Data sources

Survey data sources

ABS Census of Population and Housing

First year: 1966

Latest year: 2016

Frequency: Every 5 years

Year in this publication: 2006–2016

Methodology: National Census

Geography: National

Description

The Census collects information on a range of welfare-related topics, including housing and income. The 2016 Census counted almost 10 million dwellings, and 23.4 million people, across Australia. Different strategies of data collection were used to include people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people from remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

ABS General Social Survey (GSS)

First year: 2002

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Prior to 2019, every 4 years. From 2019, annual

Year in this publication: 2019

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The GSS, conducted on Australians aged 15 and over, aims to provide an understanding of the multi-dimensional nature of relative advantage and disadvantage across the population. Only usual residents of private dwellings were included in the GSS, and while urban and rural areas in all states and territories were included, very remote parts of Australia and discrete Indigenous communities were excluded from the survey.

Data was collected from approximately 3,500 households around Australia. The GSS will be enumerated over a four year period from 2019 to 2022. The target sample size is 14,000 fully responding records over this four year period. Previously, the GSS was enumerated once every four years.

One person aged 15 years or over was randomly selected in each household to complete the GSS questionnaire. If the randomly selected person was aged 15–17 years old, parental consent was sought for the interview to proceed. The GSS was collected over a 3 month period from 29th April to 20th July 2019.

ABS Health Literacy Survey (HLS)

First year: 2018

Latest year: 2018

Frequency: Standalone

Year in this publication: 2018

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The HLS was conducted by the ABS in 2018. The sample for the HLS was respondents aged 18 years and over who had already participated in the National Health Survey (NHS). These respondents agreed to be contacted for further ABS surveys and had provided their contact details. The HLS was conducted from January 2018 to August 2018 with 5,790 fully responding adults.

The Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) consists of 44 questions (or ‘items’) which form nine domains of health literacy. Data was collected for each item and domains were based on the level of agreement with a set of health literacy statements (‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’) or the perceived difficulty of a health literacy characteristic (‘always easy’, ‘usually easy’, ‘sometimes difficult’, ‘usually difficult’ or ‘cannot do or always difficult’). The data in the HLS can be analysed along with the data collected in the NHS 2017–18.

ABS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

First year: 1960

Latest year: 2021

Frequency: Monthly

Year in this publication: 2021

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The LFS is designed to primarily provide estimates of employment and unemployment for the whole of Australia and, secondarily, for each state and territory. The scope of the LFS is the civilian population aged 15 years and over. The LFS provides insight into the economy and the effects of labour market policy settings, through measures related to the demand for labour (employment, job vacancies); to its supply (unemployment, underemployment, labour force participation); and to its price (labour costs). Education and training statistics could also be included as a part of labour market statistics.

The LFS is based on a multi-stage area sample of private dwellings, discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; and non-private dwellings (i.e. hotels, motels, hospitals, retirement villages.).

The sample size of the LFS is approximately 26,000 dwellings resulting in a sample of approximately 50,000 people. The sample covers approximately 0.32% of the civilian population aged 15 years and over.

ABS National Health Survey (NHS)

First year: 1989–90

Latest year: 2017–18

Frequency: Every 3 years

Year in this publication: 2017–18

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The NHS collects a range of information about the health of Australians in all states and territories across urban, rural and remote areas (excluding very remote areas). Topics include:

  • the health status of the population, including long-term health conditions;
  • health risk factors such as smoking, Body Mass Index, diet, exercise and alcohol consumption; and
  • demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

The 2017–18 survey included around 21,000 people in over 16,000 private dwellings. An adult was asked to respond on behalf of selected children aged under 15. Dwellings were selected at random using a multistage area sample of private dwellings. The 2017–18 NHS was conducted throughout Australia from July 2017 to June 2018.

