Interpreting OSR data
On this page:
This page contains general information to aid in interpreting OSR data. The information on this page should be used in conjunction with additional information contained in the:
- Technical notes
- data tables accompanying this report – see Data
- data quality statements for the OSR collection – see Online Services Report (OSR) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander specific primary health care organisations (2022–23)
- Department of Health and Aged Care’s Health Data Portal.
In this report, where there are small numbers of reporting organisations in a state or territory, data are presented combined with another state or territory. This is the case for the Australian Capital Territory (presented combined with New South Wales) and sometimes for Tasmania (presented combined with Victoria).
Organisational participation and data exclusions
Not all organisations in-scope to report data to the OSR collection do so. This varies by year (tables 1 and 2).
Collection period | In-scope to report data | Reported data | Participation rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
2018–19 | 232 | 232 | 100.0 |
2019–20 | 235 | 215 | 91.5 |
2020–21 | 238 | 211 | 88.7 |
2021–22 | 234 | 230 | 98.3 |
2022–23 | 233 | 232 | 99.6 |
Note: Includes primary health care organisations and maternal and child health organisations.
Collection period | In-scope to report data | Reported data | Participation rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
2018–19 | 210 | 210 | 100.0 |
2019–20 | 215 | 196 | 91.2 |
2020–21 | 218 | 191 | 87.6 |
2021–22 | 215 | 211 | 98.1 |
2022–23 | 214 | 213 | 99.5 |
Note: Excludes maternal and child health organisations.
For the organisation that do report data, particular data items may be excluded from analysis if data quality issues have not been resolved. Common data quality queries received during data submission relate to:
- incomplete or inaccurate data (for example, workforce positions not reported or reported in terms of the number of people rather than full-time equivalent positions)
- data discrepancies between 2 or more questions (for example, the number of clients exceeding the number of episodes of care)
- large increases or decreases in data items compared with previous submissions.
Where significant data quality issues remain after follow-up with organisations, affected data are excluded from analyses. This varies by year and by data item (Tables 3 and 4).
Because OSR data items are generally reported by all organisations, a consistent number of organisations contribute to each result in each period unless there are data exclusions.
Collection period | Number of organisations with unresolved issues | Total number of organisations that reported data | Organisations with unresolved issues (%) | Data items excluded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2018–19 | 5 | 232 | 2.2 | 10 |
2019–20 | 2 | 215 | 0.9 | 3 |
2020–21 | 6 | 211 | 2.8 | 6 |
2021–22 | 15 | 230 | 6.5 | 20 |
2022–23 | 2 | 230 | 0.9 | 2 |
Note: Includes primary health care organisations and maternal and child health organisations.
Collection period | Number of organisations with unresolved issues | Total number of organisations that reported data(a) | Organisations with unresolved issues (%) | Data items excluded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2018–19 | 4 | 210 | 1.9 | 5 |
2019–20 | 2 | 196 | 1.0 | 3 |
2020–21 | 6 | 191 | 3.1 | 6 |
2021–22 | 15 | 211 | 7.1 | 20 |
2022–23 | 2 | 213 | 0.9 | 2 |
Note: Excludes maternal and child health organisations.
Maternal and child health organisations
In this report, unless otherwise noted, data from the small number of organisations that received funding only to provide maternal and child health programs or services are excluded. This is because these organisations (referred to as maternal and child health organisations) are significantly different from other organisations reporting to the OSR collection, both in terms of what they are funded for and what they report.
Maternal and child health organisations should only report activity funded under the Indigenous Australians Health Programme (IAHP) but some report all activity and this varies by period. See also ‘Changes to the collection in 2018–19’.
Selected OSR data from maternal and child health organisations are provided in Data.
Changes to the collection in 2018–19
In 2018–19, the OSR collection underwent significant change to submission mechanism and content. In particular, in 2018–19 the collection:
- was moved into the Health Data Portal (previously submitted via OCHREStreams)
- was scaled back to include only ‘core’ items – items dropped include the substance use and social and emotional wellbeing modules, and the services provided and cultural safety items.
In addition, in collections prior to 2018–19, maternal and child health organisations:
- primarily answered different questions (in a separate module) to other organisations
- generally did not report data on number of clients, client contacts or episodes of care
- reported inconsistent workforce information, with some only reporting funded FTE while others reported more broadly.