Aide memoire to the Minister of Statistics: 2018 Census Content
Decisions
Public Release:
2018 Census Content Decisions
Date:
31 July 2017, 2pm
Background
1. On Monday 31 July 2017, the Government Statistician will announce the 2018 Census
content decisions.
2. Like all Stats NZ survey content, the decision is made by the Government Statistician
following consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders.
3. The announcement will involve the release of the final content report on the stats.govt.nz
website and a media statement at 2pm (copies attached).
4. The focus for the 2018 Census programme has been to maintain and improve the
relevance of content, to help gather robust, independent information that can inform
decision making.
5. We have assessed the range of information we collect, and, for the first time since 2001
will be introducing new topics and making changes to existing topics. The aim of the
changes we have made is to improve the relevance and quality of the information
collected, while balancing the need to preserve data comparability over time.
Key Content Decisions and Context
6. A number of potential new topics were researched, developed and tested. These included:
Topic
Decision to include
Decision to exclude
Decision to collect
in the 2018 Census
from the 2018
via another method
Census
or Stats NZ survey
Housing quality –
▲
dampness and mould
indicator and access to
basic amenities
Educational address
▲
and travel to education
Intersex addition to the
▲
current biological sex
question
Sexual orientation
▲
Gender identity
▲
Step families
▲
New set of questions
▲
about disability also
known as activity
limitation
Licence to occupy
▲
Ownership of other
▲
dwellings
Second
▲
address/residence
7. Following testing (see detail below), we were unable to guarantee the quality of the
information that we could gather via a self-completed survey like the census for topics
including sexual orientation, gender and a third category for sex.
8. We are now planning to include sexual orientation as a topic in our 2018 General Social
Survey (New Zealand’s biggest survey of well-being) starting with public testing in
September. This approach will provide a better platform for gathering information on
sexual orientation and will provide us with valuable insights about collecting this topic in
other surveys in the future.
9. We also tested whether we could collect information from those who are biologically
intersex, as we know that they are unable to accurately represent their biological sex with
a two-category question (male / female).
10. The decision to not include a third category for the sex topic reflects the challenge that
statistical agencies all over the world are facing, where providing an alternative to a binary
sex question (male / female) is proving difficult to design, given the need to guarantee the
quality and comparability of the information captured. To date, no agency has introduced
a third option for biological sex in their census.
11. Stats NZ is developing an alternative way to capture intersex population information in the
2018 Census and will work with representative groups in the lead up to the census to
ensure the intersex population of New Zealand is able to answer this question accurately.
At a minimum this will involve providing those who wish to identify as intersex with a paper
form on which they can mark both ‘male’ and ‘female’.
Decision criteria and consultation approach
12. During content development we considered criteria that included:
Does the proposed change add value to New Zealand’s society and economy?
Is the census the most appropriate information source?
Does the proposed change reflect an enduring information need?
Will the proposed change produce quality information?
Is there continuity with previous census data?
Is data consistent with other data collections?
Is there general acceptance of the proposed change?
Would the proposed questions be easy for respondents to complete?
13. 2018 Census content development started in mid-2015 and included public engagement,
formal submissions and specific engagements with central government and key agencies.
226 people signed up to an online engagement platform. They posted 1,079
comments. Over 120 members of the public attended workshops and seminars
across five cities.
176 individuals and organisations submitted formal submissions. There was
representation from central government, local government, non-government
organisations, interest groups, academics, researchers, health boards, and
individuals.
Testing programme
14. Rigorous testing has been conducted to ensure that content is fit for purpose and will
enable everyone in New Zealand to participate in the census, either online, or by paper.
15. Public facing census testing began in March 2016. 22,000 households in Auckland,
Waikato, Wellington, and Canterbury were invited to participate in the first census test.
The overall response rate for the test, following field follow up, was 59 percent. 65 percent
of households took part using an early version of our online form.
16. A second test was held in July 2016, where questionnaire content, and a further test of the
online and paper forms, was the focus.
17. In April 2017, 19,000 households in Whanganui were asked to participate in the third public
facing census test. Despite a state of emergency being called in Whanganui on the day
of the test, due to the threat of flooding, the test still had a self-response rate of 36 percent,
with 76 percent of participants taking part using the online form. This test did not involve
any field follow up.
Next steps
18. The content report will be sent by your office to the offices of the Ministers of Health,
Building & Housing, Education, Transport, Social Development, Disability Issues, and
DPMC, for their information as potentially interested parties.
19. A series of workshops will run from Tuesday 1 August around the country to brief expert
data users on the detail behind the content decisions.
20. Officials will also follow up with key stakeholders and representative groups on topics such
as how we will count the intersex population of New Zealand, and will be available to
respond to questions.
21. An official will be available to brief you by phone or in person on Monday afternoon, should
you wish to talk through any of the content decisions in more detail.
