Frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the AIHW website

FAQs presents answers to many of the frequently asked questions about the services and information on the AIHW website. Each of the Subject Portals and the pages in the 'About Us' sections has an FAQs section that are worthwhile checking for further information.

On this page:

• What is the AIHW?
• What legislation deals with the AIHW?
• How do I download a publication?
• What is a PDF file?
• Making a PDF file more accessible
• How do I reference AIHW web pages or documents?
• My browser font size is too small or too large to read.
• My browser doesn't seem to be displaying the pages properly.
• How do I receive notifications of new AIHW reports and releases

What is the AIHW?

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is Australia's national agency for health and welfare statistics and information. We were set up by an Act of Parliament to report to the nation on the state of its health and welfare. As an independent agency, we work with many government and non-government bodies across the nation to generate reliable, regular and current facts and figures on the health and welfare of Australians.

What legislation deals with the AIHW?

The AIHW is established and operates under the provisions of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Act 1987. The Institute is in the Health and Ageing portfolio of the Federal Government. Here is a full list of AIHW-specific legislation.

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Act 1987 [external link]
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Regulations 2006  [external link]
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Ethics Committee Regulations 1989 [external link]

How do I download a publication?

If you experience any difficulty simply clicking on a link to a PDF file on this site and opening it, try downloading the PDF file to your hard disk rather than loading it via the browser (which most browsers will do by default if Acrobat has been installed).

In Internet Explorer right-click (on a Macintosh, the right-click equates to click-and-hold) on the link to the PDF file then select 'Save Target As ...' from the menu which appears, while in Mozilla Firefox or Netscape Navigator select 'Save Link As ...'. A 'Save As ...' dialogue box will appear so the file may be saved to a convenient location (e.g. your hard disk). The saved file may then be opened directly.

If the download takes no time to complete and the file still won't open, your browser may have cached an intermittent error and be repeating that error. Follow the directions outlined above but, instead of just left-clicking on 'Save Target As ...', hold down the SHIFT key and left-click on the option.

What is a PDF file?

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format, created and licensed by Adobe Systems Incorporated, which is used to represent a document in a manner independent of the application software, hardware and operating system used to create it. Links to PDF files on this web site include the file size and the three letter suffix 'PDF'.

Most publications on this web site have been prepared as PDF files which can be viewed on screen and printed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. These files have the advantage of retaining the original formatting used in the printed version. Most web browsers allow you to view a PDF file within the browser window rather than downloading the file and viewing it separately. Acrobat and the Acrobat logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

•  Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from Adobe.

Making a PDF file more accessible

The Adobe Acrobat Access Plug-in 4.05 enables vision impaired users to read Adobe PDF documents in Acrobat 4.0x or Acrobat Reader 4.0x. The Access plug-in supplements the standard Acrobat and Reader display of PDF documents with an alternative view that supports screen-reading applications for Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT. This view presents the textual content of a PDF file in a separate window. The window contains the text in an approximated reading order. Standard Acrobat features, such as hypertext links, notes, bookmarks, sounds, and movies, are available in the Access view.

•  Adobe Acrobat Access Plug-in is available free of charge from Adobe.

How do I reference AIHW web pages or documents?

The recommended reference style for the AIHW website is

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2006. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Viewed 1 January 2006, <www.aihw.gov.au>.

The recommended in-text citation is

(AIHW  2006)

The recommended reference style for a web page or document is

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2006. Cancer. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Viewed 1 January 2006, <www.aihw.gov.au/cancer/index.cfm>.

Further examples:

Publication:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2006. Australia's health 2006. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. PDF, viewed 1 January 2007, <www.aihw.gov.au/publications/aus/ah06/ah06.pdf>.

A chapter in one of our flagship publications (Australia's Health and Australia's Welfare):

Bhatia K 2006. Health of Australians. In: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (ed.). Australia's health 2006. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 15-129. PDF, viewed 1 January 2007, <www.aihw.gov.au/publications/aus/ah06/ah06.pdf>.

Note: Reference the full-publication PDF rather than a part-publication PDF.

Data cube:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2007. Number of new cases and age-specific rates for selected cancers by year of registration, sex and 5 year-age groups. COGNOS data cube. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Viewed 1 January 2007, <www.aihw.gov.au/cognos/cgi-bin/ppdscgi.exe?DC=Q&E=/Cancer/cancerageratesv7>.

METeOR website:

METeOR 2007. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Viewed 1 January 2007, <meteor.aihw.gov.au>.

If there is no year listed in a page or document, please use the current year.

My browser font size is too small or too large to read.

This problem is usually caused by the browser font being set to "small" or "large".

If you're using Internet Explorer click on 'View' menu and select 'Text size' and then click on "Medium". 
If you're using Mozilla Firefox or Netscape Navigator click on 'View' menu and change the text size, by clicking on "Increase" or use Ctrl++. Otherwise please refer to your browser's help facility for instructions.

My browser doesn't seem to be displaying the pages properly.

Older browsers may have problems displaying some of the pages on the AIHW website. If this is the case, it is best to bookmark the AIHW website, download and install the latest version of your preferred browser, then return to the AIHW website.

• Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox

Note: Installing a new browser may require restarting your computer!

Note: Netscape Navigator is no longer supported and the browser is no longer being developed. If Netscape Navigator is your preferred browser, try installing Mozilla Firefox instead.

How do I receive notifications of new AIHW reports and releases

AIHW offer a free email service which automatically notifies clients of any new AIHW publications on the day of release.

This is an announcements-only list with low volume (averaging one message a week). Messages provide links to the online version of the report on the Institute's website, and details on how to order the hard-copy version.

To subscribe to receive information about our health or welfare publications, please visit the publication release notices page.