Constructing Household and Family Structures in Linked Administrative Data in Australia

Peta Darby, Australian Bureau of Statistics
Shahd Al-Janabi, ABS
Claire Clarke, Australian Bureau of Statistics
Sean Buttsworth, Australian Bureau of Statistics
Daniel Gow, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Increasingly, researchers are turning to linked administrative data for research purposes. Integrated data provides a longitudinal picture of a population, including pathways and touch points with government services. One current Australian data integration program is the pilot Life Course Data Initiative, which is led by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This four-year program seeks to link administrative data in a careful and responsible way to enhance the longitudinal picture of child-wellbeing and outcomes. To make this new Life Course Dataset fit-for-use in addressing complex issues, such as child outcomes, it needs to be organised into household and family units. The aim of this presentation is to outline approaches for, and progress on, constructing household and family units with linked administrative data. Specifically, this presentation will: (1) provide an overview of the way in which households and family units have been conceptualised in various Australian data sources; (2) discuss different approaches for studying contemporary Australian families, especially from a child lens; and (3) outline approaches for, and progress on, organising administrative data into household and family units, using the Life Course Dataset as a case study.

Keywords: Families, Unions and Households, Data and Methods, Linked data sets , Children, Adolescents, and Youth

See extended abstract.