ABS Personal Safety Survey (PSS)

First year: 2005

Latest year: 2016

Frequency: Every 4 years

Year in this publication: 2016

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The PSS collects information from women and men aged 18 and over about the nature and extent of violence experienced since the age of 15. Over 5,000 men and 15,000 women were included in the 2016 survey. The scope of the 2016 survey was persons aged 18 and over in private dwellings across Australia (excluding very remote areas). Interviews were conducted with one randomly selected person aged 18 or over.

ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC)

First year: 1981

Latest year: 2018

Frequency: Infrequently

Year in this publication: 2003, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 (limited analysis)

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The SDAC is survey designed to measure the prevalence of disability in Australia and the need for support of older people and those with disability. The 2018 SDAC collected information in order to: measure the prevalence of disability in Australia; measure the need for support of older people and those with disability; estimate the number of and provide information about people who provide care to older people and people with disabilities; and provide a demographic and socio-economic profile of people with disabilities, older people, and carers compared with the general population.

The survey was conducted in all states and territories and across urban, rural and remote areas of Australia. The 2018 survey included around 65,800 people from over 21,900 private dwellings and 1,000 establishments. Accommodation within establishments included hospitals, aged care hostels, nursing homes, care components of retirement villages and other homes. The SDAC estimated the number of those who provided care to people with disability and older people based on available information. Carers were people who provided any informal ongoing assistance to people with disability or older people for at least 6 months.

ABS Survey of Education and Work (SEW)

First year: 2001

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2004–2020

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The SEW is conducted throughout Australia in May as a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). It provides annual information on a range of key indicators of educational participation and attainment of people aged 15–74 years, along with data on their engagement in education and work. The annual time series allows for ongoing monitoring of the level of education of Australia's population including:

  • current and previous study
  • type of educational institution attended
  • highest year of school completed
  • level and field of highest non-school qualification
  • engagement in education and work
  • selected characteristics of apprentices and trainees.

ABS Survey of Income and Housing (SIH)

First year: 1994–95

Latest year: 2017–18

Frequency: Every 2 years

Year in this publication: 2017–18

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The SIH is a household survey that collects information on sources of income, amounts received, household net worth, housing, household characteristics and personal characteristics. The 2017–18 survey collected information from a sample of over 14,000 households through personal interview of usual residents of private dwellings in urban and rural areas of Australia.

AIC The prevalence of domestic violence among women during the COVID-19 pandemic

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: One repeat

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The prevalence of domestic violence among women during the COVID-19 pandemic survey asked 15,000 Australian women aged 18 and over about experiences of domestic violence during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was conducted between 6 May and 1 June 2020. The survey included questions about sociodemographic and relationship characteristics and women’s experiences of physical or sexual violence, and emotionally abusive, harassing and controlling behaviour in the three months prior to the survey.

The survey using a proportional quota sampling (non-probability sampling method). Data was weighted by age and jurisdiction using ABS 2019 estimated resident population data.

AIFS Life during COVID-19

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Standalone (part of Families in Australia Survey series)

Year in this publication:2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The Life during COVID-19 survey was conduced by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) as part of its Families in Australia Survey. It ran from May 1 to June 9 2020 with 7,306 adults aged 18 and over from around Australia participating. The survey was opt-in and promoted through the media, social media, newsletters, internet advertising and word of mouth.

The aim of the was to understand how Australian families coped with the COVID019 pandemic, particularly how families:

  • adjusted to the pandemic, and the restrictions and programs that were put in place
  • experienced the social and economic impacts of the pandemic
  • supported each other, even when they didn’t or couldn’t, life together
  • protected their physical and mental health.

Six reports from the survey were published by AIFS. For more information, see Families in Australia Survey.

AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS)

First year: 1985

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Every 2–3 years

Year in this publication: 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National

Description

The NDSHS collects information on alcohol and tobacco consumption, and illicit drug use among the general population in Australia. It also surveys people's attitudes and perceptions relating to tobacco, alcohol and other drug use.

