EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 313

 

Issued by the authority of the Assistant Treasurer

 

Subject - Census and Statistics Act 1905

 

Census (2006) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

 

Section 27 of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters and things which, by the Act, are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

Subsection 8(1) of the Act provides that the Census shall be taken in the year 1981 and in every fifth year thereafter, and at such other times as are prescribed. Thus the next National Census is to be conducted in 2011.

 

Subsection 8(2) of the Act provides that for the purposes of taking of the Census, the day shall be a day appointed by Proclamation.

 

Subsection 8(3) of the Act provides that for the purposes of the taking of the Census, the Australian Statistician shall collect statistical information in relation to the matters prescribed for the purposes of that section.

 

Section 2 of the Act provides that the Act, other than Part III (which relates to collection of statistical information other than by the National Census of Population and Housing), extends to such external territories as are prescribed.

 

The Census (2006) Regulations 2005 (the Principal Regulations) currently prescribe the external territories to be included in the Census and the matters in relation to the statistical information to be collected.

 

The purpose of the Amendment Regulations is to make some minor amendments to update the Principal Regulations to more precisely describe one of the prescribed matters, and to update the Principal Regulations so that they conform with current drafting practice. These amendments have no impact on the undertaking of the Census.

 

Details of the Amendment Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Amendment Regulations may be exercised.

 

The Amendment Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Amendment Regulations will commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

Consultation

 

In February 2008, the Australian Statistician announced that the 2011 Census would be conducted on a comparable basis to the 2006 Census due to budgetary pressures. As a consequence, from that point onwards no new topics were considered for the 2011 Census. The public consultation process that had been underway was withdrawn in February 2008 as a result of this decision.

 

The decision does not compromise the integrity and quality of the existing range of Census data, but does limit the capacity of the ABS to consider changes to the 2011 Census form to include information not currently collected.

 

The ABS values the support of the nation in conducting the five yearly Census of Population and Housing and will consider all submissions received for the 2011 Census as part of the preparations for the 2016 Census. The ABS will invite further comment at that time.

 

In recognition of the need for the public to be as fully informed as possible on the Census, details of the topics and associated questions to be included in Census forms will be made available in an Australian Bureau of Statistics information paper entitled 2011 Census of Population and Housing: Nature and Content (Catalogue No. 2008.0) to be tabled in Parliament at the same time as the Regulations.

 

Additionally, as the amendments to the Regulations are minor in nature and do not substantially alter the existing arrangements, consultation is unnecessary as deemed under the Legislative Instruments Act s18(2)(a).

 

 

ATTACHMENT

 

DETAILS OF THE CENSUS (2006) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2009 (No. 1)

 

Regulation 1 specifies the name of the Regulations, as the Census (2006) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No 1).

 

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations will commence on the day after registration.

 

Regulation 3 provides the amendments to the Census (2006) Regulations 2005 as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Schedule 1

 

Item 1 in Schedule 1 changes the name of the Regulations to remove the reference to the 2006 Census and align the name with the name of the Act, the Census and Statistics Act 1905, to conform with current drafting practice. The Regulation is now called the Census and Statistics (Census) Regulations (2005).

 

Item 2 in Schedule 1 removes regulation 3, regarding repealed legislation, which is a spent provision.

 

Item 3 in Schedule 1 removes the definition of ‘Census day’ as Census day is defined in the Census and Statistics Act 1905 and can be determined for each particular Census year by looking at the day appointed by Proclamation under subsection 8(2) of the Act.

 

Item 4 in Schedule 1 inserts an explanatory footnote noting Census day is defined in the Act.

 

Item 5 in Schedule 1 amends the prescribed matter at 1.3 from ‘Age’ to ‘Date of birth or age last birthday’. This aligns the items in Schedule 1 with the particular wording used on the Census form.