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Research Note 11 1998-99

Business by Electoral Divisions

Guy Woods
Statistics Group
8 December 1998

ABS Business Register

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Business Register contains data on the location of registered businesses. At the time of the latest snapshot in September 1997 the register showed employing businesses in the non-farm sector were located at 862 889 sites across Australia.

The Business Register is compiled from Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data on group employer registrations. This is supplemented by other data collected on businesses by the ABS. A business is defined as legal entity that provides goods and services, which includes registered companies and government agencies. The Business Register is used as the sample base for many ABS business surveys and, about once a year, the ABS takes a snapshot which provides an estimate of the number of businesses, by size, industry and location.

Businesses in Electoral Divisions

The data can be arranged by the number of businesses in postcode areas. From this it is possible to estimate approximately how many businesses there are in each Electoral Division using an allocation of postcodes to Electoral Divisions. In the case of postcodes that straddle the boundaries of Electoral Divisions the postcode is apportioned on the basis of population.

Care must be exercised when interpreting these figures as there are a number of limitations to the data.

  • The ABS does not provide data on the farm sector at the postcode level. For rural divisions this would obviously be quite significant.
  • The Business Register contains data on all organisations that have submitted a group employer registration certificate (including religious organisations and government agencies).
  • Many self employed people do not register a group employer certificate with the ATO so they do not appear on the Business Register
  • The ABS does not instantly update the Business Register, so there may be businesses that have come into existence and businesses that have ceased to exist, which are not accounted for in the register at the time of the snapshot.
  • Where a postcode straddles one or more Electoral Divisions it is not possible to accurately tell what proportion of businesses falls into which division. It is possible that all the businesses in such a postcode could fall into one of divisions that it straddles.

State

Businesses

Per 1000 of population

NSW

295 873

47

Vic

219 028

47

Qld

160 268

47

WA

84 069

47

SA

60 770

41

Tas

21 856

46

ACT

12 971

42

NT

8 054

43

Aust

862 889

46

The table above shows the number of businesses and businesses per 1000 of the population by State and Territory. The table overleaf shows businesses by Electoral Divisions.

Main Features

The Electoral Division with the highest number of businesses was Sydney which had 27 007. Divisions with a high number of businesses are those that contain the Central Business District (CBD) of a State capital or a significant secondary CBD. These divisions included: Melbourne; (20 944); Brisbane (17 056); Adelaide (12 999); Melbourne Ports (11 529); and North Sydney (15 231).

Bonython recorded the smallest number of businesses with 2718.

The average number of businesses per division was 5277.

Source: ABS, Business Register

 

ABS Business Register - September 1997 Extract

Count of Business Locations (excluding Agriculture) by Commonwealth Electoral Division

Electoral Division

Party

Number

Electoral Division

Party

Number

Adelaide (SA)

LIB

12,999

Hunter (NSW)

ALP

3,982

Aston (Vic)

LIB

5,795

Indi (Vic)

LIB

5,369

Ballarat (Vic)

LIB

4,853

Isaacs (Vic)

ALP

5,056

Banks (NSW)

ALP

4,495

Jagajaga (Vic)

ALP

5,367

Barker (SA)

LIB

5,326

Kalgoorlie (WA)

LIB

7,453

Barton (NSW)

ALP

4,872

Kennedy (Qld)

NP

6,129

Bass (Tas)

ALP

4,975

Kingsford-Smith (NSW)

ALP

5,718

Batman (Vic)

ALP

5,440

Kingston (SA)

ALP

2,883

Bendigo (Vic)

ALP

4,740

Kooyong (Vic)

LIB

7,535

Bennelong (NSW)

LIB

5,915

Lalor (Vic)

ALP

3,242

Berowra (NSW)

LIB

6,455

La Trobe (Vic)

LIB

4,861

Blair (Qld)

LIB

3,804

Leichhardt (Qld)

LIB

7,747

Blaxland (NSW)

ALP

5,371

Lilley (Qld)

ALP

6,297

Bonython (SA)

ALP

2,718

Lindsay (NSW)

LIB

4,590

Boothby (SA)

LIB

3,692

Longman (Qld)

LIB

3,566

Bowman (Qld)

ALP

4,532

Lowe (NSW)

ALP

6,609

Braddon (Tas)

ALP

4,291

Lyne (NSW)

NP

4,855

Bradfield (NSW)

LIB

6,686

Lyons (Tas)

ALP

3,645

Brand (WA)

ALP

2,924

Macarthur (NSW)

LIB

5,152

Brisbane (Qld)

ALP

17,056

Mackellar (NSW)

LIB

7,382

Bruce (Vic)

ALP

6,330

Macquarie (NSW)

LIB

4,730

Burke (Vic)

ALP

4,189

Makin (SA)

