Showing posts with label Australian Bureau of Statistics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australian Bureau of Statistics. Show all posts

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Australian Government Data Retention: refraining from saying told you so......


ABC News, 29 September 2016:

The Health Department has removed data from its website amid an investigation into whether personal information has been compromised.
Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim has launched an investigation after academics found it was possible to decrypt some service provider ID numbers in the Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule datasets.
In a statement, the Department of Health said the dataset published on data.gov.au did not include names or addresses of service providers and no patient information was identified.
"However, as a result of the potential to extract some doctor and other service provider ID numbers, the Department of Health immediately removed the dataset from the website to ensure the security and integrity of the data is maintained," it stated.
"No patient information has been compromised, and no information about the health service providers has been publicly identified or released."
Further comment has been sought.

The Guardian, 24 September 2016:

The Australian Bureau of Statistics inadvertently released contact names linked to more than 5,000 Queensland businesses in what was described as a “human error”.
The breach is one of 14 the ABS has reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner since 2013, and was released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws.
The ABS has come under scrutiny over its handling of the 2016 census, initially for the extended retention of names and addresses for a period of four years. It then faced further criticism after the census website crashed, which it attributed to a series of foreign attacks.
While none of the breaches reported to the OAIC relates to the handling of any census data, some do highlight errors in the handling of other surveys as well as failures to correctly de-identify data, which is one of the criticisms raised by privacy advocates about the increased retention of census data.

The Canberra Times, 4 October 2016:

The federal government is caught up in a second data privacy scare, this time involving a massive data-set on more then 96,000 of its public servants amid fears their confidential information might not be secure.

In the second potentially serious Commonwealth data breach to become public in less than a week, the public service's workplace authority has confirmed that it has withdrawn the data gathered in its massive annual employee census from public view.

It is feared that identification codes for departments and agencies could be used to identify the individual public servants who filled in the census, the largest workplace survey undertaken in Australia, on condition of anonymity.

The data has been taken down from official websites to be washed of any features that could be used to breach the privacy of government officials.

But the Australian Public Service Commission has confirmed the data-set was downloaded nearly 60 times before the take-down, meaning the raw information is in circulation with no way to control how it is used or distributed further......

Tuesday 27 September 2016

#CENSUSfail: so there was this little survey....


On 21 September 2016 The Sydney Morning Herald reported:

Almost 95 per cent of households have completed a census form despite an embarrassing website outage on census night and lingering political controversy over the national headcount.

The Bureau of Statistics says it already has sufficient data for a "high quality" census, ahead of the deadline for forms on Friday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also tries to pretend that refusal to complete the census form is the only civil disobedience it has to contend with when collating household responses.

However a little survey which was included in one submission to the Senate Economics References Committee Inquiry into the 2016 Census indicates that the ABS may have other problems with reliability of the data it can subtract from some Census questions.

The possibility that false information has become a significant factor in Census data sets is buttressed by previous findings in the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey Research Report 2013.

Responses of the 1,000 participants in the OAIC combination fixed line/mobile 'phone privacy survey resulted these percentages:

More concerned about providing personal information electronically or online than were 5 years ago – 67%
Concerned about possibility of becoming victim of identity theft or fraud in the next year – 69%
Provided false personal details when completing online forms – 31%
Provided false name when completing online forms – 30%
Refused to deal with government agency/public sector organisation due privacy concerns - 23% 
At some time have refused to supply personal information – 90%.

Excerpt from that little submission to the current Senate inquiry:

Q4 If you did fill out the 2016 Census, did you include your real name and address?

This question was required and had 3 answer options from which respondents could choose only one: Yes, No and other.


A substantial majority (74%) of respondents either did not fill out the census form at all or responded in ways intended to frustrate efforts to share their information in ways that could identify them as individuals, match their census data to other data or track their census data from one census to the next. The commonly found terms below are not mutually exclusive of one another.
This high number of people who have chosen not to complete the census or refused specific questions/ removed identifying information is directly relevant to the Inquiry Terms of Reference seeking feedback on impacts on data quality for the 2016 census.
Click on the commonly used terms to explore responses or click here to display all responses alphabetically

54 comments provided under 'other'

