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The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is where we get our official data about people and housing in this country. It was set up by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975. For our work, it gives us counts of people, births, deaths, moves, and projections.
Every five years the ABS runs the Census. It aims to count every person in the country on one night. It records age, sex, where people live, housing, work, income, and more.
No census counts everyone. The ABS runs a Post Enumeration Survey after each one to measure the gap. The ABS then fixes the count.
The ABS works out how many people live in the whole country, each state, and smaller areas. These figures are updated every three months. They use a simple formula: start with the last count, add births, take away deaths, then add net moves (both from abroad and between states).
The ABS also puts out projections. These show how the number of people might change based on assumed trends in births, deaths, and moves. They are not forecasts. The current set runs from 2022 to 2071 with High, Medium, and Low series. The ABS does this at state level. Smaller areas are left to groups like Place Forecast.
The ABS puts together birth and death numbers from state records.
Net overseas moves come from travel records.
Moves within the country are tracked using Medicare address changes and Defence Force data. The ABS checks these against Census data.
The ABS keeps the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). It is now in its third edition (2021). The ASGS sets out areas in layers. The smallest is the Mesh Block, with 30 to 60 people. Above that sit SA1, SA2, SA3, and SA4. Then come states and the whole country. Each layer fits inside the one above it. Local council areas sit outside the ASGS. This makes it easy to add up numbers at any level.
All the data in Place Forecast comes from the ABS, apart from some council data. The counts, birth and death numbers, and moves are all from ABS sources. The areas users see are built from the ASGS.
When the ABS releases new data, Place Forecast uses it. This keeps the figures up to date. It also updates the rates that drive projections. Place Forecast turns the raw data into the pages, charts, and tables shown across the app, so users do not need to read ABS data on their own.