LIB

3,576

Calare (NSW)

IND

4,647

Mallee (Vic)

NP

5,504

Calwell (Vic)

ALP

4,028

Maranoa (Qld)

NP

6,516

Canberra (ACT)

ALP

5,801

Maribyrnong (Vic)

ALP

3,929

Canning (WA)

ALP

3,621

Mayo (SA)

LIB

3,884

Capricornia (Qld)

ALP

5,592

McEwen (Vic)

LIB

4,839

Casey (Vic)

LIB

5,315

McMillan (Vic)

ALP

4,999

Charlton (NSW)

ALP

3,823

McPherson (Qld)

LIB

6,331

Chifley (NSW)

ALP

3,602

Melbourne (Vic)

ALP

20,944

Chisholm (Vic)

ALP

6,778

Melbourne Ports (Vic)

ALP

11,529

Cook (NSW)

LIB

5,934

Menzies (Vic)

LIB

5,234

Corangamite (Vic)

LIB

3,790

Mitchell (NSW)

LIB

5,776

Corio (Vic)

ALP

5,512

Moncrieff (Qld)

LIB

9,999

Cowan (WA)

ALP

3,685

Moore (WA)

LIB

2,879

Cowper (NSW)

NP

5,288

Moreton (Qld)

LIB

7,137

Cunningham (NSW)

ALP

4,907

Murray (Vic)

LIB

5,650

Curtin (WA)

LIB

10,266

Newcastle (NSW)

ALP

6,480

Dawson (Qld)

NP

6,067

New England (NSW)

NP

5,094

Deakin (Vic)

LIB

5,976

North Sydney (NSW)

LIB

15,231

Denison (Tas)

ALP

6,082

Northern Territory (NT)

ALP

8,068

Dickson (Qld)

ALP

4,114

O'Connor (WA)

LIB

6,088

Dobell (NSW)

ALP

4,869

Oxley (Qld)

ALP

4,039

Dunkley (Vic)

LIB

5,009

Page (NSW)

NP

5,186

Eden-Monaro (NSW)

LIB

5,795

Parkes (NSW)

NP

5,474

Fadden (Qld)

LIB

4,672

Parramatta (NSW)

LIB

6,279

Fairfax (Qld)

LIB

5,267

Paterson (NSW)

ALP

4,094

Farrer (NSW)

NP

5,661

Pearce (WA)

LIB

4,379

Fisher (Qld)

LIB

6,116

Perth (WA)

ALP

11,256

Flinders (Vic)

LIB

4,494

Petrie (Qld)

LIB

4,344

Forde (Qld)

LIB

4,300

Port Adelaide (SA)

ALP

4,933

Forrest (WA)

LIB

5,502

Prospect (NSW)

ALP

5,726

Fowler (NSW)

ALP

4,130

Rankin (Qld)

ALP

3,974

Franklin (Tas)

ALP

2,833

Reid (NSW)

ALP

6,316

Fraser (ACT)

ALP

7,180

Richmond (NSW)

NP

5,427

Fremantle (WA)

ALP

5,837

Riverina (NSW)

NP

5,271

Gellibrand (Vic)

ALP

5,667

Robertson (NSW)

LIB

4,115

Gilmore (NSW)

LIB

4,615

Ryan (Qld)

LIB

5,838

Gippsland (Vic)

NP

5,262

Scullin (Vic)

ALP

3,884

Goldstein (Vic)

LIB

7,104

Shortland (NSW)

ALP

3,726

Grayndler (NSW)

ALP

6,801

Stirling (WA)

ALP

6,271

Greenway (NSW)

ALP

4,928

Sturt (SA)

LIB

5,652

Grey (SA)

LIB

5,458

Swan (WA)

ALP

8,009

Griffith (Qld)

ALP

5,121

Sydney (NSW)

ALP

27,007

Groom (Qld)

LIB

5,416

Tangney (WA)

LIB

5,156

Gwydir (NSW)

NP

5,138

Throsby (NSW)

ALP

3,216

Herbert (Qld)

LIB

5,961

Wakefield (SA)

LIB

4,615

Higgins (Vic)

LIB

8,871

Wannon (Vic)

LIB

4,855

Hindmarsh (SA)

LIB

4,531

Warringah (NSW)

LIB

7,510

Hinkler (Qld)

NP

5,025

Watson (NSW)

ALP

4,542

Holt (Vic)

ALP

4,759

Wentworth (NSW)

LIB

7,906

Hotham (Vic)

ALP

5,864

Werriwa (NSW)

ALP

4,194

Hughes (NSW)

LIB

4,469

Wide Bay (Qld)

NP

4,819

Hume (NSW)

NP

4,561

Wills (Vic)

ALP

5,141

 
 

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