The Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics was renamed the Australian Bureau of Statistics on 15 March 1974 and the proclamation of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 on 3 May 1976 established the Bureau as a separate statutory authority, headed by the Australian Statistician who had the powers of a Permanent Head.

The Act identified the functions of the Bureau as follows:
 
- to constitute the central statistical authority for the
  Australian Government and, by arrangements with the
  Governments of the States, provide statistical services for
  those governments;
- to collect, compile, analyse and disseminate statistics and
  related information;
- to ensure the co-ordination of the operations of official
  bodies involved in the collection, compilation and
  dissemination of statistics and related information to avoid
  duplication, attain compatibility and to maximise the use of,
  and access to, statistical information.
- to formulate, and ensure compliance with, standards for the
  statistical work undertaken by official bodies.
- to provide advice and assistance to official bodies in relation
  to statistics, and
- to provide liaison between Australia and other countries and
  international organisations in relation to statistical matters.

The Commonwealth of Australia Act No 15 of 1905, Census and Statistics Act 1905, as amended, makes further provisions about the responsibilities and powers of the Bureau.

One of the prime responsibilities of the Bureau is the taking of the census. A census is taken in every fifth year, and at any other prescribed time, on a day appointed by proclamation. 2

The collection, publication and dissemination of statistical
information considered by the statistician to be appropriate (or as directed by the Minister in writing) is also undertaken.3 This statistical information is usually collected in relation to matters such as population; vital, social and industrial matters; employment and non-employment; imports and exports, inter State trade; factories; mines and productive industries generally; agricultural, horticultural, viticultural dairying and pastoral industries; banking, insurance and finance and land tenure and occupancy.

Authorised Officers of the Bureau are empowered to gain entry to any premises for the purposes of gaining information in the conduct of their duty.4  Any person refusing to provide information or guilty of furnishing false or providing misleading information may be liable to a financial penalty. 5

The organisation of the State Office of the Bureau reflects that of the Bureau's Central Office. On formation, there were six Divisions within the Office: Computer Services Division; Co-ordination and Management Division; Demography, Social and Manpower Division; Economic Accounts Division; Economic Censuses and Surveys Division and the Statistical and User Services Division.

The following have served as Deputy Commonwealth Statisticians (from 1997, Regional Director) in New South Wales:

Mr R G Walker      (15 Mar) 1974-1976 (July 16)
Mr F Bagley        (16 Jul) 1976-1977 (Jan 10)
Mr D W Maitland    (10 Jan) 1977-1980 (Jun 2)
Mr J E Dulley       (2 Jun) 1980-1982 (Nov 11)
Mr T J Skinner     (11 Nov) 1982-c1986
Mr P G Howell (acting)     c1986-c1987
Mr J F Wilson        by Jul 1987-1992
Mr Denis Farrell            1992-1995
Mr Greg Bray		    1995-

The Bureau's functional work of collecting statistical information is undertaken manually by Bureau Officers or by surveys. However, the processing, manipulation and analysis of this data is done entirely by computer. The Bureau's Offices are all part of the computing network which was connected late in 1982. The Bureau's central computing installation is located in Canberra.

The Bureau's administrative and housekeeping functions are largely undertaken on file. The Bureau has a Registry unit with a staffing complement of thirteen officers. As at 1983 the Bureau maintained an annual single number general correspondence file series which formed the core of its record keeping system. The Bureau did not however at that time utilise a computer program to record and manipulate personnel and establishment records.

Under the Census and Statistics Act the most significant of the Bureau's functional series, the population census returns, and all other commercial and industrial returns are destroyed once the date is digitally encoded after all personal and corporate references have been deleted.

References:
 


Commonwealth of Australia Act No. 60 of 1975, Australian
   Bureau of Statistics Act 1975, Part 11, Section 6.
 
2. Commonwealth of Australia Act No. 15 of 1905, Census and
   Statistics Act 1905 (reprinted as at 1 March, 1983) Part 11,
   Section 8
3. Ibid., Part 111, Section 9 (1) (b)
4. Ibid., Part IV, Section 18
5. Ibid., Part 111, Section 14.

1974-1978: Bank House, 315 George Street, Sydney 
1978-    : St Andrew's House, Sydney Square, Sydney

Creation: Commonwealth of Australia Act No. 60 of 1975, Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975