Posted 08/09/2015 by Aaron Greenup
The Parliamentary Library has constructed two maps using Census data to illustrate the journeys Australians took to travel to work in 2006 and 2011.
Click for larger images.
About the data
The lines on the above maps represent the net journeys between regions. The net journey is the difference between the number of people travelling to and from two regions. For example, if five people travelled from region B to region A and three people travelled from region A to region B, the net number of journeys to from region B to region A is two. No indication of direction of travel is given in these maps. A line’s thickness is representative of the net number of people traveling between two regions i.e. the thicker the line the more people travelling.
Census data from 2006 and 2011 was used to calculate the net journeys from a region of Usual Residence to a Place of Work region. The 2006 counts were based on Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) from the Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC). The 2011 counts were based on Statistical Area 2s (SA2s) from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The ABS began using the ASGS in July 2011, replacing the ASGC. The ASGS represents an improvement in the statistical geography used to report the statistics the ABS produces.
In addition to the changes from ASGC to ASGS, the ABS also made improvements to the way a person’s Place of Work was coded. Prior to 2011, coding of Place of Work was undertaken with the aid of information provided by State Transport Authorities. In 2011, coding was also performed using information provided by State Transport Authorities, but it was supplemented and strengthened with a range of information available to the ABS.
Unfortunately, the changes outlined above mean the net journey counts from Usual Residence to Place of Work in 2006 and 2011 are not comparable. The two maps should be viewed as two snapshots and not as a progressive time series showing differences in the journeys Australians take to work.
For more information about Place of Work data and the ASGS and ASGC please follow the links below.
Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)
ASGS Fact Sheets
Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC)
Statistical Geography Explained
Census Dictionary, 2011 – Place of Work (POWP)
Census Fact Sheets – Place of Work