Until 1986, the term Aborigine and Aboriginal were used extensively to describe the Indigenous people of Victoria. In 1986, Victorian organisations started to use the term Koorie. The term Koorie (sometimes spelt Koori) is now used widely by a large number of people in the Victorian Aboriginal community. It is a distinctive term describing Indigenous people from Southern New South Wales and Victoria. While the term is widely used in this website, we do acknowledge that there are some Indigenous people in Victoria who prefer to use the term 'Woongi' to describe themselves.

In this website we have also used the following clan names for certain events that have occurred in their country. As well as this, in the profiles, the Aboriginal people have used their clan names.

• Wurundjeri
• Wotjoboluk
• Gunnai/Kurnai
• Kirrae-Wurrung
• Gunditjmara
• Yorta Yorta
• Wemba Wemba
• Baraparapa
• Dja Dja Wurrung
• Yupagalk
• Wiradjuri
• Gamilaroi
• Moira
• Kirrae-Wurrung
• Wergaia

Acronyms

VAECG - The Victorian Aboriginal Education Consultative Group
VAEA I - The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated
KODE - Koorie Open Door Education Schools
VISEC - Victorian In-service Education Committee
VAAL - Victorian Aboriginal Advancement League
AIATSIS - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
ARC - Aboriginal Research Centre
CRAA - Centre for Research into Aboriginal Affairs
CAIS - Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies
AES - Aboriginal Education Services
KECU - Koorie Education Co-ordination Unit
KEDU - Koorie Education Development Unit
NAEC - National Aboriginal Education Committee
ATSU - Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Unit
KTEP - Koorie Teacher Education Program
MACS - Multipurpose Aboriginal Children's Services
KSLU - Koorie Student Liason Unit, Melbourne University
NATSIEP - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy
ATSIC - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
IKE - Institute of Koorie Education
CIE - Centre for Indigenous Education
MCEETYA - Ministerial Committee on Education, Employment Training and Youth Affairs
NCATSIS - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics

Statistical data

Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander

See Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Origin, Indigenous Enumeration.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Origin

A question on origin has been asked in all censuses. However, prior to the 1971 Census Indigenous people were counted in order to exclude them from population estimates for each State/Territory. The 1967 Referendum changed section 127 of the Constitution to allow Aboriginal people to be included in official census population counts. The 1971 and 1976 Censuses asked each person's racial origin. Since the 1981 Census the word 'racial' has been dropped from the question. The 1996 Census was the first census to allow people's origin to be recorded as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; prior to this only one or the other could be recorded.

See also Indigenous Enumeration.

Abbreviations/Symbols

ABS - Australian Bureau of Statistics
CAE - College of Advanced Education
NSSC - National Schools Statistics Collection
TAFE - Technical and Further Education
- nil or rounded to zero

ABS

See Australian Bureau of Statistics.

ABS Statistics

General descriptions of terms and concepts relevant to the ABS tables on this website are provided in this glossary. Detailed definitions of classifications and concepts for ABS statistics are available in a range of census publications (including various information papers, catalogues of census tables and census dictionaries) and in the "Schools, Australia" publications (ABS catalogue number 4221.0).

These publications are generally available at ABS libraries, the National Library, State Libraries and university libraries. Some publications may be in local libraries that belong to the ABS Library Extension Program (LEP). For details about how to access ABS publications, please see ABS Library Extension Program .

The 1996 Census Dictionary (catalogue number 2901.0) is available on-line at the ABS website. Please see 2901.0 - 1996 Census Dictionary .

Age Left School

Age left school classifies the age at which a person left primary or secondary school and is a proxy indicator of the educational level attained by people. Categories are also provided for people still at school, and those who did not go to school. The age of leaving school is used instead of level of schooling because of differences in, and changes to, education systems.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

The ABS is Australia's national statistical agency and is responsible for collecting statistics about all aspects of Australia. Its mission is to assist and encourage informed decision-making, research and discussion within governments and the community, by providing a high quality, objective and responsive national statistical service.

Every five years the ABS conducts the Census of Population and Housing which is the biggest collection of statistics in Australia. The ABS collects information under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905.

