Introduction
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey was announced in the 1999-2000 Budget by the Federal Government with the first collection of data occurring in 2001. Further funding was provided in the 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2007-08 Budgets. The HILDA survey was made an ongoing project in the 2007-08 Budget and the survey has to date contracted a total of twelve annual waves of data collection.
Objectives
The primary objective of the HILDA Survey is to support research questions falling within three broad areas:
- income dynamics - with a particular focus on how households respond to policy changes aimed at improving financial incentives, and interactions between changes in family status and poverty
- labour market dynamics - with a focus on low-to-middle income households, female participation, and work to retirement transitions and
- family dynamics - focusing on family formation, well-being and separation, along with post-separation arrangements for children and links between income support and family formation and dissolution.
Content
HILDA covers a range of topics including, but not limited to, such things as: life satisfaction, health outcomes, fertility, neighbourhood characteristics, time usage and work-family balance.
A feature of the HILDA survey is that modules on specific topics can be included in each wave. Examples so far include:
- Wave 2 – extensive data on wealth holdings of individuals and households
- Wave 3 – detailed data on the retirement intentions and retirement planning of people aged 45 years and over
- Wave 4 – young people's educational and job expectations, the impact of disabilities on work and study, and the take up of private health insurance
- Wave 5 – fertility and partnering, parents’ education, the taking of leave from paid work during the previous year, carers, intentions and plans, personality and household expenditure
- Wave 6 – wealth, home loan repayments and refinancing, housing, household expenditure, social capital, height and weight and financial risk preference
- Wave 7 – retirement, literacy and numeracy, diet, smoking history
- Wave 8 – family formation and fertility, non-coresidential relationships (with partners, parents and siblings), intentions and plans
- Wave 9 – health, health insurance, diet and disability
Detailed information on survey content is available in the HILDA online user manual.
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Parties involved
The HILDA Survey is funded and managed on behalf of the Australian Government by the HILDA Survey Section, Research & Analysis Branch, Department of Families and Housing, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA).
The design, development and conduct of the HILDA survey has been contracted to the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne. The principal investigator for the survey is Professor Mark Wooden from the Melbourne Institute. The fieldwork for waves 1-8 was sub-contracted to the Nielsen Company. Roy Morgan Research has been sub-contracted to undertake the fieldwork for Waves 9-12.
Timeline
Wave 1 data was collected between August and December 2001, and released in October 2002. Wave 2 data was collected between August 2002 and March 2003 and released in January 2004. Subsequent waves follow this pattern.
More details on the survey
In depth information about the HILDA survey is available from the dedicated website:
The University of Melbourne. This information includes:
- HILDA Annual Reports
- project timing
- survey instruments
- discussion and technical papers on survey design, data quality, weighting and imputation
- a comprehensive bibliography of research papers that use HILDA data.
There are also contact details and an email discussion/information group (HILDA-L) which you can join.
Getting access to HILDA data
The HILDA data is available to approved researchers. Researchers interested in applying for the data need to fill in the Application form and Deed of Licence covering the use of the data. These forms are available from the HILDA website:
The University of Melbourne.
For more information on applying for the data please email longitudinalsurveys@fahcsia.gov.au