Our Services
Education Geographics
Your anonymised school enrolment data is exhaustively analysed by our EGS teams of professional statisticians, demographic profilers, and spatial analysts to help you to answer critical strategic questions.
Who are our parents? What can their own background and profile tell us about what they want from our school? How do we talk to them on social media? Can they afford our fees? Where can we find more of them? How can we transport them to our school?
Australian Development Strategies
ELABORATE is the name given to both the database and the analytical techniques developed by Australian Development Strategies Pty Ltd (ADS) principals during 50 years of experience in using demographic analysis, profiling and mapping to solve practical problems.
ADS Pty Ltd is the parent company of and data provider to Education Geographics and Health Geographics.
Health Geographics
Health Geographics was established by ADS to link the health component of the Elaborate database with an online dashboard and Esri maps, to develop a new business focussing on health and welfare services, our fastest growing industry group, which has generated one in three Australian jobs in the last decade.
Health Geographics provides online dashboards and maps highlighting investment risks and opportunities for Australian Health and Welfare sectors.
Recent News
Webinar: Saul Eslake on US Presidential Election Impact on Australian Economy
We are pleased to welcome back Australia’s living economic legend Saul Eslake to our Education Geographics Webinars on November 15,
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John Stanley & John Black 28th October, 2024
I was interviewed by 2GB’s John Stanley this week, following my articles in the Australian Financial Review and my social
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Queensland vote a pivotal moment for Greens
I wrote a Queensland State election preview for the Australian Financial Review which appeared at the weekend and the link
Read MoreJohn Stanley & John Black 8th July, 2024
Last weekend The Australian Financial Review published my short review of the role of religion and ethnicity in Australian politics
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John Stanley & John Black 17th June, 2024
Political Opinion polls can be pretty unreliable at times, but lately they’ve all been moving in the same direction, which
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HGS Win InfoSol 2024 Award
Health Geographics has won the prestigious InfoSol 2024 Award for the Best Business Dashboard 2024, for its Private Health Care
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John Stanley and John Black – 26th March, 2024
I caught up with John Stanley from 2GB/4BC on Tuesday night for an informal chat about an election review article
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What happened on the weekend to rev up the week ahead.
There’s an hilarious cartoon in the Australian Financial Review today, with a story from me below it. My op ed
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Dunkley By-Election
I’ve written a profile of the by-election on Saturday in Dunkley for the Australian Financial Review, putting it in the
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Australian Female Participation Rates and Independent School Market share.
🎓I put on my Education Geographics hat today to write an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review for Tuesday’s
Read MoreJohn Stanley and John Black – 29th January, 2024
Had a chat with John Stanley of 2GB/4BC this week, at the tail end of yet another hot and humid
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The odds still point to another close Labor win in 2025.
My editor has okayed me posting the original story on spatial electoral strategy from the Australian Financial Review’s special New
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The Quest for Unclaimed Ground
I have an election strategy piece in the Australian Financial Review special New Year’s Edition for 2024. For AFR subscribers,
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Great Opportunity
Are you a student who is studying Geography, GIS, or Spatial Statistics or a mature-aged person seeking to re-enter the
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John Stanley and John Black – 8th November
I had the pleasure of meeting with John Stanley of 2GB/4BC for a captivating conversation about Australian and international demographics.
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Bruised Labor Back To Basics
I had an opinion piece in the Financial Review today on the demographics driving the Voice Yes and No votes.
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Good to go! 👍
I can tell New Zealand Customs that, in all honesty, I definitely packed this bag myself. Not quite a triumph
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Kids’ Packing List
After a week working on combined SQL and AI data and text modelling, I decided to go low tech for
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Angling for a share
The kids and I are getting our fair share of the pie before packing for our trip to NZ next
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Off to Tongariro
Guess who is taking the family for a fly fishing trip to the mighty Tongariro? 🎣 Our first trip to
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Aspirational Left voters rise again in NSW State Election
Above is a snip of our ADS/Esri online map showing in shades of red the larger estimated Two Party Preferred
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New Face of Politics
Read the full background stories about the Aspirational Left Families now reshaping Australia Three key decisions that adults in Australia
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Rise of the Aspirational Left voters reshaping Australia
Here’s a snip of an ADS/ESRI online map showing dark red shading for the three federal seats of Brisbane, Griffith
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Political Pitfalls Ahead
I have a little opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review’s New Year Special Edition on some of the political
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What if the PM ended the climate wars for good?
If Labor’s 2030 carbon emissions target is blocked by the Greens in the Senate, most Canberra Observers would expect Anthony
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Klahova Lake Today
Beautiful final day with no. 1 son at Klahoya Lake today. We parked the float tubes for a camp fire
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Grayling Hole – Spatsizi
We’re all off to the Grayling Hole #Spatsizi today. Woo hoo! Spot the Bald Eagle on the nest in top
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Time to catch (and release) some unwary trout.