Census (Census of Population and Housing)

The Australian Census of Population and Housing is an official count of population and dwellings, and collects details of age, sex, and other characteristics of that population. The 1996 Census was the 13th national census for Australia.

One of the important features of the Census is that it allows different characteristics of an individual, family or household to be related. While information on some characteristics is available from other sources, only a census can provide information on a standard basis for the country as a whole, as well as for small geographic areas and small population groups.

Caution must be used when comparing data from different Censuses as terms and classifications are not consistent across all Census years. For research purposes it may be appropriate to refer to the relevant information papers, classification manuals and other publications for each of the Census years.

Census Count - Place of Enumeration

The population count for place of enumeration is a count of every person, who spent census night in Australia, based on where he/she was counted. This included people on board vessels in or between Australian ports, or on long-distance trains, buses or aircraft.

People were counted where they spent census night, which may not be where they usually live.

See also Census Count - Place of Usual Residence.

Census Count - Place of Usual Residence

This is a count of all people within the scope of the Census on the basis of where they usually live, rather than where they were on census night. Each person is required to state his/her address of usual residence.

Census counts compiled on this basis are less likely to be influenced by seasonal factors such as school holidays and snow seasons, and provide information about the usual residents of an area.

Confidentiality

Under the Census and Statistics Act 1905, it is an offence to release any information collected under the Act that would enable identification of any particular individual or organisation.

For the Census, strict measures are taken in field collection, processing and output of data to guard against the release of confidential information.

Customised tables for some geographic areas can be produced with cells containing very small counts. In cases where this occurs small random adjustments are made to the data to avoid any risk of releasing identifiable information. These adjustments allow for a greater amount of detailed data to be released, and as they are small, do not affect the usefulness of the data.

See also Introduced Random Error.

Copyright

Copyright and intellectual property rights for the census data are retained solely by the Commonwealth of Australia and are administered by the ABS.

Education

See Post-School Educational Qualification - Field of Study, Post-School Educational Qualification - Level of Attainment, Type of Educational Institution Attending.

Educational attainment

See Post-School Educational Qualification - Level of Attainment.

Educational institution

See Type of Educational Institution Attending.

Error

All stages of the Census are subject to stringent quality assurance procedures that result in data of high quality. However, in a census there are recognised sources of error. Although considerable effort is directed to procedures to ensure a high level of accuracy, some errors survive in the final results. Potential sources of error in the Census are: undercounting, respondent error, processing error and introduced random error. Introduced random error is used to protect the confidentiality of individuals. In addition, the 1976 Census output is subject to sampling error.

See also Introduced Random Error, Weighted Persons.

Field of Attainment

Field of Attainment is equivalent to Field of Study.

Field of Study

See Post-School Educational Qualification - Field of Study.

Inadequately Described

See Residual Categories and Supplementary Codes.

Indigenous Enumeration

The ABS has implemented procedures tailored to the enumeration of Indigenous people living in discrete communities since the 1976 Census. The 1996 Census procedures built on those procedures and also include some additional procedures for enumerating Indigenous people living in urban areas. The Indigenous enumeration strategy is a nationwide undertaking.

In certain Indigenous communities, an interview form designed to be appropriate to Indigenous culture is used. This part of the strategy is used in discrete communities where cultural or language concerns indicate the need. In these cases Census Field Officers recruit and train Community Coordinators to ensure accurate enumeration, as well as Indigenous interviewers to carry it out. As much as possible, Indigenous interviewers are used in collecting information from their own communities.

In other areas, Indigenous people are enumerated using standard procedures and forms. Indigenous assistants are available to assist if required.

Indigenous Student

An indigenous student is a student of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin who identifies as an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander.

Indigenous Student Statistics

The statistics for the ABS Indigenous Students tables were collected through the National Schools Statistics Collection (NSSC) which is a collaborative arrangement between State, Territory and Commonwealth education authorities. A schools statistics committee, of which the ABS is a member, was established in 1979 to improve the quality of education statistics relating to government and non-government primary and secondary education.

