ABS Consultation Hub

From 25 July to 6 September 2024, the ABS conducted a fourth and final round of public consultation for the Comprehensive review of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). For this round of consultation, the ABS sought views on the proposed structure of the classification, any implementation concerns and feedback on the web page layout of the draft classification.

This fourth round of consultation was an opportunity for users of the classification to provide feedback for a final time before the classification update is finalised in December 2024.

Organisations and individuals were invited to provide both positive and negative feedback on the draft classification which is based on the proposed changes from the previous three rounds of consultation.

The ABS received over 200 feedback responses from all levels of government, businesses, Jobs & Skills Councils, industry bodies/associations, unions, academics and individuals.

To inform the final updates to the classification structure, its implementation and any other proposed changes, collaborative workshops were organised with a wide range of stakeholders eager to participate and contribute their expertise.

Stakeholders provided both positive and negative feedback on:

• changes already made to occupations following the first three rounds of consultation
• groupings of occupations within the classification structure, and
• changes made to the layout of the classification.

While most changes made to ANZSCO during the review were welcomed by stakeholders, consultation also highlighted areas for refinement, additional emerging occupations and concerns regarding implementation of the new classification.

After four rounds of consultation during 2023 and 2024 and receiving over 800 submissions, the consultation phase of the comprehensive review of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) has concluded. The ABS is now reviewing the feedback received on the draft classification before finalising the updated classification.

Next Steps

The classification update will be released on the ABS website in December 2024.

The updated classification will be reflected in labour market statistics from August 2026 and in the 2026 Census data. This will improve visibility of new and emerging occupations.

We are also working on a plan for more frequent updates of the classification, and a way for users to provide input to these updates.

We extend our thanks and appreciation to all stakeholders who have provided contributions and expressed their views in the comprehensive review and update of the classification.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release a complete monthly measure of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by late 2025, as part of its transformative program called Big Data, Timely Insights: Phase 2 (BDTI).

Stakeholders were invited to provide input on key aspects of the CPI publication design during a public consultation held from 16 November to 15 December 2023.  The public consultation sought formal submissions on this proposed design covering key areas such as release timing, data requirements, publication specifics, and methodologies.

The public consultation was informed by a preliminary Discovery Stage in October 2023, where the ABS engaged directly with a selection of stakeholders to gain insights into their priorities and to lay the groundwork for the initial CPI design.

Feedback on the design of the complete monthly CPI aligned closely with stakeholder insights gathered during the initial Discovery Stage. The primary requests voiced by stakeholders included:

• Prioritise accuracy and data coverage of the complete monthly CPI over improved timeliness of the publication’s release after the end of the reference period, with backing for the ABS’s proposal that the CPI publication continue to be released around four-weeks after the reference period.
• Support for maintaining the same level of detailed commentary and analysis as published in the quarterly CPI with requests for further expansion of the CPI analytical series where feasible.
• Monthly data content consistent with the current quarterly CPI data series incorporating capital city and expenditure class (EC) level data.
• Continue a quarterly data series for continuity of timeseries analysis and legislated indexation requirements.

Further insights provided by stakeholders included:

• Support for publishing data with more decimal places for increased precision.
• Request for a monthly analytical series such as trimmed mean, weighted median, and goods and services categories.
• Support for transparency regarding data collection frequency, coverage, and updates to the CPI Concepts, Sources, and Methods (CSM).

Feedback was also received that is beyond the scope of the BDTI transformation program. This feedback will be evaluated for potential integration in future, including considerations such as expanded product classifications for further international comparability, expanding the Selected Living Costs Index (SLCI) groups, and compiling Regional CPI data.

A complete summary of the public consultation feedback is provided in the Results section below.

Stakeholder consultation has been pivotal in shaping the design of the complete monthly CPI. As a result, commencing late 2025, the complete monthly CPI will:

1. Be released around four weeks after the reference period on a Wednesday.
2. Prioritise data accuracy by implementing comprehensive data collection throughout the entirety of the reference month, rather than restricting it to only the first two or three weeks.
3. Contain the same amount of data, detailed commentary and analysis that is in the current quarterly CPI.
4. Include a monthly seasonally adjusted series and analytical series such as trimmed mean, weighted median, and tradables and non-tradables series.

Initially, due to some of the monthly time series being shorter than the length required for standard seasonal adjustment, only a limited number of seasonally adjusted series will be published in the first two years. The ABS is exploring the quality of trimmed mean and weighted median measures when some expenditure classes cannot be seasonally adjusted with standard methods. We will publish further information on these methods prior to publication.

The existing quarterly series will be maintained, including analytical measures, to ensure continuity for widely used indexation arrangements and time series analysis.  

Additionally, the intended design will also include:

• All groups (headline) CPI, Groups (11), Sub-groups (33), and Expenditure classes (87) for each capital city.
• Contribution to annual and monthly percentage change to the All groups CPI.
• Index numbers published to two decimal places instead of the existing one decimal place. Movements will be presented to one decimal place. 
• No revisions unless there is an exceptional circumstance, such as to correct a significant error, in line with the standard practice for CPI. 

The design of the complete monthly CPI is provided in the Results section below.

Next Steps
Stakeholders will receive ongoing updates from the ABS on the progress of the complete monthly measure of the CPI, methodology, and refined design details.

An implementation plan, along with a mock-up showcasing the complete monthly CPI comprising time series tables and metadata, will be unveiled closer to the publication date. Throughout this period, the ABS will maintain the quarterly release of the Consumer Price Index, Australia  and the Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator. 

As part of our preparation for the 2026 Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have been actively seeking feedback to inform the design of the 2026 Census data products and outputs to ensure our products continue to meet the needs of data users. Part of our consultation process included an online survey, which was available on select Census pages of the ABS website and targeted towards Census data users. The survey ran from 10 October 2023 to 11 December 2023 and focused on understanding data needs, how Census data is used and collecting feedback on existing Census data products.  

The ABS received survey submissions from over 150 users. Feedback was received from multiple levels of government, businesses, community groups, academics, educators and individuals. The feedback we received was diverse and insightful - it highlighted the importance of Census data products and the need for continuous improvement to meet the evolving needs of users. Some key points from the feedback include:

• QuickStats and TableBuilder are the most popular products among Census data users.
• Users find QuickStats easy to use and a good starting point for data queries. They appreciate the format, the ability to start a new search from the results page and the extent of geographies available. Users would like to see more data here however, and the ability to download tables.
• Users appreciate the customisation and granularity of data available through TableBuilder, however find the loss of functionality to preview a table burdensome.
• Community Profiles are mostly used for validation purposes and when QuickStats detail is exhausted. Users appreciate the menu page and uniform layout. Users find the specifics of the tables often don’t meet their needs.
• DataPacks users appreciate the means and medians made available and the design of this product that make it suitable for coding and use in other software. However, users note the formatting is daunting when trying to examine data themselves and downloading files separately time-consuming.

In response to the feedback, we are currently reviewing our products to ensure they continue to meet the needs of our users. We have reached out to selected users who expressed interest in further consultation and will continue to do so as we move towards the release of 2026 Census data in mid-2027.

While our recommendations and prototyping are still being formalised, we want to assure participants that your feedback is shaping our decision-making process. We are committed to releasing quality data products and appreciate the time and effort users have taken to engage with us. Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement. We look forward to sharing more updates with you as we progress towards 2026 Census data release.

Any questions?

Please email census.data@abs.gov.au with any questions on this consultation or for further information.