You are here:

  • Print

Overview

There has been significant progress in the quality and availability of statistical information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the last decade in Australia. This progress is due to a number of factors including a co-ordinated approach to information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the health, community services and housing sectors, regular reporting on the health and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and improved data quality and availability in both survey, Census and administrative data.

Despite these achievements, many challenges remain. The varying level of identification between different data collections, within each data collection over time, and between regions, makes it difficult to assess changes over time and between different regions. The mismatch between how people identify or are identified in Censuses and some administrative datasets, for example death records, poses specific problems. In addition, collecting information that is conceptually and culturally relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be challenging.

A number of national agreements and strategic plans have been developed in the health, community services and housing sectors. These strategic plans provide a guide to further improvements in the availability and quality of national information on Indigenous Australians. These, and some of the data issues in relevant national administrative data collections, surveys and the Census are the subject of this page.

Those working on developing data collections or improving existing collections in the health sector, need to have regard to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Data Principles (170KB DOC) endorsed by the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC) in October 2006. The data principles provide a guide to a culturally respectful foundation for the collection, storage and use of health and health-related information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. All jurisdictions have been encouraged to adopt and promote the principles within their boundaries.

The AIHW takes account of the data principles in its work in developing and improving information on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

On this page

National Agreements and Plans

Framework agreements exist in the health, community services and housing sectors and provide structures for addressing the quality and availability of Indigenous statistics. These agreements and plans are outlined below.

Health

NAGATSIHID Strategic Plan 2006-2008 (2006)

The National Advisory Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Information and Data Strategic Plan 2006-2008 (the Plan) outlines the priorities of NAGATSIHID in the period 2006-2008 for improving the quality and availability of statistical information on the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Plan presents 20 themes grouped in four information and data priority areas:

  1. Approaches to health information, development, collection and use: Developing health information and evidence; Data protocols; Return of data to communities/use of data by communities; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistical workforce; Culturally appropriate measures of health; and International collaboration and international comparisons
  2. Priorities for information development: Enumeration of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population; Surveys; Administrative data; Primary health care; Other health services; Mental health; Violence; Prisoners' health; and Health workforce
  3. Analytical work: Health trends; Avoidable mortality and morbidity; Burden of disease; and Health expenditure
  4. Key statistical reports: Health status and health service delivery.

An additional five 'themes that need further consideration' are also listed: disability, children's hearing loss, nutrition, community grief and cultural competency and cultural awareness. The Plan also highlights the context of each of the twenty themes, the role the National Advisory Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Information and Data NAGATSIHID and next steps for monitoring progress against each theme.

Community services

National Community Services Information Strategic Plan 2005-2009 (2005)

The National Community Services Information Strategic Plan 2005-2009 (the Plan) outlines priorities for the National Community Services Information Management Group (NCSIMG) for the 5-year period. The Plan outlines three key areas for action over the period 2005-2009.
These are:

  1. Data infrastructure
  2. Sector-specific data
  3. Cross-sectoral data.

Specifically, Indigenous issues fall under 'cross-sectoral' priorities and include six approaches to improving the availability and quality of Indigenous status information across the community services sector:

  1. Ensure sector-specific information takes into account the needs of Indigenous clients
  2. Review progress made towards priorities in existing strategic documents on Indigenous information in the community services (see also the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Services Information Plan, below)
  3. Assess improvements in Indigenous identification in community services data sets
  4. Identify gaps and shortcomings in availability of Indigenous information in the community services sector
  5. Co-operate with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Working Group (ATSISWG) and the Community Services Ministers' Advisory Council (CSMAC) to identify relative priorities
  6. Work with stakeholders such as NAGATSIHID, to foster the development of appropriate protocols for community services information.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Services Information Plan  (2002) 

In 1999, the need for high quality data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in community services data collections was identified as one of the highest priorities in the National Community Services Information Development Plan, produced by NAGATSIHID and endorsed by CSMAC.

This report, released in 2002, includes the draft National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Services Information Plan, proposed principles and standards for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander client data in the community services and a review of current Indigenous status collection protocols in the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), Commonwealth State Disability Agreement (CSDA) and Child protection/welfare data collections.

