The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's official statistical organisation. We assist and encourage informed decision-making, research and discussion within governments and the community, by leading a high quality, objective and responsive national statistical service.
The principal legislation determining the functions and responsibilities of the Australian Bureau of Statistics are the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 and the Census and Statistics Act 1905.
As part of the creating and maintaining the present national statistical infrastructure the ABS has a strong requirement for locational data. Nationally consistent and accurate locational data is important for the statistical processes of designing, enumerating, processing, validating confidentialising, validating, and disseminating national statistics.
The ABS defines a number of Key Social, Environmental and Economic Indicators which are reliant on locational data. For example, locational data is important in the design collection, processing and dissemination of;
• The Estimated Residential Population
• The National Census of Population & Housing.
• The Land Accounts (part of the the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting - SEEA)
The ABS recognises that it is operating in a dynamic environment and will undergo major transformation to strategically improve the national statistical infrastructure. Locational data will be an important component of future processes and systems that integrate administrative, transactional and traditional Census and Survey data to fulfil the future statistical requirements of the Australian Community. For example an accurately geocoded Address and Business Register will be required for the design and creation of future ABS Census and Survey frames. A nationally accurate, consistent and maintained cadastral database is required for the design of statistical area classifications such as the Australian Statistical Geography Standard requires. The geocoding to the ASGS of the Census of Population and Housing requires the accurate location of every Australian dwelling to create statistics for local areas. Statistical data linkage of administrative data sets will be an important component of a future statistical infrastructure. Locational data is commonly employed as a linkage variable.