Everything Totally Explained


Ask & we'll explain, totally!
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Totally Explained


  NEW! All the latest news in the worlds of computer gaming, entertainment, the environment,  
finance, health, politics, science, stocks & shares, technology and much, much, more.  


View this entry using RSS

Everything about The Australian Bureau Of Statistics totally explained

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is Australia's national statistical agency. It came into being, as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 (xi) of the Constitution of Australia. The founding fathers recognised that statistics were going to be important to the new nation and ensured the Commonwealth government had legislative power about census and statistics.
   The present mission of the Australian Bureau of Statistics is to assist and encourage informed decision-making, research and discussion within government and the community by leading a high-quality objective and responsive national statistical service.

Population and Housing

The agency undertakes the Australian Census of Population and Housing. The Census is conducted every 5 years under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905, Section 8. (External Link). The last Australian population census was held on 8 August 2006. Results from the 2006 Census are available on the ABS web site. (External Link).

Research and Development

The ABS has been undertaking surveys to collect estimates from Australian organisations of R&D expenditure and human resources devoted to R&D in Australia since 1978. The results allow the nature and distribution of Australia's R&D activity to be monitored by government policy analysts and advisers to government, businesses and economists.
   There are four surveys and was in use until 1998. It comprised three classification schemes; Type of Activity (TOA), Field of Research (FOR) and Socio-Economic Objective (SEO). In 1998, a second ASRC was released with a revised Socio-Economic Objective classification that used a different numbering range, and a Research Field, Course and Discipline (RFCD) classification to replace FORs. This revised classification came into effect in the 2000 collection period, which was due on 31 August 2001. TOA - R&D activity is categorised according to the type of research effort:
  • pure basic research
  • strategic basic research
  • applied research
  • experimental development RFCD - This classification allows both R&D activity and other activity within the higher education sector to be categorised. Prior to ASRC 1998, this information was collected using a different set of indicators called Field of Research. It has been expanded in order that it can be used within the higher education sector to classify courses, units of study and teaching activity to field. The categories in the classification include recognised academic disciplines and related major sub-fields taught at universities or tertiary institutions, major fields of research investigated by national research institutions and organisations, and emerging areas of study. SEO - This classification allows R&D to be categorised according to the purpose of the R&D as perceived by the researcher. It consists of discrete economic, social, technological or scientific domains for identifying the principal purpose of the R&D. The attributes applied to the design of the SEO Classification comprise a combination of processes, products, health, education and other social and environmental aspects of particular interest.

    Year Book Australia

    ABS produces an annual year book for Australia, called the Year Book Australia, which is the principal reference work produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It provides a comprehensive and detailed statistical overview of various aspects of the economy and social conditions in Australia.
       In addition, it contains descriptive matter dealing with Australia’s geography and climate, government, international relations, defence, education, and the health and welfare support systems.
       In April 2008, the ABS announced the cancellation of the 2009 Year Book due to budgetary constraints. (External Link)

    Australian Statistician

    Since 1975, the head of the ABS has been known as the Australian Statistician. Previously, the office was titled the Commonwealth Statistician. A full list of all office-holders is at Australian Statistician.
       The incumbent (since March 2007) is Brian Pink.

    Further Information

    Get more info on 'Australian Bureau Of Statistics'.


    External Link Exchanges

    Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

      <a href="http://australian_bureau_of_statistics.totallyexplained.com">Australian Bureau of Statistics Totally Explained</a>

    Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
       As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.



  • Copyright © 2007-8 totallyexplained.com | Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License | Site Map
    This article contains text from the Wikipedia article Australian Bureau of Statistics (History) and is released under the GFDL | RSS Version