The Government will provide additional funding of $19.0 million over four years to support the retention of name-identified census forms for archival, historical and socio-historical research.
Funding will support the cost of a community education campaign and storage of the census forms on microfilm.

Consistent with arrangements for the 2001 census, census forms will only be retained where individuals have consented, and will only be released for research purposes after having been stored for at least 99 years by the National Archives of Australia.

The Australian Government will provide additional funding to the ABS of $76.2 million over four years to strengthen and expand statistical collections and to improve the availability of data to the community. The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides a high quality statistical service to meet the needs of government, businesses and the community.

The Government believes that official statistics should be readily available to all Australians. To support this aim, the ABS will make all of its statistical publications available for download free of charge from the internet.

The 2001 Census of Population and Housing gave Australians the choice to have their census forms retained for public release after 99 years. The Government has decided that this option will also be made available for future censuses, providing a potentially invaluable data source for future genealogists and historical researchers. The Government will provide funding to the ABS of $19.0 million over four years to support this proposal.

The Government will also provide funding of $3.1 million over four years to the ABS to expand the range of data collected in the 2006 Census. Additional questions on unpaid work, fertility and access to the internet will assist in the planning and provision of important community services. Funding of $9.1 million over four years will allow the ABS to provide an option for households to submit their 2006 Census information over the internet (eCensus). This investment in eCensus infrastructure is expected to reduce the cost of future Censuses.

The Government will provide funding of $45.0 million over four years to implement measures that strengthen and expand the range of other statistical collections. These measures include a new house price index, improvements to a range of macroeconomic statistics and the incorporation of new international standards into economic statistics. New surveys will be conducted on the food industry and natural resource management, and a database will be developed to analyse small business growth and performance. The ABS will also work to improve the accuracy of regional population estimates and develop new analytical measures of the economic and social circumstances of indigenous Australians.

CANBERRA

10 May 2005

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Sarah Huggins
Office of Senator Mitch Fifield
Liberal - Victoria
03 9639 7705