The report highlighted three goals and developed seven guiding principles for Indigenous status data collection in the community services:

Goals 

  1. to develop a supportive base and infrastructure for data collection and use
  2. to improve the technical aspects required to facilitate quality Indigenous community services information
  3. to ensure national commitment to implement recommendations to improve Indigenous information.

Principles 

  1. Accurate information on Indigenous clients is to be collected as a matter of high priority
  2. The collection of information on Indigenous clients is to be conducted in a manner that is ethical, relevant, culturally sensitive and non-threatening
  3. A standardised approach to collection should be developed for comparability of data across collections, jurisdictions and between the community services and health sectors.
  4. There should be regular review and refinement of collection practices.
  5. Training for staff should be provided in a manner that is culturally sensitive and taking regional differences into account
  6. The privacy and confidentiality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and communities will be protected
  7. Departments and agencies in receipt of Indigenous community services information have a responsibility to provide appropriate feedback to the individuals and communities which provide the information.

Housing

Agreement on National Indigenous Housing Information (2000)

The Agreement on National Indigenous Housing Information is an initiative of the Housing Ministers' Reform Agenda for Indigenous housing (1997). The Agreement has a number of aims:

  1. that information collected under the Agreement will inform the development of strategies to improve Indigenous Housing Information at the national level and improve access to quality information to those who are providing or receiving housing assistance.
  2. to maintain and protect data confidentiality, facilitate the use of data, protect the rights of signatories in relation to their data provided under this Agreement and reduce the likelihood of unnecessary data collection and reporting activities (for example, duplication), thereby minimising data collection and reporting costs.

The long-term goal of this Agreement is to have a workable means of obtaining nationally relevant Indigenous housing data, collected in a way that is compatible and consistent with other information initiatives in Australia that cover other housing data and other relevant health and community services data.

National information on Indigenous Australians

Administrative data

The AIHW holds a number of national administrative data sets, including: the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set; the National Cancer Statistics Clearing House; the National Community Mental Health Care Database; the National Hospital Morbidity Database; the Juvenile Justice National Minimum Data Set; the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program National Data Collection; and the National Reporting Framework administrative data collection. These data sets are listed below, with an overview of Indigenous data quality within the collection and a link to the relevant AIHW subject page for more information.

Health

Alcohol and other drug treatment services The Alcohol and other drug treatment services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS NMDS) is a subset of alcohol and other drug treatment services information that is routinely collected by states and territories to monitor treatment services within their jurisdiction. In 2004-05, the percentage of episodes with a 'not stated' Indigenous status in the AODTS NMDS was 5.2% nationally.

Cancer registries Activities are undertaken across the states and territories to improve the identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people among the registered cancer cases. However, reliable national cancer incidence data for Indigenous Australians is not yet available.

Community mental health services The National Community Mental Health Care Database was collated for the first time for 2000-01. This data collection is based on the NHDD definitions for the National Minimum Data Set for Community Mental Health Care, which includes the data element for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, based on the standard ABS question on Indigenous status. Rates at which Indigenous peoples accessed community mental health services should be interpreted with caution, as there is likely to be an underestimate of the actual number of service contacts for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. Indigenous clients may have been reported as non-Indigenous or they may have been represented within the service contacts with a 'not stated' Indigenous status (8%).

 Hospital separations The National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) is based on the National Health Data Dictionary (NHDD) definitions for the National Minimum Data Set for Admitted Patient Care. Information concerning the number of hospitalisations of Indigenous people is limited by the accuracy with which Indigenous patients are identified in hospital records. Problems associated with identification result in an underestimation of hospitalisations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. Recent work by the AIHW on the quality of Indigenous status data in hospital separations records has resulted in recommendations for appropriate analysis of Indigenous status data and for improving the quality of the data. These recommendations propose that analysis should be undertaken using data only from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

Community Services

Juvenile justice In 1999, the Community Services Ministers' Advisory Council (CSMAC) agreed to fund the National Community Services Information Management Group (NCSIMG) for the establishment of a Juvenile Justice National Minimum Data Set (JJ NMDS) in order to provide nationally comparable statistics on the experience of young people who come into contact with the juvenile justice system in Australia. Since that time the JJ NMDS has successfully been established. The ABS standard question on Indigenous status is one of the data items collected as part of the NMDS. In 2006, the AIHW released the first publication of data, Juvenile justice in Australia 2000-01 to 2003-04. That report shows that, in 2003-04, the percentage of young people for whom Indigenous status was unknown/not recorded was 8.8%.