9/1/2016 8:06 PM : address only.
8/30/2016 8:17 PM : Blank address- name The Householder
9/3/2016 2:05 PM : census not done. Not going to be done either
8/30/2016 11:44 PM : completed address- left names blank
9/2/2016 6:49 AM : created a new persona for street address
9/1/2016 5:19 PM : Current address was already on the form- provided suburb and postcode for other addresses.
9/1/2016 7:10 PM : False name
9/4/2016 11:04 AM : False name- address- and some personal details. Only what I consider relevant to stastical analysis was completed approximately accurately.
9/1/2016 9:25 PM : false name- correct address
9/1/2016 5:38 PM : Filled in address but gave name as UNDISCLOSED
9/1/2016 6:53 PM : First name only. Make the computer work that little bit harder.
8/30/2016 6:35 PM : Gave correct address- no name
8/30/2016 7:08 PM : Gave first name- not last
9/3/2016 5:04 PM : I cut out NAD and identifying bar codres before returning the form
9/3/2016 10:59 AM : I did- but am unhappy about having to do so under threat of a fine
9/2/2016 5:48 PM : I didn't put my real name
8/30/2016 8:17 PM : I do not intend to use my name or address
9/3/2016 7:07 PM : I included a false name for privacy and security reasons.
9/1/2016 8:42 PM : I included it in the palest of blue coloured pencil- so it could not be scanned but required dedicated effort AND inckuded cover letter saying it was complted under duress asnd in great anger at them compromising such an important process.
9/1/2016 6:25 PM : I intend to leave name and address blank
8/30/2016 10:03 PM : I intend to leave name- all addresses (both current and past)- and age blank- to frustrate creation of an SLK or any possible link to past census data
9/3/2016 2:04 PM : I left name blank but the address was already printed on the form
9/1/2016 5:49 PM : I made a statement of objection but I gave Postcode.
9/7/2016 9:09 AM : I made my address suburb only with previous addresses
8/30/2016 7:33 PM : I provided a false name but address and other details were true
8/30/2016 5:05 PM : I put in my postcode and suburb only.
9/2/2016 11:50 AM : I put not necessary for purpose of Census data
9/3/2016 1:54 AM : I redacted identifying information and competed the data section truthfully
9/1/2016 9:15 PM : I used a false name but real address. [This should be a category]
9/6/2016 9:55 PM : i will be using a false name
9/8/2016 5:08 PM : I will do it but am unhappy about it and have no wish to take it seriously again. I think the info will be used for any purpose the govt wants and fear lack of security.
9/1/2016 4:07 PM : I will fill in the Census form when asked to in writing by the Chief Statistician. When I fill it in- I will omit my name and address details.
9/2/2016 11:35 AM : I will leave blank space for my name on the paper form.
9/3/2016 1:12 PM : I will not fill in the form if this is required.
8/30/2016 8:02 PM : I would never provide my name. The ABS is only authorised to hold statistical dat!
9/3/2016 3:45 PM : I'll use false name if/when I do it
8/30/2016 7:08 PM : If I complete the paper form- I will be leaving off my name and address. Still debating whether to do this or boycott.
8/30/2016 7:49 PM : if instructed by chief ABS to complete form- I will not include my name and add
9/1/2016 6:04 PM : Just address as it was printed on the form won't get names though as I feel names make the census a data trawling tool.
9/3/2016 7:27 AM : Misrepresentation of the depth of data linkage-cross referencing and retention
8/30/2016 6:56 PM : No name. Correct address
9/1/2016 6:29 PM : Not in Aus
9/2/2016 8:11 AM : Put initials
8/30/2016 8:20 PM : Real address but a blank name
9/1/2016 5:18 PM : Real address- as it was printed on the paper- fake names.
8/30/2016 6:05 PM : Removed all tracking items on form
9/1/2016 5:30 PM : silent voter ...omitted name
9/1/2016 5:57 PM : Tossed up + in the end did a variation
9/7/2016 5:32 PM : Used a very runny ink from a fountain pen which might 'accidently' smear
9/1/2016 9:21 PM : used married name- which I don't use in real life
9/1/2016 6:21 PM : Yes I did- but reluctantly!!
8/30/2016 6:58 PM : yes- but i didn't really want to
8/31/2016 10:36 PM: Names and DOB blank
9/10/2016 2:44 PM : Stated suburb-postcode-age and gender.

