Administrative data collections are becoming more important in the management, financing and monitoring of health services. The hospital morbidity dataset is particularly important in this regard since the introduction of Casemix mananagement and funding of hospital inpatient services and cross-border charging for inpatient treatment of interstate residents. High data quality is vital when financial allocation and management decisions are based on the hospital morbidity dataset.

This report records the results of an NT Department of Health and Community Services project, supported by ABS, which updates and enhances existing population estimates for Health Zones. The methodology utilised in this project has been developed in consultations with representatives from NT Aboriginal Health Forum partners, however at the stage of printing, the methods and population estimates in this project have not been formally approved for use by the NT Aboriginal Health Forum. The report is required in order to plan, administer and assess the health benefits of the Primary Health Care Access Program, a joint Commonwealth and NT Government scheme to facilitate NT Aboriginal people's access to appropriate primary health care services.

This paper describes four summary measures, or indexes, derived from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing to measure different aspects of socio-economic conditions. These indexes are then applied to both the Department of Health and Community Services (DHCS) administrative health districts and to Urban Centres/Localities in the Northern Territory. The four SEIFA indexes are (ABS 2003): Index of Relative Socio-Economic disadvantage; Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage/Disadvantage; Index of Economic Resources; and Index of Education and Occupation. These indexes show where the affluent (as opposed to just high income earning) live; where disadvantaged (as opposed to the unemployed) live; and where the highly skilled and educated (as opposed to the tertiary educated people) live.