Guide to Publicly Available Data Sources

Introduction

Strengthen and inform your research for lobbying and advocacy with these Australian publicly available data sources. Through research you can get to know your issues in depth, find out where people stand on those issues, and make a strong evidence-based case for change.

Data / Statistics – General

• Australian Bureau of Statistics
  Australia’s official statistical organisation provides freely available data for social, health, economic, demographic research and Census Data. Browse topic areas including Economy, Industry, People, Health, Labour and Environment.
• Data.gov.au
  A place where users can find data published by the Australian Government and other bodies. People and organisations can use the data for research, study or applications that help the community. Built-in visualisation and mapping tools help users understand the data, most of which is free.
• Australian OECD data
• Parliament of Australia Monthly Statistical Bulletin
  A monthly PDF with the latest economic and social statistics.
• Research Data Australia
  Provides information and access to data from over one hundred Australian research organisations, government agencies, and cultural institutions.
• Australian Data Archive (ADA)
  Archive of social science research data available to academic researchers and other users.
• Google Dataset Search
  Dataset Search enables users to find datasets stored across the Web through a simple keyword search. The tool surfaces information about datasets hosted in thousands of repositories across the Web, making these datasets universally accessible and useful.

Data / Statistics – Specialist

Looking for specialist data and stats? Explore industry bodies, government departments, research centres, organisations and open data portals on various topics.

Education

• Education Statistics, Australian Bureau of Statistics
• My School – Australian government initiative to provide comparable statistics on Australian schools.
• Australian Universities – Key Facts & Data, Universities Australia

Environment / Science / Agriculture

• Australian Bureau of Statistics – Environment
• Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences includes:
  Infographics (food, forest, agriculture, etc.) and Australian Agricultural Census 2015-16 visualisations
• CSIRO Data Access Portal
  The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world. The CSIRO Data Access Portal provides access to research data, software and other digital assets published by CSIRO across a range of disciplines. The portal is maintained by CSIRO Information Management & Technology to facilitate sharing and reuse.

Health / Welfare

• Government health & welfare data, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
  A list from the AIHW about how to access government health and welfare data and an A – Z list of all the data collections.
• QUT Library Guide on Food, Health and Health Care
  For a more comprehensive list see the library guide from the Queensland University of Technology.
• HILDA Survey Data
  The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey is a household-based panel study that collects valuable information about economic and personal well-being, labour market dynamics and family life.
• Australian Bureau of Statistics – Health
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Government agency for health and welfare statistics and information.
• Department of Health and Ageing Statistics
• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Statistics and Data

Indigenous

• Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Data Archive (ATSIDA)
  A specialised trusted research data management facility for Australian Indigenous research data.
• First Nations Data Centre (FNDC)
  Provides access to unpublished and record-level data from First Nations Information Governance Centre’s respected survey work, including the First Nations Regional Health Survey and the First Nations Regional Early Childhood, Education and Employment Survey.
• Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children
  Follows the development of around 1,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families across urban, regional and remote Australia.
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website provides users with information on how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are faring according to 68 measures in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework. Measures cover health status and outcomes, determinants of health, and health system performance. The data is drawn from the Health Performance Framework (HPF).
• The Australian Bureau of Statistics website publishes data on long-term health conditions, health risk factors, selected social and emotional well-being indicators, health measurements and health-related actions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people including those living in remote and non-remote areas. The data is drawn from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) which includes NATSIHS itself, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS).

Public Opinion

• HILDA -The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey
  HILDA is Australia’s first nationally representative household based panel survey. The first wave of HILDA was conducted in 2001. Interviews are conducted annually with all members of each household aged 15 years and older. Waves of data include core questions as well as special modules such as wealth, retirement, disability, fertility, religion, health and social capital.
• The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes – ANU
  The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA) is a biennial survey which began in 2003. AuSSA provides authoritative data on the social attitudes and behaviour of Australians. It provides data on subjects like work and education, government spending and taxes, families, crime, and Australia’s place in the world.
• Australian Survey of Social Attitudes – ADA
  A biennial series that studies social attitudes and behaviour of Australian citizens for the Australian and international research community. AuSSA provides cross-sectional data on the social attitudes and behaviour of Australians, repeating a core questionnaire for each cross-section and fielding specific modules relevant to the changing needs of the social research community. AuSSA is Australia’s official survey in the International Social Survey Program (http://www.issp.org) and regularly includes ISSP modules.
• Australian Public Opinion Polls
  Australia has a long history of public opinion polling dating back to the Second World War. Over time, various Australian polling firms have deposited their data with the Australian Data Archive. These collections now date from 1944 through to the present day.

Work-related

• Safe Work Australia
  Stats from Safe Work Australia on work-related injuries, fatalities and diseases.
• Australian Bureau of Statistics – Labour
• Labour Market Information Portal, Australian Government
• Melbourne Institute The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey
  The HILDA Survey collects data about economic and subjective well-being, labour market dynamics and family dynamics.
• Victorian Government Data Directory
  This directory provides freely available access to data owned or generated by the Victorian Government.