Statistics New Zealand pleased with census dress rehearsal

Statistics New Zealand says the 2010 Census Dress Rehearsal has given them
a strong base to work from as the organisation gears up for the full census
on Tuesday, 8 March 2011.


About 8,000 households in west and central Auckland, Gisborne, Wellington,
and mid-Canterbury were included in last month’s dress rehearsal.


It is designed to fine-tune processes and identify any potential problems
with distributing census forms, collecting and processing information.


“We’re pleased with how things went. Everything from field staff
recruitment and training to the processing of forms went smoothly, and now
it’s a case of fine-tuning our processes and applying what we’ve learned to
the 2011 Census,” says General Manager, 2011 Census Carol Slappendel.


“I’m particularly encouraged by the number of people who chose to complete
their forms online,” she said.


“We’ve had a strong uptake with 33% of forms submitted online – a
significant increase on the number recorded for the 2005 Dress Rehearsal.”


Statistics New Zealand is confident the online option – which was also
offered in 2006 – is a secure, quick and easy way of filling in census
forms.


The census is the official count of how many people and dwellings there are
in New Zealand. For more information about the census and dress rehearsal,
visit www.census.govt.nz.


Carol Slappendel
General Manager, 2011 Census