Statistics NZ is seeking the official tick from the general public for its plan to in future move the census away from the the longstanding one-off survey and to instead compile it largely based on 'admin data' already collected by other government agencies.
After the disaster that was the 2018 census, with poor response rates - particularly among Maori and Pacific people - Stats NZ was forced to use 'admin data' to bolster the available information. Admin data includes such things as birth records, school enrollment information and tax information.
For the 2023 census Stats NZ purposely tailored the exercise to utilise both the traditional survey material and admin data - and redoubled efforts to get a better overall response. The full cost of it is over $300 million.
As Stats NZ's recently released Statutory Review of the 2023 census showed, while the response rate was better, at 88.3%, it still fell below the 90% target. The response rates of Maori and Pacific peoples likewise improved, but the Maori response rate was still well short of the 90% target at 76.7%, while the Pacific peoples' response rate was 79.9%.
Now Stats NZ is opening up its plans for conduct of the 2028 census and beyond for public consultation. This will close on June 18.
Stats NZ's plan is to use the admin data "supplemented by survey information and bespoke solutions".
“The data landscape is changing," Stats NZ chief executive Mark Sowden said.
"Traditional census collection models with a large-scale field workforce are becoming unsustainable in terms of the survey burden on people, the timeliness of delivering data and statistics, and the cost pressures associated with a full field enumeration census.
"There is an opportunity to modernise how we collect data and to continue to deliver value for money to the country.
“The people of Aotearoa New Zealand want more and new data that is relevant to their daily lives, and they want it faster. We need to make use of new technology and data sources if we’re going to meet the needs and expectations of Aotearoa New Zealand in a sustainable way,” Sowden said.
In the consultation document, Stats NZ says adopting the new approach means Stats NZ will prioritise using admin data sources to provide the data for the census. When admin data is not available or not high quality, it will collect the data using other means, such as surveying.
Stats NZ says countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, which have census approaches like New Zealand’s, are shifting towards incorporating more admin data into their census processes.
"Some are already using methods that Stats NZ is currently considering. For example, in late 2023, the United Kingdom completed consultation on moving from a 10-yearly census to a model that primarily uses admin data, complemented by survey data and a wider range of data sources."
Following public consultation and then an independent evaluation, the preferred approach for the next census will be presented to Cabinet for consideration later in the year.
Stats NZ says it will then focus on the detailed design of the new approach to census "in continued collaboration with key customers, partners and communities". There will also be a second round of public consultation, seeking more detailed feedback, in 2025.
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