The 2019 NDSHS surveyed individuals aged 14 years and older, and was conducted from 8 April to 22 September 2019. Samples for the NDSHS are selected using stratified, multistage random sampling. A total of 22,274 questionnaires were categorised as being complete and useable, a response rate fo 49%.

AIHW National survey of children in out-of-home care

First year: 2015

Latest year: 2018

Frequency: Biennial

Year in this publication: 2018

Methodology: National Survey

Geography: National and state

Description

The National survey of children in out-of-home care collects data from the state/territory departments responsible for child protection, as part of local case management processes. The dataset includes children's views on various topics, including feelings of safety, participation in decision-making, community connection and activity, family connection and contact, presence of a significant adult in their life, and leaving care.

The dataset includes children aged 8–17 years residing in out-of-home care (including foster care, relative/kinship care, family group homes, residential care and independent living), whose care arrangements had been ordered by the relevant Children’s Court and where the parental responsibility for the child had been transferred to the Minister or Chief Executive, and who had been on a relevant court order for 3 months or more.

The 2018 survey was offered to 4,588 of the 19,217 in-scope children. Data were received for 2,428 in-scope children across the 8 states and territories who completed the survey representing a response rate of 53%. The responding sample covered 13% of the in-scope population of children in care at the time of the survey.

ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods: COVID-19 Impact Monitoring Survey Program

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2021

Frequency: Irregular

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The COVID-19 Impact Monitoring Survey Program is conducted by the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM). Data from the COVID Impact Monitoring Survey Program are available to report on the experiences of Australian adults aged 18 and over since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The survey included a little over 3,000 Australian adults aged 18 and over, of which around 3–4% were aged 18–24.

The survey are undertaken on a representative sample, using the Life in AustraliaTM Panel managed by the Social Research Centre. The Life in AustraliaTM Panel uses random probability-based sampling methods and covers both online and offline populations (that is, people who do and do not have access to the internet).

For a full list of CSRM publications based on the COVID Impact Monitoring Survey Program, see CSRM’s COVID-19 publications.

AusPlay Survey

First year: 2016

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2019

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The AusPlay Survey is a national population tracking survey funded and led by the Australian Sports Commission. Data are collected about participation behaviours and activity. Since October 2015, data have been collected continuously with an annual target sample of 20,000 adults and children aged 15 and over and approximately 3,600 children aged 0–14. Interviews are conducted every week with data aggregated over the year.

From 1 July 2019, the survey uses a random sample of mobile phone numbers only. Weighting is done to reflect the latest ABS estimated resident population projections based on the 2016 Census.

Specific questions relating to COVID-19 were added from April 2020. Data reported in the section COVID-19 and young people in this report is sourced from the report AusPlay Focus: Early impact of COVID-19 on sport and physical activity participation. All AUSPLAY data for that report was collected between January 2019 and September 2020.

eSafety: COVID-19 impacts on Australian adults’ online activities and attitudes

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Standalone

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The eSafety Commissioner’s report COVID-19 impacts on Australian adults’ online activities and attitudes is based on questions prepared by the eSafety Commissioner and included in an omnibus survey conducted by Omnipoll from 21 to 25 May 2020 with a total sample of 1,229 online adults aged 18 and over. Respondents were drawn from the online consumer panel managed by Lightspeed Research. Results were weighted to the ABS data on age, highest level of schooling completed, gender and area.

The questions were developed by the eSafety, and aimed to show how Australians have changed their online behaviour since the beginning of the pandemic. The survey also highlights some key challenges relating to online safety and digital competency.

eSafety: Digital lives of Aussie teens

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Standalone

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The eSafety Commissioner’s report Digital lives of Aussie teens is a survey based on 627 teens aged 12–17 in September 2020. The survey provides a glimpse into the digital lives of teens, how they deal with negative online experiences, the types of information they need to stay safe online and the information sources that they trust. It also looks at the types of positive online behaviours in which they engage.

