Know your area - Glossary

Glossary

The following are definitions for terms used in the Know Your Area section of the Department of Sustainability and Environment website. Some of the definitions are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This section of also explains the the acronyms used and certain methodolgies used to derive certain datasets. Please email us if further terms can be added or telephone us on (03) 9637 9570.

Copyright in ABS data resides with the Commonwealth of Australia. Used with permission.

Further information
Methodologies

A I B I C I D I E I F I G I H I I I J I K I L I M I N I O I P I Q I R I S I T I U I V I W I X I Y I Z

A

ABS - Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australia’s official statistical agency, whose functions are outlined in the Census and Statistics Act 1905 and other legislation. Many of the definitions supplied here are those used by the ABS.

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B

Births

The delivery of a child, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, who, after being born, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as a heartbeat.

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C

Certifications of residential lots

Councils provide the number of residential lots for which certification has been given. Certifications is given when a plan complies with the conditions of the planning permit or planning scheme provisions.

CD - Collection District (also known as CCD)

The census Collection District (CD) is the smallest geographic area defined in the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). It has been designed for use in the Census of Population and Housing as the smallest unit for collection, processing and output of data (except for some Work Destination Zones).

CDATA96

A range of Tables from the 1996 Census, released by the ABS for small areas of Australia. Some comparative data from previous Census years are also included.

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D
Deaths

The death of a person where a death certificate can be issued. A death is counted as indigenous where the death information form contains an identifier of indigenous status.

Dwelling approvals

The Australian Bureau of Statistics provide the number of "houses" and "other residential" dwellings approved for each municipality

DOI regions

The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) has a network of offices across Victoria, so that it is constantly aware of local issues and ideas, and its service delivery is accessible, responsive and timely.
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E

Estimated Resident Population (ERP)
Estimates by ABS of the Australian population, obtained by adding to the estimated population at the beginning of each period the components of natural increase (on a usual residence basis) and net overseas migration. For the States and Territories, account is also taken of estimated interstate movements involving a change of usual residence. After each census, estimates for the preceding intercensal period are revised by incorporating an additional adjustment (intercensal discrepancy) to ensure that the total intercensal increase agrees with the difference between the ERPs at the two respective census dates.

Estimates of the resident population are based on adjusted (for underenumeration) census counts by place of usual residence, to which are added the number of Australian residents estimated to have been temporarily overseas at the time of the Census. Overseas visitors in Australia are excluded from this calculation.

The concept of ERP links people to a place of usual residence within Australia.

Further info please visit the ABS 2001 Census Working Paper - Fact Sheet: Population Measures

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H

Households
A household is defined as a group of two or more related or unrelated people who usually reside in the same dwelling, who regard themselves as a household, and who make common provision for food or other essentials for living. A person who makes provision for his/her own food and other essentials for living is considered a separate household under this definition.
Simillarly, in a group house where occupants share the dwelling, each occupant who usually supplies his/her own food should be counted as a separate household and issued with a separate Census Household Form. In practice, however, most such households usually only complete one form.

For census purposes, the total number of households is equal to the total number of occupied private dwellings. Analysis of Labour Force Survey data for August 1991 showed that the incidence of multiple household dwellings was only 0.65%.

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L

Labour force

For any group, persons who were employed or unemployed, as defined.

Labour force status

A classification of the civilian population aged 15 years and over into employed, unemployed or not in the labour force, as defined. The definitions conform closely to the international standard definitions adopted by the International Conferences of Labour Statisticians

Local Government Areas (LGAs)

Areas defined by appropriate State legislation for administration by a Local Government Authority.
Further info: National Library of Australia

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N

Natural increase
The size of annual population change after the annual number of deaths has been subtracted from the annual number of births. Natural increase is one of two main sources of population change, the other being net migration. Note that natural increase can be a negative value (ie. a natural decrease) if annual deaths outnumber annual births.

Net migration
The size of annual population change after departures (emigrants) have been subtracted from arrivals (immigrants). The net effect can be positive or negative. Arrivals and departures include those resulting from overseas migration, interstate migration, and, for smaller areas, within-State (intra-State) migration.

Non Private Dwellings
Non-private dwellings provide a communal or transitory type of accommodation, usually where some facilities are shared. They include hotels, motels, prisons, religious institutions, defence establishments, nursing homes, hospitals, student halls of residence and other communal dwellings.

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P

Persons in occupied private dwellings
The number of people living in occupied private dwellings.

Persons in non-private dwellings
The number of people living in non - private dwellings.

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R

Residential lots released

Councils provide the number of lots which have been completed to the satisfaction of the Council and have been issues with a Statement of Compliance. At this point the subdivision requirements have been satisfied for roadworks, drainage, water supply and any other construction.

Residential lots in subdivision plans submitted to councils

Councils provide the number of residential lots which were submitted to them in subdivision in subdivision plans where a planning permit is required for subdivision.

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S

Statistical Local Areas (SLAs)

The base spatial unit used to collect and disseminate statistics other than those collected through the population census. Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) consist of one or more Census Collection Districts (CDs) at a census date. Where possible, Statistical Local Areas are, in fact, Local Government Areas. There are 1336 SLAs in They cover, in aggregate, the whole of Australia without gaps or overlaps. SLAs are used in defining and compiling data at the part of State level. (Further details are included in Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (Cat. no. 1216.0).)

