Technical notes

Data sources

ABS Census and population data

Throughout this report, population data were used to derive rates of, for example, cancer incidence and mortality. The population data were sourced from the ABS using the most up-to-date estimates available at the time of analysis.

To derive its estimates of the resident populations, the ABS uses the 5-yearly Census of Population and Housing data and adjusts it as described here:

  • all respondents in the Census are placed in their state or territory, Statistical Local Area and postcode of usual residence; overseas visitors are excluded.
  • an adjustment is made for people missed in the Census.
  • Australians temporarily overseas on Census night are added to the usual residence Census count.

Estimated resident populations are then updated each year from the Census data, using indicators of population change, such as births, deaths and net migration. More information is available from the ABS website.

Australian Cancer Database

All forms of cancer, except basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, are notifiable diseases in each Australian state and territory. This means there is legislation in each jurisdiction that requires hospitals, pathology laboratories and various other institutions to report all cases of cancer to their central cancer registry. An agreed subset of the data collected by these cancer registries is supplied annually to the AIHW, where it is compiled into the ACD. The ACD currently contains data on all cases of cancer diagnosed from 1982 to 2015 for all states and territories with the exception of 2015 New South Wales data.

Cancer reporting and registration is a dynamic process, and records in the state and territory cancer registries may be modified if new information is received. As a result, the number of cancer cases reported by the AIHW for any particular year may change slightly over time and may not always align with state and territory reporting for that same year.

The Data Quality Statement for the ACD 2014 can be found at METEOR website.

Further information about the Australian Cancer Database.

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) collates data from eight accreditation service agencies who deliver National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards accreditation.

The NSQHS Standards were developed by the ACSQHC in collaboration with the Australian Government, states and territories, private sector providers, clinical experts, patients and carers. The primary aims of the NSQHS Standards are to protect the public from harm and to improve the quality of health service provision. The eight NSQHS Standards provide a nationally consistent statement about the level of care consumers can expect from health services.

Further information about the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.

Australian Vocational Education and Training Statistical Collections

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) collects data about the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector through a number of statistical collections:

  • Students and courses collection
  • Apprentice and trainees collection
  • VET in Schools collection
  • VET funding collection.

VOCSTATS is a product which allows users to extract data via an interactive web interface using databases containing data from various NCVER collections.

Further information about Vocational Education and Training Statistical Collections.

Child Dental Benefits Schedule data

The Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) provides individual benefits for a range of basic dental services to eligible children aged 2–17 years. Services can be provided in a public or private setting. Benefits are not available for orthodontic or cosmetic dental work and cannot be paid for any services provided in a hospital.

Further information about the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.

Payment of benefits under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule is administered by Services Australia. Although the Child Dental Benefits Schedule is not part of Medicare, statistics are captured through the Medicare Benefits Schedule, and are available under Category 10 – Dental Benefit Schedule of the Medicare Group Reports.

Higher Education Student Data Collection

The Australian Government Department of Education is responsible for the collection and dissemination of statistics relating to the provision of higher education at all Higher Education Institutions that have been approved under the Higher Education Support Act 2003. The department manages a comprehensive set of statistics referred to as the Higher Education Statistics Collection. Data included in the Higher Education Student Data Collection includes:

  • course information including level, field of education and special course flag
  • numbers and characteristics of students undertaking course, including
  • location of permanent home residence
  • completion of units of study and courses.

Further information about the Higher Education Student Data Collection.

National Child Oral Health Study

The National Child Oral Health Study (NCOHS) provides a descriptive ‘snapshot’ of oral health in the child population of Australia. Data are collected from children aged 5–14 years, residing in all Australian states and territories. Information is collected using interviews and standardised dental examinations.

The study identified individual, family, community and dental system factors associated with oral health outcomes of Australian children and compares the oral health status of children across different aspects of the dental services system.

The NCOHS was last conducted in 2012–14. The National Oral Health Plan 2015–2024 calls for a population-based epidemiological study of the oral health of children to be conducted every 10 years.

National Death Index

The NDI is a database, housed at the AIHW, that contains records of all deaths occurring in Australia since 1980. The data are obtained from the registrars of births, deaths and marriages in each state and territory. The NDI is designed to facilitate the conduct of epidemiological studies and its use is strictly confined to medical research. Cancer incidence records from the ACD were linked to the NDI and used to calculate the survival and prevalence data presented in this report.

