B A S I C   C O M M U N I T Y   P R O F I L E   E X P L A N A T O R Y   N O T E S
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INTRODUCTION	1.  The Basic Community Profile provides 32 tables containing key			Family	10.  A family is defined as two or more persons, one of whom is at least
	census characteristics of persons, families and dwellings for the following				15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de
	geographic levels:  CD, SLA, LGA, CED, SED, Uc/L, SSD, SD,  S. Dist.,				facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the
	Postal Area, Suburb, Section of State, State, Australia.  It is based				same household.  Family tables include same sex couples.
	on place of enumeration.
				Family income	11.  Family income is the sum of the personal incomes of each resident
	2.  Information was collected from the 1996 Census of Population and				family member aged 15 years and over.  Family income is not
	Housing.				applicable to non-family households such as group households or lone
					person households; or to people in non-private dwellings.
	3.  Each table title in the Community Profile consists of two parts.  The
	first part lists the variables included in the table.  The second part			Household	12.  A household is defined as a group of two or more related or unrelated
	describes the table population.				people who usually reside in the same dwelling, who regard themselves
					as a household, and who make common provision for food or other
	4.  A glossary of terms and concepts used in the Community Profiles				essentials for living; or a person living in a dwelling who makes
	appears below.				provision for his/her own food and other essentials for living, without
					combining with any other person.
	5.  For more information on classifications and Census
	concepts see the 1996 Census Dictionary (Cat No. 2901.0).				13.  For Census purposes, the total number of households is equal to the
					total number of occupied private dwellings.
GLOSSARY
				Household income	14.  Household income is the sum of the personal incomes of each
Aboriginal and/or	6.  The 1996 Census was the first census to allow a person's origin to be				resident household member aged 15 years and over.  If any household
Torres Strait Islander	recorded as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; prior to this only				member did not state their income, or was temporarily absent,
Origin	one or the other could be recorded.				household income is not calculated.  These households fall into the
					'Partial income stated' category.
Commonwealth	7.  Some CEDs cross State and Territory boundaries.  The implication of this
Electoral Divisions	is that State totals derived from CEDs will not equal the official State total			Nfd	15.  Nfd means 'not further defined'.
(CEDs)	counts.  Therefore State totals will not be provided for the BCP at CED level.
				Overseas visitor	16.  In the 1996 Census, overseas visitors were treated differently
Employed full-time/	8.  Employed 'full-time' means that the person worked 35 hours or more				compared to previous censuses.  In 1996,  age, sex and registered
part-time	in all jobs during the week prior to Census night.  Employed 'part-time'				marital status were the only person variables recorded for overseas visitors,
	means that the person worked less than 35 hours in all jobs during the				whereas in previous censuses, information on all topics at the person level
	week prior to Census night.				was recorded.  For further information please contact the ABS and request
					a copy of  Census Fact Sheet 15.
Employed full-time/	9.  For Census purposes, people who stated they were employed, but
part-time (cont'd)	worked zero hours in the week prior to Census night have been coded to			Place of	17.  The Census count, based on place of enumeration, is a count of every
	'employed part-time'.			enumeration	person who spent Census night in Australia.  People are counted where
					they are on Census night, which may not be where they usually live.
B A S I C   C O M M U N I T Y   P R O F I L E   E X P L A N A T O R Y   N O T E S (cont'd)
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Postal  Area	18.  A Postal Area of CD of Enumeration is formed by aggregating whole			DATA QUALITY (cont'd)
	collection districts (CDs) that fall within physical boundaries of a postcode
	on a best fit basis.  As the name implies, the data are supplied			Random	25.  Cells containing small values are randomly adjusted to avoid
	on a place of enumeration basis.  This series excludes non-mappable			Adjustment	releasing information about particular individuals, families or households.
	Australia Post postcodes e.g. post office box postcodes, some				The effect of random adjustment is statistically insignificant.
	postcodes which are delivery routes which are also covered by other
	postcodes (a situation which often occurs in rural areas) and some			Respondent error	26.  Processing procedures cannot detect or repair all errors made by
	postcodes which, because of the application of the 'best fit' principle, do				persons in completing the form, therefore some may remain in final data.
	not get a CD allocated to them.  A listing of alternative  postal area
	allocations is available from ABS offices.			Undercount	27.  Although the Census aims to count each person once, there are
					some people who are missed and others who are counted more than
	19.  Some Postal Areas cover CDs in more than one State or Territory				once.  A post enumeration survey is conducted soon after the Census
	boundary.  The implication of this is that State totals derived from Postal				to measure the undercount.
	Areas will not equal the official State total counts.  Therefore, State totals
	are not provided for the BCP at Postal Area level.			Household Income	28.  Due to operational limitations, the family/household income imputation
				(HIND) and Family	methodology may result in an undercount of the number of families/
Table population	20.  Table population is a description of what the table is counting.  For			Income(FINF)	households in the $1,500 - $1,999 range and a balancing overcount in the
	example, tables containing marital status usually have a table population				$2,000 range.  No other income ranges are affected.  This may also affect
	of persons aged 15 years and over.  It appears under the table title.				the median income estimate if the median falls in either of these ranges.
Tenure type	21.  In the 1996 Census, the number of categories has increased and now				29.  The calculation of median income is based on imputations made
	includes 'being purchased under a rent/buy scheme', 'being occupied				from the Survey of Income and Housing Costs, and as such is subject to
	rent free' and 'being occupied under a life tenure scheme'.				sampling error.  This is particularly evident if the median falls into the
					highest income range, where the quoted median is a proxy only and
DATA QUALITY	22.  The Census is subject to a number of inaccuracies resulting from				should be regarded with caution.
	errors by respondents or mistakes in collection or processing of the data.
	Some of these are overcome or 'repaired' by careful processing				30.  For explanation of these issues and the technical imputation of
	procedures and quality management of the processing itself.  The				dollar ranges,  please contact the ABS and request a copy of Census
	effect of those that remain is generally slight, although it may be more				Fact Sheet 7 - Income Imputation.
	important for small groups in the population.  The main kinds
	of error to keep in mind are:			Usual Residence	31.  A minor processing error has been identified in the variables Usual
					Residence Indicator 1 year ago (UAI1P) and Usual Residence Indicator 5
Partial non-response	23.  In some cases where an answer was not provided to a question				years ago (UAI5P). For further information on the nature and extent of the
	an answer was imputed or derived (often from other information on				error, please contact the ABS and request a copy of Census Fact Sheet 9.
	the form).  In other cases a 'not stated' code was allocated.
					32.  Further information on data quality will be provided progressively in
Processing error	24.  While such errors can occur in any processing system, quality				Census Update and in the 1996 Census fact sheets and working papers.
	management is used to continuously improve the quality of processed
	data, and to identify and correct data of unacceptable quality.