Role of the Statistical Clearing House

The Statistical Clearing House (SCH) for Business Surveys was established in 1997 within the Australian Bureau of Statistics as an Australian Government initiative by the Prime Minister at the time. The Statistical Clearing House (SCH) provides a central clearance point for business surveys that are run, funded, or conducted on behalf of the Australian Government. The purpose of the SCH is to reduce duplication, minimise the burden on business and ensure that surveys are fit for purpose.

The SCH independently assesses proposed business survey methods and questionnaire design to ensure that surveys follow best practice. All surveys that meet the specific scoping criteria must be submitted for review and clearance. The following resources provide further information on the role of the SCH.




SCH Developments - What's happening around the Clearing House?

The SCH is currently undertaking a number of initiatives that will impact the SCH over the coming months:

* The SCH website is being redeveloped to improve its usability. Over the ensuing months there will be many exciting changes to the website, with the first being the rebranding of the SCH to reflect that it is a National Statistical Service initiative to reduce provider load and support statistical coordination across government.

* A review of SCH processes, procedures and submission templates is underway. The SCH is seeking input from stakeholders and valuable feedback is being used to improve SCH material and processes. The SCH is interested in the views of all stakeholders and would welcome additional comment and feedback.

* Migration of the current paper based SCH templates to enable electronic submission.

If you would like to provide feedback on the above initiatives please contact the statistical clearing house hotline on (02) 6252 5285.





SCH Business Surveys Templates

SCH Scoping Template
For all new business surveys the SCH Scoping Template is to be completed. Open the Scoping Template document to complete and forward to the SCH email address: statistical.clearing.house@abs.gov.au



SCH Information Template
For all existing business surveys and those new surveys determined to be in scope for a review following the completion of a SCH Scoping Template, the SCH Information Template is to be completed. Open the Information Template document to complete and forward to the SCH email address: statistical.clearing.house@abs.gov.au



If you require assistance on completing SCH templates please contact the statistical clearing house hotline on (02) 6252 5285.