Photo by Mathyas Kurmann on Unsplash
Photo by Mathyas Kurmann on Unsplash
< 1 min read

The Australian Bureau of Statistics(ABS) will present an update on how many same-sex marriage postal surveys have been returned on a weekly basis starting next week.

As the processing of the forms has begun, the ABS will release a weekly update figure every Tuesday before close of business.

ABS Deputy Australian Statistician and Taskforce Lead, Jonathan Palmer, said given processing will take quite some time, official statistics including participation rates will not be available until 15 November when the survey results are released.

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“The ABS recognises there is great public interest in the survey’s progress. These updates may encourage participation by those who have not yet responded and will inform reasonable public expectations about the likely final level of response,” he said.

The weekly figure will be an estimate based on how many Australia Post containers have arrived back at the ABS.

The ABS will then apply some adjustments based on factors like responses received through other channels and an allowance for forms that are damaged, invalid (ie barcodes removed, copied), and invalidated (ie cancelled when new forms are issued).

“The estimation method and the anonymous return envelopes means the ABS can’t provide any further detail,” Palmer said.

Last Updated on Sep 30, 2017


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