The data were collected via an omnibus survey undertaken by Omnipoll, using the non-probability-based Lightspeed consumer panel. Data were collected via mobile phone.

eSafety: Youth Digital Participation Survey

First year: 2016

Latest year: 2017

Frequency: NA

Year in this publication: 2017

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The Office of the eSafety Commissioner’s 2017 Youth Digital Participation Survey comprised a random sample of more than 3,000 young Australians aged 8–17, and asked about their experiences and behaviours related to safety online in the 12 months to June 2017. The survey was a nationally representative online survey. The statistical results were weighted based on age, gender and location to be nationally representative of Australian youth. Questions relating to sexting were only asked of survey participants aged 14–17.

Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey

First year: 2001

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2008-2018

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

HILDA is a longitudinal household study that surveys the same cohort of 17,000 Australians yearly on their economic and wellbeing information. The survey comprises of multiple different instruments, including:

  • the Household Form
  • the Household Questionnaire
  • the Person Questionnaire (either a Continuing Person Questionnaire for persons interviewed in the previous waves or a New Person Questionnaire for persons never previously interviewed)
  • the Self-Completion Questionnaire.

Data is collected at the household level from a respondent aged 15 or over.

Longitudinal Study of Australia’s Children (LSAC)

First year: 2003

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: 2 yearly

Year in this publication: 2018

Methodology: Longitudinal survey

Geography: National

Description

The LSAC collects information on physical and mental health, education, and social, cognitive and emotional development of two large cohorts of children (totalling >10,000 children at the outset of the study in 2004). The data is sourced from parents, child carers, pre-school and school teachers and the children themselves. Population estimates from the LSAC represent the population of Australian children born in Australia between March 2003 and February 2004 (B cohort), and those born between March 1999 and February 2000 (K cohort). Data are not representative of children who migrated to Australia. In 2016, the K cohort, reported on this report, were aged 16–17.

Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY)

First year: 1995

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2018

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The LSAY focus on the progress of young Australians as they move from their mid-teens to their mid-20s. LSAY uses large, nationally representative samples of students at school to collect information about education and training, work, financial matters, health, social activities and related issues. Since 2003, the initial survey wave has been integrated with the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Data are initially collected through a combination of school achievement tests and a questionnaire administered at school. Subsequent data are gathered through annual telephone interviews.

The data are collected for different cohorts, and begin when the respondents are age 15. In this report, data are reported for cohorts Y09 and Y15 in 2018, when the respondents were at age 24 and 18, respectively. More than 10,000 students start out in each cohort.

Mission Australian Youth Survey

First year: 2002

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The Mission Australia Youth Survey is an opt-in annual survey of young Australians aged 15–19. The Youth Survey aims to identify the values, aspirations and issues of concern to young people. The survey collects data on a broad range of topics, such as:

  • education and employment
  • factors to securing a job
  • participation in community activities
  • general wellbeing
  • values and concerns
  • preferred sources of support
  • feelings about the future
  • experiences of unfair treatment, financial difficulties and help seeking behaviours.

The Youth Survey was developed by Mission Australia to strengthen Mission Australia’s capacity to support and advocate for young Australians in need. For the 2020 reporting period, the Youth Survey was open between April and August 2020. Young people were engaged via schools, community organisations, and through Mission Australia services.

In 2019 and 2020, the sample size was 25,100 and 25,800 respondents, respectively. The majority (98%) completed the survey online.

National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS)

First year: 2009

Latest year: 2017

Frequency: Every 4 years

Year in this publication: 2013, 2017

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The NCAS is a survey of over 17,500 Australians aged 16 years and over about their:

  • knowledge of violence against women;
  • attitudes towards gender equality;
  • attitudes towards violence against women; and
  • intentions should they witness (or be bystanders to)
  • abuse or disrespect towards women.