Sunday 25 September 2016

Cliff Notes for Submission 38 to the Senate Inquiry into the 2016 Census


On 21 September 2016 the Australian Chief Statistician, David Kalisch, made a submission on behalf of the Australian Bureau of Statistics to the Senate Economics References Committee Inquiry into the 2016 Census.

This document was listed as submission number 38 and briefly published on the relevant parliamentary webpage.

It has since disappeared, but one enterprising soul with an IT background had already downloaded a copy and posted all 123 pages online here.

Here is my personal interpretation of some of the submission's contents.....


#CensusFail is IBM’s fault

"The online Census system was hosted by IBM under contract to the ABS and the DDoS attack should not have been able to disrupt the system. Despite extensive planning and preparation by the ABS for the 2016 Census this risk was not adequately addressed by IBM and the ABS will be more comprehensive in its management of risk in the future. However, once the system had been affected, the ABS took the precaution of closing the online Census form to safeguard and to protect data already submitted, protect the system from further incidents, and minimise disruption on the Australian public by ensuring reliable service." [p.4]

Even though ABS didn’t inform widely inform Australia of personal information & data retention plans ‘we’ knew in our hearts that the general public wasn’t going to mind

"In December 2015, the ABS announced a change in the length of time Census names (and addresses) would be retained, building on the increased capability of the ABS to integrate Census data with other sources safely and effectively, as demonstrated by the 2006 and 2011 Census Data Enhancement programs. The time frame for which names and addresses would be retained was extended from the end of the Census processing period until there was no longer any community benefit to their retention. The ABS made this decision following a public consultation process and on the basis that independently run focus group research indicated that support for the change and significant public concern would be unlikely." [p.5]

Even though deliberate failure to complete a Census 2016 form would lead to conviction and hefty fine and ABS repeatedly stated so in the mainstream media, the fact that most Australians completed a form was not because they were compelled but because they cared so little about their personal privacy

"...sentiment testing, both before and after 9 August, showed that only a very small minority of Australians considered privacy concerns to be a barrier to them completing the Census. The small level of general community concern about privacy in relation to the 2016 Census was similar to that observed in the 2011 Census, as also shown by the high levels of participation in the 2016 Census." [p.6]

#CensusFail is also the federal government’s fault

"Over the last 15 years, ABS resources have generally been reducing. Its staff numbers have fallen by 14% and the budget appropriation (in real terms) has also fallen by 14%. In contrast, the demands on the ABS to properly measure the economy, society and the environment, and respond to the requirements of governments, has increased and become more complex….In line with ABS forward funding (Figure 2.2), non-Census staffing affordability decreases significantly over the next four years with required reductions of approximately 400 staff in 2016-17, 300 in 2017-18, and then a further 40 in 2018-19." [p.14]

The chief statistician before me sucked

"In 2013 the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) undertook a capability review3 of the ABS, as part of a broader program of reviews of Government agencies. The review team, led by Tony Cole AO, found that the ABS is “widely regarded as one of the best statistical agencies in the world. It has a strong reputation as a highly respected and trusted institution”. While the reviewers noted that the independence of the Statistician was a prerequisite to this respect and trust, they also noted that the manner in which this independence had been exercised had contributed to a degree of organisational isolation and insularity that needed to be addressed." [p.16]

Honestly, I wasn't laughing as I typed *cough*

"In regard to statistical risk management (an element of the ‘governance’ dimension of transformation and overseen by the Statistical Strategy Committee)4 , the ABS has adopted a more proactive and fit for purpose management of risk with a view to:

· more accurately foreseeing and managing the cumulative impacts of change on key economic and population statistics;
· enhancing the quality assurance for significant statistics;
· ensuring clear lines of accountability and clear governance; and
· ensuring risk management is streamlined, pragmatic and actually makes a difference, without unnecessarily stifling innovation." [p.18]

Despite the fact that a recent Freedom of Information application revealed a January 2016 privacy breach by the ABS which released the contact details of 5,245 individuals, your personal details are always safe with us

"Privacy is a foundation of all statistical agencies, and the ABS is no exception – protecting privacy remains the number one priority of ABS and its staff, and it is a requirement in the ABS’s governing legislation. The ABS is committed to upholding the privacy and secrecy of all of the information it collects. Maintaining the trust and support of the Australian community is critical for the ABS to effectively carry out its functions, and is a key measure of organisational success set out in the ABS Corporate Plan1." [p.24]

See, it’s not our fault!

