[WWW - 2023.07.31]

Data Element Detail

Person-country of birth (SACC 2016, v2.2.1)
Identifying and Definitional Attributes
QH 040161 v10
Data Element
Data Element
Draft
22-Aug-2019		Current
19-Nov-2019
Standard
Information Management Strategic Governance Committee (IMSGC), Queensland Health
01-Jul-2019
30-Jun-2023
The country in which a person was born.
Clinical and administrative purposes.
Country of birth
Birthplace - country; Place of birth - country
Representational Attributes
Numeric Character
Code
N(4)
4
4
Permissible Values

Permissible_values

A valid code from the Corporate Reference Data System (CRDS) Country (SACC) domain edition 2.2.1-2016, maintained by Statistical Standards and Strategies, Statistical Services Branch (SSB).
Supplementary Values

Supplemenary_values

-
Collection and Usage Attributes
Country data shall be sourced from or verified against the data held in the CRDS maintained by the Statistical Services Branch (SSB).

For user purposes the description of the country of birth shall be displayed.

The Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) 2016 is an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) classification that includes:
- Fully independent countries (sovereign nation states),
- Administrative subdivisions of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and
- External territories and dependencies of independent countries.

A country, even if it comprises other discrete political entities such as states, is treated as a single unit for all data domain purposes. Parts of a political entity are not included in different groups. Thus, Hawaii is included in Northern America (as part of the identified country United States of America), despite being geographically close to and having similar social and cultural characteristics as the units classified to Polynesia.

The structure of the SACC has three levels:
Major group: 1-digit codes
Minor group: 2-digit codes
Country: 4-digit codes

For example:
Level: Code Title
Major group: 1 Oceania and Antarctica
Minor group: 11 Australia (includes External Territories)
Country: 1101 Australia

Supplementary codes for inadequate data:
These codes commence with 000 and facilitate the coding of data which present particular problems in that a country code cannot be allocated.

0000 Inadequately described
To be used when insufficient country of birth information is provided or the information is unknown (e.g. when a person is unconscious).

0001 At sea
To be used when a person was born at sea.

0003 Not stated
To be used when no country of birth information is provided (e.g. when a person refuses to provide the information).
Should not be null.

Queensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC):
Validated against country codes.
Must not be blank.
PREMS and PROMs:
PREMs and PROMs payload files include the Country of birth description rather than the code Questionnaire Manager.

Countries that are valid for coding in Queensland Health information systems/data collections are at the 4-digit Country level of the ABS classification. In addition, the supplementary codes for inadequate data may be used.

Some data collections ask respondents to specify their country of birth. In others, a pre-determined set of countries is specified as part of the question, usually accompanied by an 'other (please specify)' category.

Recommended questions are:
'In which country were you/was the person/was (name) born?'
Australia
Other (please specify)

Alternatively, a list of countries may be used based on, for example common Census responses.
'In which country were you/was the person/was (name) born?'
Australia
England
New Zealand
Italy
Vietnam
India
Scotland
Philippines
Greece
Germany
Other (please specify)

In either case, coding of data should conform to the SACC.

Sometimes respondents are simply asked to specify whether they were born in either 'English speaking' or 'non-English speaking' countries but this question is of limited use and this method of collection is not recommended.

If a country no longer exists or has changed name, clarification as to the correct code to apply should be sought from the SSB who maintain the statewide reference data for countries.

Is implemented in Queensland Master Patient Index (QMPI) QH 020653 v1
Country of birth is important in the study of access to services by different population sub-groups. Country of birth is the most easily collected and consistently reported of a range of possible data items that may indicate cultural or language diversity. Country of birth may be used in conjunction with other data elements for example Period of residence in Australia, to derive more sophisticated measures of access to (or need for) services by different population sub-groups.

This metadata item is consistent with that used in ABS collections and is recommended for use whenever there is a requirement for comparison with ABS data. Note that the SACC is mappable to but not identical to Australian Standard Classification of Countries for Social Statistics (ASCCSS).
Relational Attributes
Related Metadata References

Related Metadata References_IR

  • 1 - 1
ViewRelationshipMetadata Item TypeMetadata Item SubtypeNameIdentifier & VersionApproval Status
SupersedesData ElementData ElementPerson-country of birth (SACC 2016)QH 040161 Version 9Superseded
Implementation in Metadata Sets

Implemented

  • 1 - 15
ViewMetadata Item TypeMetadata Item SubtypeNameIdentifer & VersionObligationApproval StatusEffective FromEffective To
Information AssetData CollectionElective Surgery Data Collection (ESDC)QH 020110 Version 3MandatoryDraft01-Jul-202130-Jun-2023
Information AssetData CollectionElective Surgery Data Collection (ESDC)QH 020110 Version 2MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-201930-Jun-2021
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementElective Surgery Waiting List Census Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2019-2020QH 020568 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-201930-Jun-2020
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementElective Surgery Waiting List Census Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2020-2021QH 020682 Version 1MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-202030-Jun-2021
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementElective Surgery Waiting List Removals Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2019-2020QH 020567 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-201930-Jun-2020
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementElective Surgery Waiting List Removals Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2020-2021QH 020683 Version 1MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-202030-Jun-2021
Information AssetData CollectionEmergency Data Collection (EDC)QH 020159 Version 3MandatoryDraft01-Jul-202130-Jun-2023
Information AssetData CollectionEmergency Data Collection (EDC)QH 020159 Version 2MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-201930-Jun-2021
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementGastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE)-Removals Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2019-2020QH 020563 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-201930-Jun-2020
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementGastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE)-Removals Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2020-2021QH 020685 Version 1MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-202030-Jun-2021
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementGastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE)-Waiting Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2019-2020QH 020564 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-201930-Jun-2020
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementGastrointestinal Endoscopy (GIE)-Waiting Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2020-2021QH 020686 Version 1MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-202030-Jun-2021
Information AssetData CollectionGastrointestinal Endoscopy Data Collection (GIEDC)-RemovalsQH 020277 Version 3MandatoryDraft01-Jul-202130-Jun-2023
Information AssetData CollectionGastrointestinal Endoscopy Data Collection (GIEDC)-RemovalsQH 020277 Version 2MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-201930-Jun-2021
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementOral Health Data Supply Requirement (DSR)QH 020579 Version 1MandatoryCurrent01-Jul-201930-Jun-2023
Source and Reference Attributes
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Person-country of birth, code (SACC 2016), METeOR Identifier: 659454 https://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/659454
ABS cat. no. 1269.0. Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) Second Edition
Country; Nationality;