QUALITY DECLARATION
INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
TableBuilder and Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) datasets are released in accordance with the conditions specified in the Statistics Determination section of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. This ensures that confidentiality is maintained whilst enabling user specified aggregate data to be released. More information on the confidentiality practices associated with the TableBuilder can be found in TableBuilder confidentiality. More information on the confidentiality practices associated with CURFs can be found in About CURF Microdata.
For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.
RELEVANCE
Microdata from the 2012-13 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) component of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS) are available in TableBuilder and in two Expanded CURFs. The microdata contains information including household demographics, Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) information, education qualifications, occupation, industry, general dietary information, physical measurements, long-term medical conditions, alcohol use, smoking, physical activity, sleep, sedentary behaviour, consultations with health professionals, and other actions recently taken in regard to their health (e.g. days away from work/study, medication use). In addition, the Expanded CURF contains biomedical data from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS) component of the AATSIHS for NATSIHS respondents who agreed to participate.
The level of detail provided for data items are available within the TableBuilder and Expanded CURF data item lists that can be found by clicking on the Downloads page of this product. These should be referenced when making decisions on the product to purchase. Items not available on the Expanded CURFs may be available on the TableBuilder database or in tabulated form on request.
TIMELINESS
The 2012-13 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) was conducted between April 2012 and February 2013 as part of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS). The TableBuilder product was first released approximately 16 months after enumeration was completed, with the TableBuilder reissue and Expanded CURFs released approximately 29 months after enumeration was completed.
ACCURACY
The microdata contain levels of detail of data items generally greater than those found in publications. For more information on the level of detail provided for the microdata, see the associated data item lists on the Downloads page of this product.
Steps to confidentialise the data made available in the microdata products are taken in such a way as to maximise the usefulness of the content while maintaining the confidentiality of respondents selected in the survey. As a result, it may not be possible to exactly reconcile all the statistics produced from the TableBuilder or the CURFs with other published statistics. Further information about the steps taken to confidentialise the TableBuilder microdata is available on the TableBuilder confidentiality page of the User Manual: TableBuilder, Jun 2013. (cat. no. 1406.0.55.005). Further information for the CURFs is available on the Using the Expanded CURF page of this product.
COHERENCE
Results from the most recent household survey on this topic can be found in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: First Results (cat. no. 4727.0.55.001) or Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Updated Results, 2012-13 (cat. no. 4727.0.55.006) (which utilised the combined NATSIHS and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS) sample). Other related information can be found in its Related Information tab.
Much of the content of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health surveys conducted by the ABS since 2004-05 is comparable. There are some differences in sample design and content, survey methodology and content, definitions and classification and will affect the interpretation of apparent changes in health characteristics. Data from earlier Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Surveys can be obtained by contacting the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
The Interpretation of Results section of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2012-13 (cat.no. 4727.0.55.002) and individual Topic pages provide more detailed information on the comparability of the 2012-13 AATSIHS, the 2011-12 Australian Health Survey and previous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander surveys.
INTERPRETABILITY
The information within this product should be referred to when using the microdata. It contains information including File structure, Using the TableBuilder, Using the Expanded CURF, Conditions of use and the Data Item List.
The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2012-13 (cat.no. 4727.0.55.002) includes information on the survey objectives, survey methods and design, survey content, data quality and interpretation, output data items, information about the availability of results and comparability with previous surveys.
ACCESSIBILITY
Microdata products are available to approved users. Users wishing to access the microdata should read the How to Apply for Microdata web page. Users should also familiarise themselves with information available via the Microdata Entry Page.
NATSIHS 2012-13 can be accessed using TableBuilder or as two Expanded Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURF) via the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL).
Any questions regarding access to microdata can be forwarded to microdata.access@abs.gov.au or phone (02) 6252 7714.