Retirement intentions and labour force participation by older workers

On 9 December 2013, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the results of its 2012–13 survey on retirement and retirement intentions. The data collected by the survey provides information on retirement trends, the factors which influence decisions to retire, and the income arrangements that retirees and potential retirees have made to provide for their retirement. Another indicator of retirement behaviour is the participation by older workers in the labour force.

Australians eat poorly, are overweight and unfit: but it’s not all bad news

Image: City of Tea Tree Gully

The Australian Health Survey, a regular survey of Australia's health, shows that most Australian adults have a poor diet, are either overweight or obese and don’t get enough exercise. These unhealthy habits put us at greater risk of a range of adverse health outcomes including the development of serious diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

The first results, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 29 October 2012, cover health status, health risk factors and long term health conditions. Results to be released later will cover health service use, more detailed information on dietary intake, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, biomedical health measures, and representative results for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

Small business - 2011 profile

Image source: business.gov.au

Small business accounts for the majority of businesses in Australia. In terms of economic output and employment, it also makes a significant contribution.

2011 Census release

Image Source: http://www.abs.gov.au/

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released the first data from the 2011 Census of Population and Housing. Australia’s population has risen to over 21.5 million, with more people born overseas. There has also been an increase in the proportion of Australians identifying as Indigenous, and fewer people now identify a religious affiliation.

Australia’s migrant population is growing and changing

In the decade to 2011, the proportion of the population who were born overseas increased from 27.4% to 30.2%.

Over the same period, the proportion of Australians with at least one parent born overseas increased from 42.7% to 46.3%

There was a shift away from Europe and towards Asia.

• The number born in India more than trebled, from 95 452 in 2001 to 295 362 in 2011.
• The number born in China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) more than doubled from 142 780 to 318 969.

Re-counting the homeless





Image source: SA Government



Counting the Homeless reports provide the most comprehensive picture of homelessness in Australia today. However, recently the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released a discussion paper that calls into question the methodology underpinning Counting the Homeless figures. In the paper, the ABS proposes a new methodology for estimating the number of homeless Australians which, if it were implemented, would result in a statistically significant reduction in the estimate of homeless Australians.

Suicide in Australia

Suicide is a preventable death that has very complex issues underlying it. According to the World Health Organization, each year approximately one million individuals commit suicide worldwide—one death every 40 seconds. Many more attempt suicide (around 10–20 million) each year. Suicide is ranked as one of the three leading causes of death among people aged 15–44.

In Australia, 2132 deaths were as a result of suicide in 2009—six deaths per day—higher than transport accident deaths (1479). Even though suicide deaths are relatively small (out of a total of 140 760 registered deaths), it is a leading cause of death, ranked 14th in 2009 (the same as in 2000) but, more significantly, ranked 10th as a cause of death amongst males.

Disability Support Pension Customers: Statistical Summary

The Disability Support Pension (DSP) is a means tested payment for people with a disability. To be eligible for the DSP a person must be permanently blind or have a permanent physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment. To qualify for the DSP, a person must be aged 16 years or over but have not reached pension age at the time of claiming (for more information on eligibility see the Centrelink website).

As at June 2010, there were 792 581 DSP customers, this is an increase of 35 463 (4.7 per cent change) from the previous year. As a proportion of the total Australian working age population, DSP customers (aged 15 to 64) made up 5.2 per cent. Of the 792 581, only 20 per cent (158 714) did not received the maximum rate of payment due to the income or assets test.

Recent statistics on aged care

The annual Report on Government Services (ROGS) produced by the Steering Committee for the Review on Government Service Provision (SCRGSP) provides an overview of expenditure and delivery of government services. The most recent report reflects the new terms of reference for the ROGS reporting framework agreed at COAG in December 2009. For aged care, this means that there is additional information such as: information about compliance with service standards for all community care packages (including National Respite for Carers Program), selected adverse events in aged care and the number of hospital patient days for patients waiting for residential aged care (these are indicators for aged care in the National Healthcare Agreement) and time series data to enable comparisons across years from programs such as the Home and Community Care program (HACC).