Abstract

Like many other countries, Australia is dealing with the increasing challenges of collecting detailed information about household expenditure. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last conducted its six-yearly Household Expenditure Survey (HES) in 2015-16, in conjunction with the biennial Survey of Income and Housing (SIH). The 2021-22 HES was postponed due to the pandemic. Since then we have been re-imagining the collection, particularly in the areas of: questionnaire and sample design, and the use of public and private sector data sources to substitute or augment survey data. This paper will explore the challenges and trade-offs in designing our new approach, including meeting the varied needs of our users, minimising burden on our respondents, and addressing the increasing costs of running large household surveys.