Introduced Random Error

Considerable care is taken in the specification of tables to minimise the risk of identifying individuals, families or households. Table cells containing small values are randomly adjusted to avoid releasing confidential information. These adjustments are small introduced random errors. The effect of random adjustment is statistically insignificant.

See also Confidentiality.

Level of Attainment

See Post-School Educational Qualification - Level of Attainment.

Level/Year of Education

Level of education is split into primary and secondary. Year of education comprises Pre-year 1(known as Preparatory in Victoria) through to Year 12, plus Ungraded primary and Ungraded secondary.

Not Elsewhere Classified (nec)

See Residual Categories and Supplementary Codes.

Not Stated

See Residual Categories and Supplementary Codes.

Post-School Educational Qualification - Field of Study

This variable describes the field of study of the highest post-school educational qualification obtained.

Post-School Educational Qualification - Level of Attainment

This variable describes the level of attainment of the highest post-school educational qualification (e.g. bachelor degree, diploma) obtained.

Primary Education

Full-time primary education typically commences at around the age of 5 years and lasts for seven years (in Victoria). It does not include sessional education such as pre-school education. In Victoria, primary education may extend from Preparatory to Year 6.

Qualifications

See Post-School Educational Qualification - Field of Study, Post-School Educational Qualification - Level of Attainment.

Random Adjustment of Table Cells

See Introduced Random Error.

Residual Categories and Supplementary Codes

Residual categories in a classification include Not Elsewhere Classified (nec), and Other.

These categories are necessary because not all observations can be classified into a homogeneous group, or because the size of the observations does not allow them to be separately identified.

Supplementary codes are used to process inadequately described responses. Supplementary codes include Inadequately Described - where a response contains insufficient information to be coded to any level of the classification; and Not Stated - where no response is provided.

Self-Enumeration

Self-enumeration is the term used to describe the way the Australian Census of Population and Housing data are collected. The census forms are generally completed by the householders or individuals (in non-private dwellings) rather than by census interviewers.

Special measures are taken to overcome language and cultural barriers. These include: the provision of a Telephone Interpreter Service, liaison with ethnic groups to provide information about and assistance with the census form, publicity material targeted at certain groups, and recruiting Indigenous assistants to help with enumerating Indigenous households.

In discrete communities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the Census is generally conducted by interview, not self-enumeration, with Indigenous interviewers using a specially designed form.

Self-enumeration has some deficiencies in the reliability of the information collected. For example, there is a higher probability that questions will be misunderstood than if an interview method is used and census collectors are not in a position to clarify/probe doubtful answers. However, self-enumeration does avoid interviewer bias and is considered to be the most cost-efficient method (in terms of available resources) of collecting information from the very large number of respondents involved in the Census.

School

A school (other than a special school) is included in the NSSC if it satisfies the following criteria:

- its major activity is the provision of full-time day primary or secondary education or the provision of primary or secondary distance education;

- it is headed by a principal (or equivalent) responsible for its internal operation; and,

- it is possible for students to enrol for a minimum of four continuous weeks, excluding breaks for school vacations.

Secondary Education

Secondary education typically commences after completion of primary education, at around the age of 12 years, and lasts for six years in Victoria. Secondary education may extend from Year 7 to Year 12 (or equivalent) in Victoria.

Student

A student is a person who is enrolled in a school and active in a course of study other than pre-school or TAFE courses. Persons not present at the census date are included if they were expected to be absent for less than four continuous weeks (excluding school vacations) and are excluded if they had left the school or had been absent without explanation for four continuous weeks (excluding school vacations) prior to the census date.

A full-time student is one who undertakes a workload specified as full-time in the government or non-government sector.

Torres Strait Islander

See Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Origin, Indigenous Enumeration.

Type of Educational Institution Attending

This variable identifies the type of educational institution being attended by people who are full/part-time students. The categories cover pre-school to tertiary institutions.

Usual Residence

See Census Count - Place of Usual Residence.

Weighted Persons

Final results of the 1976 Census, for all states and territories except Northern Territory, were processed on a sample basis and are therefore subject to sampling error. A weighting was given to counts of persons to produce estimates. Further information may be found in the relevant 1976 Census publications.