The Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have reached agreement for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the production of a Regional Statistics Data Library (RSDL).
Working in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics (CoEATSIS), the group will facilitate the establishment of this comprehensive data source to capture and manage regionally specific, official and service delivery data and statistics.
The agreement was signed at the TSRA December 2017 Board Meeting by Dean Bowley, Program Manager of the ABS’ Indigenous and Social Information Branch, the TSRA Chair and CEO.
TSRA Chairperson Mr Napau Pedro Stephen, said the collaboration will see TSRA working in close collaboration with the ABS and in conjunction with official statistical and service delivery agencies.
“The data collection is important for evidence based assessments of regional needs and to measuring the Torres Region’s progress towards Closing the Gap targets,” he said.
“Technical and methodological expertise will be provided by the ABS to collate the relevant statistics.
“This will help us to facilitate better community planning, increased integration and coordination of services, and more rigorous monitoring and reporting systems.”
As a basis for regional development planning, the RSDL will provide geographically specific data related to a broad range of Torres Strait relevant social statistics, such as: demography and social statistics, housing and infrastructure, social and support services, health status, education and training, criminal justice, labour market, environment and income from employment and welfare.
Mr Bowley said the ABS is keen to be involved in this significant collaboration with the TSRA to create a set of key baseline statistics specific to the Torres Strait region to help inform evidence-based policies that will guide future regional development.
“In signing this MoU with the TSRA, the ABS is signalling its commitment to working together with the Torres Strait community and supporting their data development needs,” he said.
A primary focus of this collaborative project is the compilation of key regionally specific social and developmental statistics collected in national population Census’s and other official data collections.
A secondary aim of the project will be for the ABS to work closely with the TSRA and key service delivery agencies in the region in order to increase statistical literacy.