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Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Indigenous

Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey (CHINS)

What is CHINS?

The Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey (CHINS) is a national survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on behalf of FaHCSIA. The survey targets discrete Indigenous communities and Indigenous housing organisations.

Why is CHINS conducted?

National statistics on Indigenous housing and infrastructure produced from CHINS assist government agencies to better meet the housing and infrastructure needs of Indigenous Australians.

For example, FaHCSIA has used CHINS data to support the:

What data does CHINS collect?

CHINS collects information from discrete Indigenous communities, including:
In the 2006 CHINS collections, additional questions included:
The Office of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Health (OATSIH) contributed to items for the collection of health information.

Who responded to the survey?

ABS officers collect the information from Indigenous Housing Organisations (IHOs) and community representatives. Community representatives include:

Have there been previous CHINS?

The ABS conducted two previous CHINS for the former Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Commission in 1999 and 2006.

Is the data from each CHINS comparable?

CHINS collections are comparable across all three surveys. The 2006 data CHINS included some additional question to previous surveys.

What are the limitations of the CHINS data?

CHINS data is subject to non-sampling sources of error. The three sources of non-sampling error applicable to CHINS data are:

For more information, refer to the CHINS 2006 Data Dictionary (Link is located below).

How and when can I access CHINS data?

CHINS data is summarised in the publication Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Communities, Australia (ABS). All three surveys are available on the ABS website. Selected tables are available in Excel format.

Do I have to pay to access CHINS data?

CHINS publications downloads are free, and available from the ABS website. Hard copy publications incur a cost (see links below).

Is the Unit Record Profile (URF) available for public access?

CHINS URF will not be available publicly. FaHCSIA is the custodian of the CHINS data, and is responsible for maintaining respondent confidentiality.

Relevant agencies may be eligible to receive a version of the URF appropriate to their needs.

Can I obtain more detailed CHINS data?

Special data services are currently available for CHINS 1999, 2001 and 2006 from FaHCSIA. A Data Use Agreement and Data Request Form must be completed. Both are available by contacting ihib.data@fahcsia.gov.au.

When applying for special data services, your agency may be required to sign a Deed of License or a Memorandum of Understanding.

All requests will be considered on a case by case basis

Key Contacts

For further information, email ihib.data@fahcsia.gov.au

Links

CHINS 1999 Report
Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, Australia (1999)

CHINS 2001 Report
Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, Australia (2001)

CHINS 2006 Report
Housing and Infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, Australia (2006)

CHINS 2006 Data Dictionary
Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey, Australia, Data Dictionary

CHINS 2006 Summary
Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey (CHINS) 2006 - Summary