"The online Census DDoS attack of 9 August 2016 was against an IBM system not an ABS one." [p.27]

It all went like clockwork according to plan ‘we’ got there in the end. What was the question again?

"The new approach:

*Changed the way Census materials were delivered and information is returned by the public. Australia Post’s mail service was used to deliver and return required materials from the majority of households. The majority of households responded online. Households are able to request a paper form through an automated phone service if they preferred or needed to respond by paper. These changes were designed taking into account international best practices in Census taking and build on the Australian public's increasing access to and use of the internet, while also providing a paper response options for others
*Removed the need for Census Field Officers to visit every dwelling. The use of approach and reminder letters were planned to allow half of all Australians to respond to the Census before household visits were required. Household visits were planned to provide support to any households that required it, deliver additional materials and remind households to complete the Census.

*Allowed for approaches to be tailored to the needs of different areas. In some areas of Australia, where the postal service was likely to be unsuitable or insufficient address information was known, Census Field Officers delivered materials to each dwelling, enabling residents to either complete their form online or mail back a paper form. In other areas where a high proportion of residents were expected to need to complete the Census form on paper, all households were delivered paper forms in addition to login numbers (e.g. in areas where there is a higher proportion of older residents).

*Provided the ability to monitor progress on a near real-time basis through the integration of management information from Census Field Officers using handheld devices, call centre agents receiving public enquiries, completed online Census forms and completed paper Census forms when received by the secure Data Capture Centre. This information was be used to highlight areas of lower response, or any other issue, so that alternative strategies were enacted quickly to respond to these problems as they arose. In previous Censuses, such timely management information to inform operations was not available. This new approach planned to deliver savings of $100 million in the running of the 2016 Census compared to the 2011 Census. The digital-first Census will also establish a sustainable model for the Census 2021 and beyond." [p.53]

Just to make sure everyone knows ABS is publicly breaching a business contract I'm helpfully spelling it out for you across 13 paragraphs – and by the way, it’s all IBM’s fault

"The ABS is obliged to notify the Committee that the following subsection "Online Census" contains Confidential Information under the terms of the contract with IBM (ABS2014.105 Services for eCensus and Data Capture Solution)…..
The subsection containing Confidential Information under the terms of the contract with IBM (ABS2014.105 Services for eCensus and Data Capture Solution) concludes" [pp.61-63]

On 9 August 2016 I began to furiously tap dance so that my excessive annual salary was protected

“8:26pm -- the Australian Statistician provided an initial telephone briefing to the Hon Michael McCormack MP, the Minister for Small Business who has Ministerial oversight for the ABS. The Australian Statistician provided updates to the Minister during the evening.” [p.67]

You are getting sleepy, very sleepy….and when you wake up you won’t recall that a mini industry is developing in re-identification research and, formulas used to breach privacy as well as re-identification attack results have been reported/
published exposing the total anonymity myth

“Consistent with the quality studies undertaken as part of the 2006 Census Data Enhancement program mentioned previously, a non-identifying grouped numeric code was assigned to all records in the ACLD following the 2011 Census using a combination of letters from first and last names using a secure one-way process. For example, "Joe Blake" might become “100321”. Each code represents approximately 2000 people and therefore is not unique to an individual. Since a large number of different names receive the same hash value, it cannot be reversed to identify individuals. However,a particular name and surname will always code to the same hash value so that it is a useful linking variable.” [p.78]

I deliberately waited until mid-morning on a Friday at the start of December 2015 school holidays before announcing the ABS was retaining Census names and addresses indefinitely, hoping you all wouldn’t notice

“This decision11 was announced on 18 December 2015, accompanied by a media release12 and publication of the Privacy Impact Assessment 13 on the ABS website”. [p.84]

We’re right and the rest of you are plain wrong

"* Privacy of information is important to the ABS and the community. However, this also needs to be seen alongside the proposed community benefits from use of personal data to produce reliable statistics, as well as the mechanisms available at the ABS to produce statistics while preserving privacy. The 2016 Census public commentary has predominantly focussed on the first aspect while largely ignoring the second and third aspects.