The questionnaire was initially developed on behalf of the Australian Government in 1995. The NCAS has been repeated every four years since 2009. The NCAS sample were randomly selected from across Australia. There were 1,561 people in the age group 16–24. A booster sample of 200 young people were approached through families registered with an existing panel established to engage people in research to create a total sample of 1,761 people aged 16–24.

National Survey of Secondary Students and Sexual Health

First year: 1992

Latest year: 2018

Frequency: Approximately every 5 years

Year in this publication: 2018

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The sixth National Survey of Secondary Students and Sexual Health was conducted in 2018 and involved 6,327 students enrolled in Years 10, 11 and 12 in the Government, Catholic and Independent school systems, and from every Australian state and territory.

The survey represents one of the few recurring national surveys in the world to regularly examine young peoples’ knowledge about HIV, sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and other blood borne viruses (BBVs); sexual health-related behaviours including condom use; and, more recently, ‘sexting’ and cyberbullying experiences; and educational factors that influence young peoples’ sexual knowledge and practices.

The 2018 survey was fully online and anonymous, and included a diverse cross-sectional representation of secondary students in Australia. Sampling quotas were informed by two sets of targets based on the latest (2016) Australian census data:

  • school type (Government, Catholic, other non-government), gender (male, female), and year in school (10, 11 and 12).
  • location (state and territory) with planned oversampling from lower population states and territories (ACT, NT, TAS).

Minimum quotas were calculated based on the proportion of the total population for each target and the statistical power considerations (i.e., the minimum sample size needed in each sub-group to detect group differences that were at least medium in effect size). Total population proportions were derived from 2016 census data for Year 8 through 10 students as these provided the best estimates of the total population of Year 10 through 12 students in 2018.

Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) National Child Health Poll

First year: 2015

Latest year: 2021

Frequency: Quarterly

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The RCH National Child Health Poll is a quarterly, cross-section survey of a nationally representative sample of 2000 Australian households with children (aged 0–17). It aims to shed new light on the big issues in contemporary child and adolescent health. Each quarter a different topic or theme is the focus of the poll.

The surveys are conducted using rigorous, established web-based survey technology provided by a private vendor, the Online Research Unit (ORU), under contract to the RCH. ORU has an established research panel of over 120,000 members across Australia from which the poll sample is drawn. Panel members are aged 18 and older and are randomly recruited through both online and offline methods.

Each sample is subsequently weighted to reflect the latest Australian population figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics census data.

The Poll COVID-19 pandemic: effects on the lives of Australian children and families was conducted from 15–23 June 2020.

Student Experiences Survey (SES)

First year: 2015

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2019

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The SES is the only comprehensive survey of current higher education students in Australia. Around 198,000 undergraduate students and 97,000 postgraduate coursework students from Australian universities and non-university higher education institutions (NUHEIs) participated in the 2020 SES. The survey collects information that helps both higher education institutions and the government improve teaching and learning outcomes, and reports on multiple facets of the student experience.

Student Wellbeing Survey

First year: 2019

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2019, 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: South Australia

Description

The Tasmanian Student Wellbeing Survey collects information from students in years 4 to 12 about their social and emotional wellbeing, their engagement at school and their experiences outside of school.

In 2019 Term 3, 16,000 took part in the survey; in 2020 Term 3, 13,200 took part. The collection includes government schools only. In 2020, Tasmania first ran the survey in Term 1 with participation impacted by COVID-19. To support schools, Tasmania provide the opportunity for a further collection in Term 3. As this report only contains the Term 3 collection data, it provides a partial picture of 2020 data for Tasmania.

UNICEF Australia: Views and experiences of young people living through the pandemic

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Three phases

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

UNICEF Australia conducted nationally representative surveys of young peopled aged 13–17 in Australia to understand how the pandemic has impacted the youngest generation. The survey was the first of a three-phase investigation into the views and experiences of young people in Australia living through the coronavirus pandemic. The first phase, reported in Living in limbo, was conducted between 7 and 16 April 2020 and included 1000 young people. The second phase, Swimming with sandbags was conducted between 9 July and 4 August 2020 included 1,289 young people. At the time of publication, findings from the third phase had not been published.

