasets provided by the ABS relate to the whole of Australia, but may also contain geographic data items such as state or territory, as a characteristic of the record of interest. ABS uses the Australian Statistical Geographic Standard (ASGS), which includes both ABS structures (such as remoteness or urban/rural definitions) and non-ABS structures (such as suburb or local government area).

Level of detail

Data services are provided in different levels of detail, so it is important to check that the service will meet your needs:

• broad ranges - limited data items may be included, data items may be provided in groups, such as 5 or 10 year age ranges, broad geographies only may be included, such as state/territory and capital city/balance of state
• detailed - more data items may be included, data may be provided in single values, or finer ranges, finer geographies may be included, such as Statistical areas, local government areas and suburbs or postcodes
• very detailed - many data items may be included, data may be provided in single values, such as individual income amounts, very fine geographies may be included, such as meshblock
• customised - finer detail for some data items may be offset by broader detail for other data items, in order to provide you with the level of detail you need for your request

Output timing

Some data services allow you to view your output immediately, and are available for you to use at any time of day. Other services, such as DataLab, you need to wait for an ABS staff member to clear your output before it is provided to you. For data services that are not self-serve, such as Information Consultancies or Data Integration services, the ABS will create your output, and then provide it to you. The creation process can take several weeks or months for complex requests.

Platform

Data services are provided in various forms such as:

• on the ABS website - you can access datasets or information directly from a web page
• online system - you log into a system from a web page, where the system is hosted on a secure server
• machine to machine/API - you use an application programming interface (API) from your environment to access a system using code instead of a user interface
• email or secure transfer - if ABS is providing your output to you, we will let you know how the data will be sent to you

Prerequisites

Some data services have conditions of use that you must agree to before you are able to access the data. See:

• TableBuilder and MicrodataDownload conditions of use
• Responsible use of microdata guide undertakings and declarations on the downloads tab

Self-service

Some data services are available immediately, and can be used at any time of the day. In other cases you may need to contact the ABS first to arrange access, but once you have been approved, the service is usually available 24 hours/7 days. Other services are provided by the ABS, so you will need to specify your needs, then allow time for the ABS to complete the work before you receive your output.

Statistical skills

All ABS data requires some statistical understanding to interpret what the data means:

• all levels - data services that are designed to get you started, or to be used by intermediate or advanced users to complement more complex services
• intermediate - some statistical training or experience needed to use these services, such as TableBuilder
• advanced - you will need to have several years of statistical training or experience to be able to use these services, such as DataLab