Australian standard of living study, 1987

The Australian Standard of Living Study was designed to develop indicators of the standard of living in Australia that would allow better comparisons over time, and with other countries, than was previously possible. The study aimed to avoid the assumption that a poverty threshold can be adequately defined in terms of current (weekly or annual) income. The survey makes use of direct measures of standard of living such as housing, nourishment, transport and clothing, rather than indirect measures such as income which only indicate capacity to achieve a specified standard of living. The approach is based on the Level of Living Studies, a method of social accounting which has been used in Scandinavia since the 1960s. The survey includes self-assessment of financial well-being, money-saving behaviours, capacity to raise money, assets, debts, financial assistance from parents, health and health expenses, contact with relatives, marital history, expenditure for children, housing arrangements, work hours, income, leisure activities, social support, and life satisfaction. Background variables include parents' birthplace, parents' education level, parents' occupation, number of children, marital status, spouse's occupation, and respondent's education, qualifications, and employment history.