Wellbeing and engagement collection (WEC)

First year: 2013

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2019, 2020

Methodology: Survey

Geography: South Australia

Description

The South Australian WEC is a survey that collects information from students in years 4 to 12 about non-academic factors relevant to learning and participation. The WEC gives schools the community and government an insight into what needs to occur to ensure students experience success and are provided with resources and opportunities to reach their full potential. The survey asks young people about how they think and feel about their experiences, both inside and outside of school. The survey includes questions related to areas of development linked to wellbeing, health and academic achievements.

In 2019 Term 1, 56,600 took part in the survey; in 2020 Term 3, 38,400 took part. The collection includes government and some non-government schools.

Young Minds Matter Survey

First year: 2013–14

Latest year: 2013–14

Frequency: Standalone survey

Year in this publication: 2013–14

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The Young Mind Matters Survey (also known as the Second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing) covered a range of topics relating to the health and wellbeing of young people (aged 4–17 years) in Australia. Over 6,000 Australian families were randomly selected and interviewed. Parent questionnaires were conducted by trained interviewers and if the survey child was aged between 11 and 17, they were asked to complete a questionnaire on a tablet computer.


Administrative data sets

ABS Causes of Death

First year: 1993

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 1999-2019

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

ABS Causes of Death presents statistics on the number of deaths, for reference year by state or territory of Australia, sex, selected age groups, and cause of death classified to ICD (view Appendix A). To complete a death registration, the death must be certified by a doctor or a coroner specifying cause of death. The registration of deaths is the responsibility of States and Territories, and death data is transferred to the ABS by individual Registrars.

ABS Recorded Crime—Offenders

First year: 2007–08

Latest year: 2018–19

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2018–19

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National, state/territory

Description

ABS Recorded Crime—Offenders presents statistics about the characteristics of alleged offenders who were proceeded against by police during a 12-month reference period. The collection provides a profile of alleged offenders, including their age, sex, Indigenous status, principal offence, how often they have been proceeded against by police within the reference period, as well as a count of proceedings that may result in court or non-court actions.

ABS Recorded Crime—Victims

First year: 1993

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2010-2019

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National, state/territory

Description

ABS Recorded Crime—Victims presents statistics about victims of selected offences that came to the attention of, and were recorded by police during a 12-month reference period. Selected characteristics about the victim (including sex and age) or incident (including weapon use and location) are also presented, as well as the outcome of the police investigation at 30 days from the time of report. Information about the relationship of the offender to the victim and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status of the victim is also presented for selected states and territories.

AIHW Child Protection National Minimum Data Set (CP NMDS)

First year: 2012–13

Latest year: 2019–20

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2017–18 to 2019–20

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

The CP NMDS contains information on the demographics of children and young people who receive child protection services, including:

  • notifications received by child protection departments
  • care and protection orders
  • out-of-home care placements.

Data for this collection are from the administrative systems of each of the eight state and territory departments responsible for child protection (with aggregate data provided by NSW).

The report Child protection in the time of COVID is a point-in-time report that provides an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 observed in available child protection data for Australia. It covers the period March to September 2020. The data for the report were supplied by states/territories through an accelerated national data sharing approach.

AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD)

First year: 1993–94

Latest year: 2018–19

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2007–08 to 2018–19

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

The NHMD is a collection of episode-level records from admitted patient morbidity data collection systems in Australian hospitals. It is a comprehensive data set that has records for all episodes of admitted patient care from essentially all public and private hospitals in Australia.

A record is included for each separation, not for each patient, so patients who separated more than once in the year have more than one record in the NHMD.