Day whatever of our week dawns #Spatsizi and the pilots are already fuelling their floatplanes to take us out to
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Today we’re mountain climbing behind Lake Ella
In bear country, I like a guide who packs heat. Today we’re mountain climbing behind Lake Ella. All packed and
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Early to bed for this little black duck.
Heading home from the Firesteel today #Spatsizi. Early to bed for this little black duck. Our guide Ray Collingwood was
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Nature Putting On A Show
Flying up front in the Cessna 185 and getting a goat’s eye view of the ranges en route to the
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Twightlight Soccer Match
We had an afternoon to spare in beautiful downturn Smithers and paused, en route to the off licence, for this
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We made it to Smithers!
Hey Big Guy! We made it to Smithers! Cheery welcome from on old furry friend in the airport foyer. And
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We’re on our way Spatsizi
A menu, a wine list, a backdrop of beautiful Vancouver harbour…aaahh … we’re finally off on Air Canada to #Spatsizi
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Off to Spatsizi
We’re off on Air Canada to #Spatsizi finally, after 2.5 years of covid. No dramas at Sydney today if you’re
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2022 Federal Election Swing Map
The big winners and losers in the 2022 Election can be seen in our online interactive ADS 2022 Election Map.
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Political Voices: A Map
Coalition candidates in 2022 are vulnerable to well-funded and more professionally-managed “Voices” campaigns run by local activists, particularly when factionalised
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2022 Federal Election Top Income Quartile Map
If you want to know which federal seats are most likely to swing strongly to the Teal candidates at the
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Federal Election Profiles 2022
Monday 20th June, 2022 Party Machines Conking Out by John Black – AFR – Editorial and Opinion To Read click
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Key Swing Indicator Map for 2022 Federal Election
If you want to know which federal seats were more likely to show swings to the Opposition at the start
Read MorePolitical Voices: Past, Present and Future
Profiling of the Voices 2019 demographics by Australian Development Strategies shows that grassroots campaigns by Voices candidates against Liberals in
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‘I really like our maps … they’re great fun!’
Our EGS Spatial Analyst and Senior Mapper Dr Jeanine McMullan has just recorded a new video. In the video, headed
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Covid Impacts For School Planners
Using available data from late 2021, the Education Geographics team calculated post-Covid spatial estimates from 2020 to 2031 on total
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School Leaders: No time for complacency
In late 2021, Australia appears headed for a strong economic recovery, but underlying structural problems mean this is no time
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Allan Shaw, School Whisperer – Farewell to the best job in the world
Leading a school is the best job in the world, bringing together professional staff and parents to build a community
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Vacination Map Update as at September 13, 2021
The Australian Department of Health is now publishing regular updates showing vaccination rates as a percentage of those 15 years
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Profile of Australian Regional Vaccination Rates, as at August 28, 2021
By John Black, Chairman of ADS So many readers enjoyed the online Covid Vax maps from Health Geographics CEO Dr
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Vaccination Maps
Vaccination Maps In the public interest, the CEO of Health Geographics Dr Jeanine McMullan has mapped via the following link,
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Lockdown Daydreaming
During the long months of overlapping Covid lockdowns across all Australian states and the international lockdown to international travel, which
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What’s The Impact Of Covid On Education?
🎙 Steve Austin interviews John Black, Founder of Education Geographics. John discusses with Steve the role of aspirational parents
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Big Data Improves with Age
When it comes to their new Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages series, the ABS this week agreed with our ADS
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Rubbery Jobs Figures
I had a little piece in The Australian today on some of the modelling and mapping work we’ve been doing
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Looking Beyond Covid – Spatially
Australia is predicted to lose a million persons in the next few years, when compared to pre-Covid estimates. These losses
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We Told You So..
JobMaker misses the real target by John Black, CEO of Education Geographics, November 17, 2020 Today’s ABS Single Touch Payroll
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What’s in an Age?