*Community attitudes to privacy and trust in the ABS to secure and effectively use personal data to produce statistics of value to the community appear to be quite different from the views of some public commentators who may have presumed that their opinions are widely shared across the Australian community." [p.85]

We’re allowed to be highly subjective or just make things up if 'we' want to – so there!

"There is no requirement to engage an external consultant to conduct a PIA [Privacy Impact Assessment] in the best practice guidelines of the Office of the Australian Information Commission. The ABS sought advice from the Office of the Australian Information Commission on the 2016 PIA, and followed their best practice guidelines issued by that Office." [p.118]

Sunday 11 September 2016

#CensusFail 2016 continues to erode public trust



Finally it appears that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is admitting to being in a crisis situation with regards to the 2016 national census.

A census for which it had anticipated requiring around 39,000 Australians to help us run the Census. [ABS, Forward Work Program 2015-16 to 2018-19, p19]

One month after Census Night on 9 August and the ABS is now advertising for additional Census Field Officers - presumably to chase up all those households who are reluctant to participate in a national survey which retains names and addresses to assist with future data matching for unspecified purposes or who are now worried about the integrity of data security supposedly safeguarding their personal information.

Successive funding cuts under the last two federal governments may go some way to explaining the workplace situation in Belconnen, as does the leadership role of Australian Statistician David Kalisch.

However it is interesting to note that serious problems in the ABS first made an appearance in the wake of the Abbott Government coming to power and intensified after Prime Minister Turnbull and the Dept. of Prime Minister and Cabinet became involved.

Given the nature of politicians and bureaucrats (and their inability to fully accept responsibility for the consequences of their own actions) I expect that many ordinary Australians will find ABS letters threatening legal action amongst their Christmas mail this year.

All in the possibly vain hope that more than 95.1 per cent of an est. 9,268,673 Australian households [ABS, (March 2015) Household and Family Projections, Australia, 2011 to 2036will have been successfully coerced into completing the census form, thereby keeping the statistical margin of error low enough to render analysis reliable across sub-populations/populations and save the 2016 census from being ignominiously binned.

Right now I'm betting that the ABS is somewhere between 464,000 and 500,000 completed census forms short of meeting that target.

BACKGROUND

Excerpt from Australian Bureau of Statistics letter to James Smith, 6 September 2016:

The ABS does not profile people who are fined, and as such a single document explaining this does not exist. Rather, detailed case files are kept for each person.

Crikey.com.au, 8 September 2016:

A "crisis" in the rate of returns of censuses has forced the Australian Bureau of Statistics to increase its level of harassment of Australians -- even of people who've already completed and lodged their forms.

Senior Australian Bureau of Statistics officials have warned staff of a “crisis” over the rate of return of censuses and demanded collectors increase the level of harassment of Australians, including those who can furnish evidence they have already lodged it.

Sources within the bureau have told of an extraordinary change in policy yesterday by ABS executives. On Monday, census field officers were told in writing that they did not need to return to a dwelling that had advised that the census has been completed. This included anyone who had produced a receipt number for their online census submission or who said they had done so, or who said they had posted the census form. However, citing a “crisis” in the rate of returns, ABS management yesterday told staff that they were now required to make a further visit. Householders who asked why were to be told that “it is still being investigated and [they are] still on their list requiring a visit”.

That’s despite multiple instances of people complaining on social media that collectors had continued to pursue them despite their having submitted, and even of collectors complaining that their data on who had submitted forms was out of date.

The internal admission of a “crisis” within the ABS about the census contradicts its public insistence that all is well with the census and that, if anything, return rates are ahead of where they were in previous censuses.

Under the Census and Statistics Act, census collectors have extraordinary powers to enter any building except immediate residential premises without a warrant. While there is no legislative power to physically enter residential premises, people have reported on social media collectors trying to open locked doors and, in at least one case, entering a rural residence while the resident was absent……..

Senator Scott Ludlam, on 1 September concerning a matter he will put before the Senate on 12 September 2016:

NOTICE OF MOTION 1 September 2016

I give notice that on the next day of sitting I shall move that -
The Senate -                                                     
1.       Notes
a.       the technical failures of the ABS website on census night - August 9th 2016 - prevented thousands of people completing the census;
b.      subsequent attempts to address the technical failures further added to confusion and impacted public confidence in the census process;
c.       the census website was offline for several days after census night, and sporadically offline in the following weeks;
d.      thousands of Australians were unable to complete the census, and thousands of Australians were reluctant to do so due to privacy concerns.
2.       Calls on the government to direct the Australian Bureau of Statistics to issue a statement declaring that no Australians will be fined for failing to complete the census.