AIHW National Mortality Database (NMD)

First year: 1964

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 1999–2019

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National, state/territory

Description

The NMD holds records for deaths in Australia from 1964 to 2019, including information about causes of death and characteristics of the person such as sex, age at death, area of usual residence and Indigenous status. Cause of death data is sourced from the Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory.

AIHW National Non‑admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database (NNAPEDCD)

First year: 2003–04

Latest year: 2019–20

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2016–17 to 2019–20

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National, state/territory

Description

Non-admitted Patient Emergency Department Care (NAPEDC) National Minimum Data Set/National Best Endeavours Data Set (NMDS/NBEDS) were used by the AIHW to assemble the National Non‑admitted Patient Emergency Department Care Database (NNAPEDCD). The data cover waiting times and other characteristics of presentations to public hospital emergency departments.

The NNAPEDCD provides information on the care provided (including waiting times for care) for non‑admitted patients registered for care in public hospital emergency departments that have:

  • purposely designed and equipped area with designated assessment, treatment, and resuscitation areas
  • the ability to provide resuscitation, stabilisation, and initial management of all emergencies
  • availability of medical staff in the hospital 24 hours a day
  • designated emergency department nursing staff 24 hours per day 7 days per week, and a designated emergency department nursing unit manager.

AIHW Specialist Homelessness Services Collection (SHSC)

First year: 2011–12 (annual reporting); July 2017 (monthly reporting)

Latest year: 2019–20 (annual reporting); 2020 (monthly reporting)

Frequency: annual and quarterly reporting

Year in this publication: 2019–20 (annual reporting); 2020 (monthly reporting)

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

The SHSC obtains information about adults and children who seek assistance from specialist homelessness agencies. A person is classified as a ‘client’ once they receive services, and a ‘support period’ is the period a client receives assistance from a SHS agency. Data are collected on an ongoing basis and submitted to the AIHW on a monthly basis. Monthly data is publically available for July 2017 onwards.

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Student Attendance Data Collection

First year: 2014

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2014–2018

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

ACARA collects, manages, evaluates and reports information about educational outcomes. This includes national reports on NAPLAN data, yearly publications on the schools registered in Australia, student attendance and data on student outcomes. ACARA has also released minister approved measurement frameworks, which lists and defines measures for national reporting from the 2015 reporting year.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) current situation and case numbers

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: As available

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

Data on the number of COVID-19 cases, active cases and deaths are published by the Department of Health on their web page Coronavirus (COVID-19) current situation and case numbers. These data show:

  • the number of cases locally acquired, overseas acquired and under investigation in the last 24 hours
  • current number of active cases, hospitalised cases and tests conducted in the last 24 hours
  • total number of cases, deaths and tests.

DSS Payment Demographic Data

First year: 2013

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: As available

Year in this publication: 2010–2020

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

DSS Payment Demographic Data are constructed from Services Australia administrative data. Data are based on counts of recipients on the last Friday of December in the year being reported on (for example, the 25th of December in 2020), unless otherwise specified.

Kids Helpline

First year: Service established in 1991; data published by AIHW from September 2019

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Weekly data published at irregular intervals

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

Kids Helpline provides a free 24/7 Australian telephone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25. It was established in 1991. Data from Kids Helpline can be used to report on answerable contacts attempts (call, webchat and email). AIHW has reported weekly data for the period September 2019 to January 2021.

Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) data collection

First year: 1984

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Monthly

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

The MBS data collection contains information on services that qualify for a benefit under the Health Insurance Act 1973 for which a claim has been processed. The database comprises information about MBS claims (including benefits paid), patients and service providers.

National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS)

First year: 2019

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Monthly

Year in this publication: 2019

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: Selected states and territories

Description

The NASS is a world-first public health monitoring system providing timely and comprehensive data on ambulance attendances in Australia. The NASS is a partnership between Turning Point, Monash University and jurisdictional ambulance services across Australia. Through funding by the AIHW as a component of the National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring Project, the NASS will collate and code monthly ambulance attendances data for participating states and territories for self-harm behaviours (suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, death by suicide, self-injury) and mental health.

