Referenced by 6 other explainers
ABS classification is the set of rules the Australian Bureau of Statistics uses to sort Census answers into named groups. The rules are mechanical. Two answers that look alike on the form land in the same group. The group's name follows the ABS code. It does not follow the words a person or family would use for themselves. So the group a person sits in on a Place Forecast page reflects how ABS coded their answer. It does not reflect how they see their own identity, faith, family, or background. Read each group as a counting bucket, not a label about who someone is. For sensitive variables, ABS publishes a Not stated count. Blank or unsorted answers show as their own row, not hidden inside a coded group.