Australian Bureau of Statisticsmedia release, 5 June 2014:

ABS announces planned changes to future work program

The acting Australian Statistician, Jonathan Palmer, today announced planned reductions to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) work program.

The ABS must reduce expenditure by about $50m over three years. While the ABS has been able to implement efficiencies in its operations, these are insufficient to meet the expenditure target. As a result, the statistical work program will be reduced from 2014-15. 

Mr Palmer said the revised work program, developed after consultation with key Australian Government agencies, will continue to meet Australia’s core statistical needs.
“Our highest priority was to maintain activities that are critical to effective government decision making and deliver the most public benefit.

“While the revised forward work program retains core statistical elements and outputs, we have had to discontinue or reduce outputs in areas that are valued by the users of those statistics. If funding is provided for the work we are ceasing, we will reinstate it.

“The quality, integrity and relevance of our statistics are critical to informing effective decision making and we must not lose sight of that as we plan for the future,” Mr Palmer said.

The work program changes, which will be implemented from 1 July 2014, are:

Discontinue
Environment collections from Australian Households
Waste Account
Measures of Australia's Progress
Australian Social Trends
Survey of Tourist Accommodation
ABS funded component of Culture, Sport and Recreation statistics 

Reduce
Industry statistics research, development and reporting in selected areas
Social conditions statistics research, development and reporting in selected areas
State and territories statistical services engagement and analysis activities
Regional statistics analysis and development
Macroeconomic research and development engagement in international activities
National information and referral services response times
External statistical education development programs

Review
Review the House Price Index, with the view to discontinuing it pending identification of alternative sources to meet the Australian National Accounts and other requirements

Further details of the work program changes will be advised to affected users in due course.
As Australia’s national statistical agency, the ABS provides official statistics on a wide range of topics relevant to government, business, and the Australian population.

Dept. of Prime Minister & Cabinet, PUBLIC SECTOR DATA MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION REPORT, July 2016:

Overview
On 3 December 2015, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) released the Public Sector Data Management Report.
Since then, significant progress has been made to implement the recommendations of the report. This Implementation Report outlines the outputs and initiatives that have been undertaken to date to meet the recommendations of the report and further the public data agenda.
The Australian Government remains committed to effectively managing, sharing and publishing public data as a national resource for the benefit of the Australian people.
As the lead for public data policy, PM&C continues to work closely with government agencies, states and territories, research organisations, industry and the public to maximise the use and reuse of public data across the whole economy……

Recommendation 9
Establish a linked Commonwealth dataset with a domain for secure access by government and researchers, providing:
* a collection of linked administrative and survey data that links across time and across sectors;
* data linkage conducted by accredited integration authorities (ABS); and
* streamlined access to aggregate and individual data, while maintaining appropriate protection of individuals’ records……

Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP)
The Multi-Agency Data Integration Project (MADIP) is a collaborative cross-portfolio partnership to improve accessibility to, and maximise use of, public data. Commonwealth data custodians are working together to establish processes for sharing and safe dissemination of linked data.
The MADIP partner agencies include the Department of Social Services, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
A 2011 snapshot dataset has been created and is currently being analysed and evaluated by nine partner agencies in-posted to the ABS.

Trusted Access Model
One component of the MADIP is the Trusted Access Model for microdata access.
This model seeks to enable users outside the ABS, such as researchers, to use the data while maintaining the privacy of individuals represented in the data.
A ‘privacy-by-design’ access approach is used, which aims to build trust in the use of public sector data and balance the need for information with the need to maintain the privacy of individuals.

Data integration and linkage projects
The ABS is working on a number of data linkage projects to produce valuable linked datasets.
These projects include the Expanded Analytical Business Longitudinal Database and the Linked Employer-Employee Database.
These enduring, linked datasets combine high value data sources to better support policy development through research and informed discussion.

The ABS has commenced trials of a virtual DataLab with a number of agencies to provide trusted access to microdata. The DataLab is a platform from which to fully implement trusted access in 2016/17……

Little Bird Network, 14 August 2016:

This powerpoint presentation is published by the Public Data Branch of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet under the CC by 4.0 licence.

