Review of 2021 Census Topics

Response 1006932744

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Contact details

Who you are representing

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(Required)
Commonwealth government department
State/territory government department
Local government
Business
Industry body/association
Community group
Educational institution
Ticked An individual
Other

What is your submission about?

Please provide a brief summary of your submission

Topic name
Collect information on what type of pets households own, what spp of fish are owned, whether kept indoors or outdoors

Choose your area of interest

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(Required)
Population
Sex and gender
Ticked Households and families
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Income and work
Unpaid work and care
Education and training
Disability and carers
Housing
Location
Transport
Cultural diversity
Religion
Other topic

Topics on Households and families

Choose one or more of the following topics that relates to your submission

Please select all that apply
Ticked Household and family relationships
Marital status
Persons temporarily absent on Census night
Other/unknown

Assessment Criteria 1

1. This topic is of current national importance.

National Importance
This topic is of current national importance as the data is necessary for research purposes. To properly manage the issue of invasive freshwater fish spp in Australia, data are required to understand population size of ornamental/aquatic fish spp and what spp households possess.

Assessment Criteria 2

2. There is a need for data from a Census of the whole population.

For whole population
To understand wholly the spread of invasive freshwater fish in Australian households, data needs to be collected from all households. This is to understand where populations are that could pose a threat to waterways and identify the threat of ornamental/aquarium spp

Assessment Criteria 3

3. The topic can be accurately collected in a form which the household completes themselves.

Easy to answer
Possession of animals will be well known to the surveyed persons and will be an easy multiple choice question. The identification of spp should also be known to the surveyed persons, as buying these animals is generally by spp rather than a broad collection.

Assessment Criteria 4

4. The topic would be acceptable to Census respondents.

Acceptable
No offence to persons is anticipated.

Assessment Criteria 5

5. The topic can be collected efficiently.

Collected efficiently
Collection of the data will be simple as it can be easily added to the previous survey forms layout with minimal cost, as involves little ink or lineage. No major coding will be required and the data can be easily understood.

Assessment Criteria 6

6. There is likely to be a continuing need for data on this topic in the following Census.

Continuing need
To accurately track the spread of invasive freshwater fish in Australia, which is caused majorly by the aquarium trade, data needs to be collected on where the spp are kept in Australia. Collecting this information in 2021 will form a basis of knowledge future research can compare to and call on for statistics of what potentially threatening spp are present in Australia.

Assessment Criteria 7

7. There are no other alternative data sources or solutions that could meet the topic need.

No alternatives
Other than a survey of 2022 households by the Animal Medicines Australia group in 2013 & 2016, that focused on social science questions including household makeup, cost associated, and length of ownership, no data has been recorded on a large scale of what spp of fish are owned in Australia. This gap in knowledge is surprising as this is a pressing topic in a country where invasions of environment- and community- altering pest fish is a major issue, and should be addressed by the ABS.