Where does IBISWorld source its data for Australia Industry Reports?
We source Australia industry data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Queensland Government Statistician Office (QGSO) and various sector-specific sources. We source the latest available data from each source when our team of analysts update a report.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
IBISWorld’s core collection of Australia Industry Reports is based on ABS’s ANZSIC codes. ABS data provides a foundation for analysts to build their research on.
Australia Industry
The ABS's Australian Industry release (formerly ABS 8155) provides annual data on the economic and financial performance of Australian industries. For most core Australia Industry Reports, our analysts use this data to capture key metrics, including industry revenue, wages and the number of firms and employees.
These figures populate the Industry Data table in the Key Statistics chapter of our Industry Reports and are used to populate charts and tables in the Performance chapter.
The figures after the current year in the Industry Data table and related charts are forecast using our Forecasting Methodology.
Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits
The ABS’s annual Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits release covers actively trading businesses, rates of entry to and exit from the market sector of the economy and rates of business survival. This release informs our enterprise and business locations coverage. Analysts also use this release to understand industries’ performance and market share concentration.
Other ABS releases
In conjunction with the ABS’s annual Australia Industry and Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits data, analysts also sometimes rely on the following ABS releases:
Sector-specific releases: Analysts use a variety of sector-specific releases to supplement more general ABS data.
Australian National Accounts: Input-Output Tables: These releases provide detailed information about the supply and use of products in the Australian economy. Analysts use them to form the basis of major markets coverage, as they measure inter-relationships between industries.
Producer Price Indexes, Australia: These releases measure price change of goods and services as they leave or enter the production process. Analysts use them to understand the proportional role of price in annual revenue calculations.
Analysts may also use company data to fill in gaps not covered by the ABS’s releases or other sources.
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Analysts primarily rely on the ATO’s annual Taxation Statistics to create the Cost Structure Benchmarks chart in the Financial Benchmarks chapter of Industry Reports.
Queensland Government Statistician Office (QGSO)
We source international trade data from the QGSO’s International Trade releases.
Sector-specific sources
Analysts rely on numerous sector-specific sources depending on the report they’re writing. Some of the most notable are:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: revenue, wages and employment data for some health-based industries.
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES): revenue data on agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA): revenue data on insurance, banks and superannuation industries.
Department of Industry, Science and Resources – The Resources and Energy Quarterly: released every quarter with vital information on the mining, electricity and agriculture industries.
Our analysts use company financial data extensively to form industry-specific revenue estimates, various key stats and qualitative trends.
How does IBISWorld estimate unreported data?
The ABS and other Australian data sources can have incomplete data for some years, especially for more minor industries. To estimate unreported data, we employ various methods depending on the industry, type of data and data availability.
Some of the methods our analysts use rely on data from major companies, industry ratios and growth rates from alternative sources.
Major companies data
Analysts sometimes use the revenue and growth rates of major companies to estimate unreported data, particularly in industries where a few companies dominate the market. By examining the performance of these key players, analysts can make educated assumptions about the industry's overall growth. This method can be especially useful when up-to-date or detailed data for the entire industry is not available.
Example: By Now Pay Later in Australia (OD5547)
In the By Now Pay Later industry, the top 4 companies account for more than 90.0% of the market. Due to this concentration, the financial performance of these major players significantly influences the industry as a whole. By analysing the recent annual and quarterly reports of these leading companies, analysts can gain insights into the overall market dynamics.
For instance, if these top companies reported an average revenue growth of 5% over the past year, analysts might extrapolate this growth rate to estimate the industry's performance. This approach allows analysts to produce more accurate and timely estimates, even when comprehensive industry-wide data is not readily available. Given the high level of market concentration, analysts also sum up the revenue of the major companies and add an additional proportion to account for smaller players. On the whole, this should give a fair idea of the industry’s market size.
Such an estimation method provides a pragmatic way to understand market trends, making it a valuable tool in the absence of complete data sets. However, analysts must consider any significant anomalies or external factors affecting the major companies to ensure their estimates remain as accurate as possible.
Industry ratios
Analysts apply industry ratios of parent industries to estimate specific Key Statistics figures.
Examples
Enterprises: If we have the number of establishments but not enterprises for an industry, we can use the ratio of enterprises to establishments from the parent industry and apply this ratio to the number of establishments in the industry we are analyzing to estimate the number of enterprises.
Employment: If we have industry revenue but lack employment data, we can estimate the number of employees using the parent industry's revenue per-employee ratio. For example, suppose a specialized industry generates $100 million in revenue, and the parent industry earns $1 million in revenue per employee. In that case, we can estimate that there are 100 employees in the specialized industry ($100M / $1M = 100 employees).
Wages: If we have the number of employees but not wage data, we can estimate industry wages using the average wage from the parent industry. For instance, if an industry employs 100 workers, and the parent industry has an average wage of $50,000 per employee, we can estimate the wage expenses at $5,000,000 (100 employees * $50,000 per employee).
Growth rates from alternative sources
Sometimes, when ABS halts reporting certain data sets or changes its reporting standards, IBISWorld analysts find alternative sources and use growth rates from those figures to keep the historical and current revenue figures comparable.
Example: Wine Production in Australia (C1214)
The revenue figures for the Wine Production industry in Australia were derived from ABS 8155 till 2015-16. From 2016-17 onwards, revenue figures released by the ABS did not match wider trends published by industry associations and major companies.
As a result, from 2016-17 the main revenue source was changed to Wine Australia Inventory Reports. In order to maintain comparability between years, growth rates from the Wine Australia Inventory Reports were used to estimate revenue figures from 2016-17 onwards as opposed to using the figure itself.
For any additional questions regarding IBISWorld’s Australia data sourcing, please reach out to your Client Relationship Manager. If you’re not an IBISWorld member, please contact us to learn more about our membership options.