State regions

State regions are Victoria (78 council areas), Regional Victoria (47 councils area) and Melbourne Metropolitan area (31 council areas).

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T

Total private dwellings(including vacant)
Build structures that provide private accommodation – normally a house, flat, part of a house, or even a room, but can also be a house attached to, or rooms above, shops or office, a caravan in a caravan park or craft in a marina, a houseboat, or a tent if it is standing on its own block of land.

Occupied private dwellings equate in Census terms to households. Unoccupied private dwellings are considered as vacant, and are calculated as part of the building stock for dwelling projections. Vacancy rates vary considerably across different parts of Victoria and between seasons.

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U

Unemployment numbers (persons)
Persons aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:

had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and:
were available for work in the reference week; or
were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week, and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

Unemployment rate (%)
For any group, the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force in the same group.

Usual residence (a Census term)

That place where each person has lived or intends to live for six months or more from the reference date for data collection.

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W

Water supply conditions acccepted for residential lots

Water supply authorities provide the number of formal offers made by these authorities and accepted by land owners for the provision of water supply to residential lots in plans.

Further information

The ABS website has information on classifications, concepts and methods used in the derivation of data.

Try their:

Methodologies

Methodologies are used to explain how the datasets have been derived for the inclusion in Know Your Area.

How DSE Population Projections are calculated
(Source: DSE, Victoria in Future 1996 - 2021 )

The number of people in Victoria’s future population is affected by births, deaths, and migration.

In order to produce a set of population projections, assumptions are made about each of these factors. The projections prepared by the Department are based upon fertility and migration assumptions used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in their Series L projections for Victoria (ABS cat. no. 3222.0).

The Department uses a combination of three methods when producing its population projections: demographic; household, and land availability.

The demographic approach uses a base year population figure as a starting point, in this case 1996. Birth rates and death rates are applied to each age group within the population. This provides information about natural increase. Interstate and overseas migration is taken into account when projecting future population. For Victoria, the level of net interstate migration (arrivals minus departures) has been assumed to be a loss of 7,000 persons per year up until 2021. The net overseas immigration level for Victoria (number of immigrants minus number of emigrants) is assumed to be 21,400 per year up until 2021.

Household analysis provides an additional level of understanding of population change. An estimate of average household size up until 2021 is determined by using the projection data developed in the demographic approach and allocating these yearly populations into household types (eg. family; lone person, etc.).

Land availability plays an important role in population change in cities, especially at the local level. If an area has limited land available for future residential development, then population growth may be physically constrained. The types of land data that the Department incorporates into its projections include: dwelling commencements (the number of new dwellings built each year); stock loss (demolition or conversion to other uses); and vacancy rates (proportion of unoccupied dwellings).

For further technical information on the assumptions and methodology used in preparing the population projections, readers should refer to Victoria in Future: Methodology and Assumptions prepared by the Urban and Regional Research branch of the Department.

How ABS Population Projections are calculated
(Source: ABS Demographic Estimates and Projections: Concepts, Sources and Methods Cat. No. 3228.0, Chapter 3. Statistical Local Area population estimates

Population estimates at sub-State level are compiled for geographical areas known as Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) in accordance with the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC). These SLAs, which conform to, or combine to form, Local Government Areas (LGAs), are the basic unit of a hierarchy of geographic areas within each State for which estimates are compiled.

While national and State population estimates are compiled quarterly, SLA estimates are compiled for 30 June each year only. All SLA estimates are constrained to add to their respective State population totals.

Population estimates are referred to as either preliminary, revised or final. Preliminary estimates are generally made available 6 to 12 months after the reference period. Revised estimates are generally available each November for the financial year ending in the previous year (eg. revised estimates for the 30 June 1997 would be available in November 1998). Final estimates are published for the previous intercensal period after each census.

An age/sex disaggregation of all SLA population estimates has been produced annually since 1986. The estimates are published in five year age groups and are also available by single years of age.

In those cases where boundaries have changed, SLA population estimates and their components (births, deaths, and migration) produced since the beginning of the last intercensal period are adjusted to reflect current boundaries, for the purpose of time-series analysis.

In Census years the estimated resident population (ERP) as at 30 June for each Statistical Local Area (SLA)/Local Government Area (LGA) is based on usual residence census counts. To these counts are added an adjustment for net census undercount and the number of residents temporarily overseas at the Census date. As the 1996 Census was held on 6 August, further adjustments were made to obtain the ERP at 30 June 1996.

For post-censal years, the absence of migration data at the SLA level means that it is not possible to estimate SLA populations by taking into account natural increase and net migration. Instead, ERPs are calculated using a mathematical model. Local knowledge, including that advised by local governments, may be used to adjust the outcome of the model for a particular SLA.

In the mathematical model a relationship is established between changes in population and changes in other indicators over the period between the two most recent censuses. The choice of indicators varies across the States depending on availability, and includes dwelling approvals, electricity connections, Medicare enrolments and drivers licenses. Changes in these indicators are then used to estimate changes in the population of each area since the last census. The choice of indicators also varies across SLAs depending on aspects such as whether the SLA is urban or rural, is growing or declining, and whether the area has a high or low proportion of houses or medium and high density dwellings.
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