Abbreviated as ABS
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. It covers many topics. For our work, it gives us population counts, birth and death data, migration data, 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 (PES) after each one. This finds how many people were missed or counted twice. The gap is called the net undercount. The ABS then fixes the count. In 2021, the net undercount was about 1%. This rate varied by age and state.
The ABS works out the count for the whole country, each state, and smaller areas. These are updated every three months. They use a simple formula: add births, take away deaths, then add net migration (both overseas 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 migration. 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 migration comes from travel records.
Migration within Australia is 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 Government 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 population figures, birth and death numbers, and migration data are all from ABS sources. The areas users see — mesh blocks, SA1s, SA2s, LGAs, and small areas — are built from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard.
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 interpret ABS data on their own.