Supported Accommodation Assistance Program The AIHW is the National Data Collection Agency (NDCA) for the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) National Data Collection. The SAAP National Data Collection was established in July 1996 and provides information necessary to assist in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of the SAAP program. The SAAP NDC targets data quality assurance to two areas: client consent and agency participation. A sophisticated system of adjustment for those clients who do not consent to providing information on their Indigenous status has ensured that the total number of clients and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients can be estimated. In 2004-05 the rate of client non-consent in the SAAP National Data Collection was 9.1%, and the agency non-participation rate was 17%. The missing/not stated Indigenous status rate was 3.6%.

Housing 

National Reporting Framework administrative data collection The NRF administrative data collection was developed by the AIHW to collect annual data on Indigenous community housing. This is currently an aggregate data collection but the AIHW is working with jurisdictions to develop a national unit record data collection for Indigenous community housing.

Census and survey data

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in consultation with government agencies and other key stakeholders, including representatives of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, collects data on Indigenous people through the national census and a number of survey programs. Some information is provided below. For more detailed information see: Directions in Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics on the ABS website.

Indigenous data in the Census

The ABS has developed strategies to ensure that statistics collected during the 2006 Census (8th August 2006) will accurately represent the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. These strategies include:

  • Procedures and protocols for collection that allow sufficient flexibility to account for the unique cultural characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society and individual communities
  • Awareness raising about the 2006 Census through community visits and promotion at key community events, such as NAIDOC
  • An aim to achieve a strong representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff in Regional Office Census Management Units, Field and Collector positions.

For the 2001 Census the ABS implemented a special Indigenous enumeration strategy and used a range of evaluation techniques and strategies to monitor, report on and improve the quality of Census measures.

The number of people that were identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in the 2001 Census was 410,000. After taking into account both instances in which Indigenous status was not stated and cases were no Census data were collected from some people (i.e., undercount), the ABS estimates that in 2001, there were 458,500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, which equals 2.4% of the total population.

Between 1996 and 2001, the count of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased by 16%. The magnitude of this increase can only be partially explained in terms of natural increases, determined by births, deaths and migration levels. Much of the additional change appears to be the result of increasing numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people identifying as Indigenous on census forms. This trend, and the fact that the components of natural increase are poorly reported for the Indigenous population, makes the estimation of the Indigenous population difficult to determine for the inter-censual periods. In addition, the calculation of incidence and prevalence rates for specific diseases in a population depends upon reliable population estimates, and the experimental nature of these estimates for the Indigenous population means any rate calculations must be treated with caution.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) The NATSIHS was conducted between August 2004 and July 2005, surveying a total of 10,044 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and children. This survey has been the largest ABS health survey of Indigenous Australians to date. The results presented in the NATSIHS publication include the 395 Indigenous people who were surveyed in the 2004-05 NHS. The NATSIHS included only Indigenous people, although non-Indigenous parents/guardians of Indigenous people were able to act as a spokesperson for the child. The survey was conducted in private dwellings in both remote and non-remote regions across Australia. The information collected in the survey includes health status, risk factors and actions and socio-economic circumstances of Indigenous Australians.

The survey was designed to be comparable to the 2001 and 2004-05 NHS results for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over and residing in private dwellings were in scope for the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). The survey was carried out between August 2002 and April 2003 and builds on the 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey (NATSIS) and complements the 2002 General Social Survey (GSS).

Information collected in the NATSISS covers topics of social concern for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including health, education, culture and labour force participation. The NATSISS is part of the ABS Indigenous Survey Program, and is to be conducted every 6 years. The next NATSISS will be carried out in 2008.

Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey (CHINS) The second Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey (CHINS) was conducted by the ABS in 2001. The survey collected information about all discrete Indigenous communities and Indigenous organisations that provide housing to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The CHINS collected information on all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned housing organisations and discrete Indigenous communities. Data collected includes details of the number of houses, management and income/expenditure practices of Indigenous housing organisations, and details of housing and related infrastructure including water, electricity, sewerage, rubbish collection. Data were also collected on facilities and services available to the Indigenous communities surveyed, including: education, sport and recreation facilities, health services, transport and communication infrastructure.