The Data Quality Statement for the NDI can be found at METEOR website.

National Dental Telephone Interview Survey

The National Dental Telephone Interview Survey (NDTIS) is a telephone survey of a random sample of the Australian population aged 5 years and over. The survey collects oral health and dental care data, monitors the extent of social inequalities within the dental sector, and investigates the underlying reasons behind dental behaviours and the consequences of these behaviours.

Data collected included measures of self-reported oral health status, use of and access to dental services, social impact of oral health, financial burden of dental care and private health insurance that covered dental expenses. There is no clinical component to the survey.

The survey is conducted every 2–3 years. Surveys were conducted in 1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2013.

Further information about the National Dental Telephone Interview Survey 2013.

National Health Survey

In the 2017–18 National Health Survey, about 16,400 private dwellings across Australia were surveyed, with a total of approximately 21,300 people. All urban and rural areas in all states and territories were included but, non-private dwellings, Very remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities were excluded. Within each randomly selected dwelling 1 adult (18 or over) and 1 child (0–17) were interviewed. Adults were personally interviewed by an ABS interviewer. An adult, nominated by the household, was interviewed about one child in the household; some children aged 15–17 may have been personally interviewed with parental consent.

The survey collected a wide variety of data on areas such as body mass index, physical measurements (for example, measured waist circumference, weight, height), blood pressure, breastfeeding, smoking, fruit and vegetable intakes, dietary behaviours, alcohol consumption, exercise and sedentary behaviour. The key results provide information on the prevalence of long-term health conditions, health risk factors and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

Further information about the National Health Survey.

National Health Workforce Data Set (NHWDS)

The National Health Workforce Data Set combines data from the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme with data collected from the Dental Workforce Survey conducted at the time of a practitioner’s annual registration or renewal. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency collects these data.

The data set includes information on the size and characteristics of the dental workforce (dentists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental prosthetists and oral health therapists) as well as:

  • the type of work done by, and work setting of, dental practitioners
  • the number of hours worked in clinical or non-clinical roles
  • the numbers of years worked, and the years they intend to remain in, the dental practitioner workforce
  • those registered dental practitioners who are not currently undertaking clinical work or who are not employed.

Further information about the National Health Workforce Data Set

National Hospital Morbidity Database

The National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD) is a collection of records from admitted patient data collection systems in Australian hospitals. The data supplied in the NHMD are based on the National Minimum Data Set (NMDS) for Admitted patient care. The AIHW compiles the database from data supplied by the state and territory health authorities. It contains demographic, administrative and length of stay data, and data on the diagnoses of the patients, and the procedures they underwent in hospital. Principal diagnoses were recorded using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM).

Further information about the National Hospitals Data Collection.

References

ACCD (Australian Consortium for Classification Development). The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM). Tabular list of interventions, and alphabetic index of interventions. Adelaide: Independent Hospital Pricing Authority.

National Survey of Adult Oral Health

The National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH) provides a descriptive ‘snapshot’ of oral health in the adult population of Australia.

The survey describes levels of oral disease, perceptions of oral health and patterns of dental care. Data are collected from a representative cross-section of people aged 15 years and over, residing in all states and territories of Australia. Information is collected using interviews and standardised dental examinations.

The National Oral Health Plan 2015–2024 calls for a population-based epidemiological study of the oral health of adults to be conducted every 10 years. The NSAOH was last conducted in 2017–18. In total 15,731 persons aged 15 years and over participated in the interview, with 5,022 receiving a dental examination.

Patient Experience Survey

The Patient Experience Survey is conducted annually by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and collects national data on access and barriers to a range of health care services, including dental professionals.

The survey includes data from people aged 15 years and over that accessed health services in the last 12 months, as well as from those who did not, and enables analysis of health service information in relation to particular population groups. Data are also collected on aspects of communication between patients and health professionals.

The 2017–18 Patient Experience Survey collected information from around 28,200 people across Australia.

Further information about the Patient Experience Survey

State and territory public dental data collections

Public dental services are operated by state and territory governments, with eligibility for services and the organisation of services varying greatly across the jurisdictions. As such, there are no comprehensive national data sources available. Each state and territory submitted data from their own public dental collections.

Further information about public dental services in each state and territory: