Occupational Prestige in Australia: A New Scale

Abstract

The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently released a new occupational classification, the Australian Standard Classifi cation of Occupations. Unlike its predecessor, the new classifi cation is skill-based. In this research note, I use a public use sample from the 1986 Census, the ASCO/CCLO link file, and other census data, to explore the structural basis of the two main Australian prestige scales. I also present a new socio- economic status scale, the ANU3 scale, for use with the Aus tralian occupational classification.