The following script can be used as a guide for completing the question modules for the Year of Arrival in Australia variable. The script can be used for self-enumerated questionnaires or interviewer based surveys. However, it is not mandatory to use this script.
Year of Arrival in Australia is only asked of those people born outside Australia. It is standard procedure to first ask the Country of Birth question when collecting Year of Arrival in Australia.
A respondent is first asked their country of birth, or that of the person on whose behalf they are answering.
Interview based surveys
- The interviewer marks the box for the country of birth the respondent identifies. If the respondent identifies a country not in the tick box list, the interviewer records the country name in the 'Other – please specify' category.
Self enumerated surveys
- The respondent can choose the country of birth from the tick box list of options if the country is specified. The 'Other - please specify' response category provides a space for the respondent to record the name of a country if it is not specified in the tick box list.
Year of Arrival in Australia question
If a respondent was born in Australia they are not required to answer the Year of Arrival in Australia question. If a respondent records that they were born in a country other than Australia, the respondent is then sequenced to the Year of Arrival in Australia question.
Interview based surveys
The recommended question format is: In which year did [(name)] first arrive in Australia to live (for one year or more)?
- The interviewer records the four digit calendar year in the space provided.
- For respondents with multiple arrivals in Australia, the interviewer should ensure they record the year of first arrival only.
Self enumerated surveys
The recommended question format is: In what year did [you] [the person] first arrive in Australia to live here for one year or more?
- The instruction "(Record the calendar year of first arrival or mark the box if here less than one year)." must be included under the question.
- The respondent records the four digit calendar year of first arrival in the space provided. If the respondent does not intend to live in Australia for more than one year from the date of their first arrival, they mark the box "Will be here less than one year".
If Period of Residence in Australia is then collected, the question for Period of Residence should be asked in addition to the above questions. This improves the accuracy of Period of Residence in Australia data by collecting all significant absences since first arrival.
Period of Residence in Australia question
The recommended question format is: Excluding holidays, visits or business trips overseas, [have you] [has the person] [has (name)] had any periods of living overseas for one year or more since first arriving here?
The recommended instruction to accompany the question is: (If 'Yes', please list each absence from Australia of one year or more and its duration in years and months).
Interview based surveys
- If the answer is 'Yes' to this question, the interviewer records each absence from Australia of one year or more and its duration in years and months in the space provided.
Self enumerated surveys
- If the answer is 'Yes' to this question, the respondent records each absence from Australia of one year or more and its duration in years and months in the space provided.