This presentation outlines in detail the plans of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet to use de-anonymised Census data to integrate with administrative datasets, including that it has already been doing this for some years with a sample of Census data (Appendix 5). This plan was published prior to the ABS public ‘consultation’ (carried out between November and late December 2015) required to determine whether or not Australians agree with de-anonymisation of the Census for the purpose of these data linkage projects which suggests that the decision had already been made by the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet without public consultation to authorise it.

The public consultation that was carried out by the ABS over 5 weeks in late December was not advertised or reported in any media. The presentation also indicates that while the ABS is the integrating authority (the agency with the legislative authority to create data linkage projects), DPM&C appears to be the lead agency. Commentary regarding who is responsible for recent and significant changes to the Australian Census should be considered in light of the information in this presentation.

Power point presentation here.


Computer World, 8 September 2016:

The government is preparing for a major overhaul of its open data portal, Data.gov.au.

The current Data.gov.au site is based on the open source CKAN data portal software. 
The site launched in 2013.

The Data Infrastructure and Government Engagement (DIGE) team within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (DPMC) Public Data Branch has partnered with the CSIRO’s Data61 for the overhaul. The Public Data Branch is a product of a 2015 fusion of the Department of Finance’s open data team, the Data Policy Branch and the Department of Communication’s Digital Government Strategy.

Data61 is planning to release a first prototype of the new portal later this year. The initial prototype is expected to offer improved searching across multiple data repositories. Further prototypes will be released in 2017 “focussed on data publishing, data quality, better spatial publishing, and integration” according to a blog entry by the DPMC’s Toby Bellwood.

Under the government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda Data61 has been tasked with employing “data analytics to connect disparate government datasets and publicly release them on open data platforms”.


The organisations is currently the subject of a Productivity Commission inquiry. A draft report of the inquiry is expected in November, ahead of a final report in March 2017.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, job advertisements, September 2016:


Canberra Office, Belconnen, ACT
Executive Level 1 ($94,933 - $109,741)
Ongoing Position

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is looking to engage an innovative Media Manager who will lead, in partnership with the Director, the Corporate Communications team in promoting the ABS as a world leading national statistical office, and support the use of statistics for informed decision making by governments and the community.

As Australia's national statistical agency, the ABS produces official statistics that inform important decisions made by government, business and the community.

The Corporate Communications Section is responsible for ABS’ enterprise communication internally and externally. The Section manages key internal and external channels, associated content and contributes to strategic external partnerships such as the media and ministerial liaisons.

About the Position:
Working in partnership with the Corporate Communications Director, the successful applicant will manage a team of diverse communication professionals to promote the ABS as a world leading national statistical office and support the use of statistics for informed decision making by governments and the community.

The Media Manager will be accountable, under broad direction, for the ABS’ media activities, including the documentation of communication plans, drafting media releases, producing social media and managing media relations.

The role involves working with both internal and external partners to help achieve the corporate goals of the ABS, and assist in the development of strategies and procedures to ensure best practice communication. This role also involves working with the ABS senior executive on internal and external communication.

Qualifications and Experience:
*Experience in managing media and communication operations and teams
* Highly developed communication, influencing and interpersonal skills
* Ability to prepare high-quality and innovative communication materials
* Strategic stakeholder management and engagement
* Flexibility, initiative and organisational skills to work effectively in a small team to tight deadlines

Relevant tertiary qualifications or suitable experience and skills are essential, including specialist fields such as Journalism, Social Media, Communications, Marketing and or Public Relations.

Application process
Applications open Thursday 8 September 2016, and may be submitted by Wednesday 22 September 2016. For further information please refer to the Applicant Information Kit.

Help and Contact Information
If you require technical help submitting your application, please contact ABS Recruitment on 1800 249 583.

For any questions related to this role, please contact Tasma Vyver on (02) 6252 7968 or email tasma.vyver@abs.gov.au

The ABS encourages and values a diverse workforce. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with disability are encouraged to apply. The ABS is committed to improving the gender diversity of its leadership.

2016 Census Field Officers closes 11 September 2016 11:30 PM (AEST)
*Various non-ongoing positions available Australia wide
*Salary: $21.61 per hour (inclusive of 25% loading)
*Opportunity to work in your local community

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