Performance Measures and Targets
ABS Performance
The Corporate Plan is our principal planning document and sets out how we manage our responsibilities and use of public resources. The ABS, as with all other non-Corporate Commonwealth entities, is required to use performance measures – both qualitative and quantitative - to assess the extent to which we have delivered against our purpose.
For 2023-24 and the forward estimates period referenced in this Corporate Plan:
The performance measures meet the requirements of section 16EA of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014.
Performance measures have been implemented for Priorities One to Four only. Measures for Priority Five are inherently input-focused and are therefore monitored internally by the business.
Targets for performance measures are reviewed annually and have been provided for each performance measure where it is reasonable to do so.
The assessments and results of our performance and achievements will be reported in the Annual Performance Statement which is incorporated in the ABS Annual Report 2023-24.
Priority 1: Produce high-quality statistics
| Method | Targets | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Trust in ABS Statistics Survey (CTASS) | At least 85% level of trust in the ABS and ABS statistics | 2024-25 | |
| Number of statistics released free of significant errors¹ | 100% of statistics are released free of significant errors | 2023-24 to 2026-27 | |
| Method | Targets | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS)² | IMF assess ABS to be 100% compliant with SDDS for in-scope collections | 2023-24 to 2026-27 | |
| Method | Targets | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete public consultation on 2026 Census topics | Publish 2026 Census Topic Directions | 2023-24 | |
| Finalise 2026 Census topics | Regulations are updated to define Census topics | 2024-25 | |
| Successful completion of the 2026 Census test in 2025 | 2025 Census test is completed, and the evaluation report is agreed and accepted by the 2026 Census governance forum | 2025-26 | |
| Response rate to the 2026 Census | 95% response rate | 2026-27 | |
| Independent survey of user sentiment toward the 2026 Census | 80% of the community support the Census | 2026-27 | |
| Validation of the quality of 2026 Census data by the Independent Assurance Panel | 2026 data is of a comparable quality to previous Censuses | 2026-27 | |
Priority 2: Generate timely new insights
| Method | Case studies⁴ | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case studies showing how new statistics or insights are used by clients | Australian National Data Integration Infrastructure – A National Linkage Spine, Linkage Map, and initial datasets are being implemented to improve understanding of health and employment outcomes for people with a disability. | 2023-24
| |
Digital Atlas Project – improving the ability of citizens to access relevant local data for their area. | 2023-24 | ||
Priority 3: Exercise leadership in the data landscape
| Method | Targets⁵ | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
Composite index of channel access:⁶
| 108 | 2023-24 | |
| Method | Targets⁸ | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of peer learning offerings delivered through, for example, specialist speaker series, Data Profession Technical Fora, and other data profession engagements. | 5 percent increase on benchmark | 2023-24 | |
| 7.5 percent increase on benchmark | 2024-25 | ||
| 10 percent increase on benchmark | 2025-26 | ||
| 12.5 percent increase on benchmark | 2026-27 | ||
Priority 4: Reduce burden on data providers
| Method | Targets⁹ | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case studies showing efficiencies made in collecting data for statistical purposes |
| 2023-24 | |
| 2023-24 | ||
| Method | Targets¹¹ | Years measured | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total time taken for survey respondents to complete business surveys | 13 percentage point decrease on benchmark | 2023-24 | |
| 17 percentage point decrease on benchmark | 2024-25 | ||
| 21 percentage point decrease on benchmark | 2025-26 | ||
| 25 percentage point decrease on benchmark | 2026-27 | ||
Footnotes:
An error is significant if it could mislead a user as to the value of a statistical indicator of national or state importance.
Each Census is implemented over a five-year period and as such, targets for this measure change each year to reflect the major phases of Census. Targets relevant to the years covered by this Plan are included here.
The ABS uses case studies based on Tier 1 (Significant) Projects and seeks to prioritise case study selection of those projects with a high likelihood of completion in the reporting period. Case study topics listed for this measure are reported against for only the first year covered by this Plan i.e. 2023–24. Each year, new case studies are selected for reporting against this measure.
Based on a benchmark value of 100 in 2020–21.
For each of the five channels, the count for the current year is divided by the count in the benchmark year (2020-21). The composite index is calculated by taking the average of each of the five channels and multiplying by 100.
Based on a benchmark value of 13,839 in 2022–23.
The targets for outyears have been revised from a one-off 5% increase on the benchmark in 2023-24, to an increase of 2.5% on the benchmark each year from 2023-24, to reflect strategies to grow the Data Profession.
The ABS uses case studies based on Tier 1 (Significant) Projects and seeks to prioritise case study selection of those projects with a high likelihood of completion in the reporting period. Case study topics listed for this measure are reported against for only the first year covered by this Plan i.e. 2023–24. Each year, new case studies are selected for reporting against this measure.
Based on a benchmark value of 338,964 hours in 2020–21.
Targets have been revised to reflect refined estimates of when benefits will be realised from key projects. The targets for ‘percentage point decrease on benchmark’ in the ABS Corporate Plan 2022-23 were: 2023-24 = 13, 2024-25 = 20; and 2025-26 = 25.