In the first release, data for New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) have been reported. Data snapshots of 1 month per quarter for the months of March, June, September and December 2019 for Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT and for June, September and December 2019 for NSW are reported.

National Apprentices and Trainees Collection

First year: 1995

Latest year: 2020

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 1995–2020

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

The National Apprentice and Trainee Collection holds data on all people employed under a training contract and includes both apprentices and trainees. Hence, the data on apprentices and trainees are more complete than the sample included in the ABS Survey of Education and Work. Data are collected from state training authorities and include demographic information, schooling and prior education, and cultural and language attributes of people participating in an apprenticeship/traineeship training contract.

National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

First year: 2008

Latest year: 2019

Frequency: Yearly

Year in this publication: 2009–2019

Methodology: National testing

Geography: National

Description

The NAPLAN tests have been conducted annually for all students across Australia in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 since 2008, and provide nationally comparable data. It tests skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. National minimum standards have been developed for reading, writing, spelling, language conventions (grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP)

First year: 1989–90

Latest year: 2018–19

Frequency: Ongoing

Year in this publication: 2017–18

Methodology: Administrative data

Geography: National

Description

The NHMP collects data on the following:

  • all cases resulting in a person or persons being charged with murder or manslaughter. This excludes driving-related fatalities except those that immediately followed a criminal event such as armed robbery or motor vehicle theft, or which resulted in a charge of murder or manslaughter being laid
  • all murder-suicides classed as murder by police
  • all other deaths classed as homicides by police, including infanticides, whether or not an offender was apprehended.

The NHMP draws on two key sources of data:

  • offence records obtained from each Australian state and territory police service and supplemented, where necessary, with information provided directly by investigating police officers and/or associated staff
  • state coronial records such as toxicology and post-mortem reports. The National Coronial Information System (NCIS) has allowed coronial findings, including toxicology and autopsy reports, to be accessed online since 1 July 2001. Prior to 2001, the AIC accessed paper-based coroners files for the period 1 July 1996 to 30 June 2001.

National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)

First year: 2009

Latest year: 2021

Frequency: Daily

Year in this publication: 2009–2020

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

Data on rates of nationally notifiable diseases come from the NNDSS, which coordinates the national surveillance of more than 50 communicable diseases or disease groups, including COVID-19. Under the NNDSS, doctors, diagnostic laboratories and hospitals are required by law to notify their state or territory health authority when cases of particular communicable diseases are identified. This data is collated, analysed and published on the Internet by the Australian Government Department of Health on a daily basis.

Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

First year: 2000

Latest year: 2018

Frequency: Every 3 years

Year in this publication: 2018

Methodology: Survey

Geography: International

Description

The PISA examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained around the world, and allow educators and policy makers to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries.

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

First year: 2001

Latest year: 2016

Frequency: Every 5 years

Year in this publication: 2011, 2016

Methodology: Study

Geography: International

Description

PIRLS is a large-scale assessment of reading literacy for students in Year 4, supported by extensive data about country, school and classroom learning environments. It is a sister projects to TIMSS. Australia participated for the first time in 2011, and again in 2016. Around 50 countries and 11 benchmarking entities participated in PIRLS 2016. In Australia, around 286 schools and more than 6000 students in Year 4 were involved.

World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Explorer

First year: 2020

Latest year: 2021

Frequency: Daily

Year in this publication: 2020

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: International

Description

The WHO coronavirus disease (COVID-19) explorer aims to provide frequently updated international data visualizations of daily cases and deaths. Caution must be taken when interpreting all data presented, and differences between information products published by WHO, national public health authorities, and other sources using different inclusion criteria and different data cut-off times are to be expected. While steps are taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, all data are subject to continuous verification and change. All counts are subject to variations in case detection, definitions, laboratory testing, and reporting strategies between countries, states and territories.