Australian Bureau of Statistics – Personal Safety Survey (PSS)

4–5 yearly

2021–22

The survey is conducted by the ABS and collects information from people aged 18 years and over in private dwellings across Australia (excluding very remote areas) about the nature and extent of violence experienced since the age of 15.

It also collects detailed information about people’s experience of:

• current and previous partner violence and emotional abuse since the age of 15
• stalking since the age of 15
• physical and sexual abuse before the age of 15
• witnessing violence between a parent and partner before the age of 15
• lifetime experience of sexual harassment
• general feelings of safety.

The PSS uses the ABS Short Disability Module¹ to identify the presence of disability or a restrictive long-term health condition. Disability or a restrictive long-term health condition is defined as having at least one condition which restricts everyday activities, for at least 6 months.

The PSS identifies six disability groups based on particular types of disability:

• sensory and speech
• intellectual
• physical restriction
• psychosocial
• head injury, stroke or acquired brain injury (ABI)
• other.

People may have more than one type of disability. In reporting by disability groups, people could be counted more than once if they have disabilities from more than one disability group.

The PSS classifies disability according to the degree of limitation or impairment in core activities into profound, severe, moderate, and mild limitation. In addition, the PSS distinguishes people with disability who have no limitation in core activities but have schooling or employment restriction, and people with disability who have no specific limitation or restriction. The ADS OF reports on outcomes of people with severe and/or profound disability, as well as outcomes of people with other disability status (people with disability who have disability status other than severe or profound). 

Age refers to the age of a person on their last birthday.

Sex information was collected using the question 'what is your/[names's] sex'. The response categories available were 'male', 'female' and 'another term'.

The 2021–22 PSS was developed in 2019 prior to the release of the Standard for Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation Variables (2020). As such, some responses to this question may reflect gender rather than sex (or sex at birth).

The PSS question about sexual orientation was designed to collect data on self-perceived sexual identity (how a person thinks of their sexuality and the terms they identify with) and a person's romantic or sexual attraction to others.

While data for person who described their sexual orientation as gay or lesbian, bisexual, or used a different term such as asexual, pansexual or queer have been combined into a single output category for ADS OF reporting purposes, experiences of violence may vary across each group.

Information on Indigenous status is not collected.

The CALD cohort includes people born in countries other than main English-speaking countries (Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Canada, Republic of Ireland, and South Africa), and/or those who mainly speak a language other than English at home. People born in main English-speaking countries who mainly speak English at home are included in the non-CALD cohort.

While the survey also collected data on proficiency in spoken English, these data could not be provided due to data quality concerns.

Remoteness is classified according to the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). Data source does not cover very remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. ³

The data is available at the national level. The sample for the PSS provides sufficiently reliable state and territory and national level estimates for women. The sample provides sufficiently reliable national level estimates for men.

• Experience of violence
• Seeking support following assault
• Experience of domestic violence

1. The Short Disability Module used in the PSS to identify the presence of disability has been found to overestimate the number of people with less severe forms of disability (4431.0.55.002 - ABS Sources of Disability Information, 2012 - 2016).
2. Disability status is collected as at the time of the survey. It does not indicate whether a person had disability at the time of an incident of violence.
3. Further information on the geographic index used by this data source can be found at Remoteness Structure | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au).