Covid Jobs Update from John Black, CEO of Education Geographics, October 12, 2020 Some economists, trade unions and the Labor
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Newer Isn’t Always Better
Covid Jobs update from John Black, CEO of Education Geographics, October 6, 2020. A week or so back we provided
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Watching The Watchers
Covid Jobs update from John Black, CEO of Education Geographics, September 23, 2020. So which groups and regions have been
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National implications of Eden-Monaro by-election
The Eden-Monaro by-election was held on July 4 and won by Labor’s Kristy McBain, despite a small 2PP swing to
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Jobs Recovery Was Underway In May Following Initial Hit In March/April
The recovery in many jobs was well under way in May. It’s been most pronounced in those hit first in
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Eden-Monaro by-election 2020
By JOHN BLACK, Founder of ADS The Eden-Monaro by-election will be held on July 4. With a week to go,
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Impact on Australian Employment by COVID-19
We trace the jobs impact of the Covid-19 labour market shutdown in a news article and a linked online story
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Mapping the impact of Covid downturn
A co-operative venture between Australian Development Strategies, Health Geographics and Education Geographics has set out to regularly monitor, profile and
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Link to Covid 19 Map Published in the The Australian
A demographic profile of Covid-19 begins to emerge from the chaos of the first wave of tests. Dear Colleagues, this
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COVID-19 and the Impact of the jobs market on Non-Government school enrolments for 2021
Dear Colleagues, due to the changing environment and our response to COVID-19, I will be posting a series of updates
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GIS in the Classroom
A Conversation with Ali Pressel & Kyle Tredinnick In October 2019, Teacher Advisory Council members Ali Pressel and Kyle Tredinnick
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What Generation Z Wants from Work, Where
Written by Helen Thompson. A new survey of business and engineering students and their employer preferences offers vital insights on
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Mapping The World’s Islands
BY MARK ALTAWEEL There are over 300,000 islands in the world and most of these are poorly documented or generally unknown.
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The Trouble with Chocolate
Story by Steven Mufson | Photos by Salwan Georges A decade after Mars and other chocolate makers vowed to stop rampant deforestation, the
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New Historical Map of Arlington Shows What County Looked Like 100 Years Ago
A new historical map of Arlington allows users to explore what the county looked like 100 years ago. The digital map depicts
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Air Pollution Kills as Many People as Cigarettes
By Neha Pathak, MD Editor’s note: This story was updated Oct. 25, 2019 with a new analysis of air quality data
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HOW DATA-DRIVEN JOHN DEERE WINS THE MARKET
Written by: Marianna Kantor, Frits van der Schaaf Article snapshot: Using AI-based predictive analysis, John Deere helps its dealers spot growth
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SAVING ‘HALF OF EARTH’ TO SAVE HUMANITY
On the occasion of the Half Earth Day, a look at what E.O. Wilson Foundation is doing to save the
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SPATSIZI FISHING TRIP 2019 – JOHN & JACK BLACK
Recreational Research on the local trout at Spatsizi Wilderness Lodge. Wow! A double rainbow crowns a wet and cold Brisbane
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ELECTION ANALYSIS 2019
Here’s a fantastic Esri map done by Australian Development Strategies and Education Geographics Senior Mapper Dr Jeanine McMullan. It’s online,
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THE (almost) LAST POST ON LABOR FROM 2019 ELECTION
Hi there political tragics. The 2019 election has been fought and finalised and we’re just about finished our preview of
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LABOR DIGS A HOLE WITH MINERS
Hello again, political tragics. As we proceed with our 2019 profiling, the longer-term damage Labor has done to itself with
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SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHIC TECTONICS
Hi again, election tragics. We’re currently sifting through the statistical entrails of Saturday’s election, looking for key demographic characteristics of
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THE RELIGIOUS RUDD AND THE GREY VOTERS
Hi there again, election tragics. Sorry I’m late with this short article but I had to ice the cupcakes for
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STEREOTYPES AND VOTING
Hi there, election tragics. Here’s some data in Excel form for you to play with, in the lead up to
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RAISE THE SCARLET STANDARD HIGH
29 August 2018 AFR Higher Education Conference “Raise the Scarlet Standard High” by Glyn Davis – Vice-Chancellor, the University of Melbourne
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LONGMAN BY-ELECTION 2018
The ADS team has prepared an exhaustive profile of by-election swings in Bennelong, New England, Longman and Mayo. A full
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DIVINING VOTES ALL ABOUT SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS AT BY-ELECTIONS
Provided your humble correspondent is not eaten by a grizzly bear next week while trout-hunting in the wilds of northwest
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MEETING WITH JACK D
Jeanine and I are soaking up the latest GIS, Stats, AR developments at the Esri User Conference in San Diego
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2017 EDUCATION STATS ROUND UP
Here is a summary of slides presented in late 2017 to Principals, Vice Principals, Business Managers and Marketers. Data is
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NEW ENGLAND AND BENNELONG BY-ELECTIONS
See for yourself in our Esri online map how local demographics fed into the results in New England and Bennelong
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TRADIES UP, BUT CLERKS & SALES JOBS DISAPPEAR
The national Year on Year employment to population ratio and the participation rate stopped their downward slide during the February
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CLERKS REPLACE TRADIES AS DOMINANT ALP BLOC
One in four women work as professionals. Their support for Labor candidates steadily increased from 1980 under Coalition Prime Minister
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JOB MARKET CHANGES HIT SCHOOLS & UNIS
Only about 45 per cent of year 12 students from Government schools in 2015 said they had a Bachelor degree
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MIDDLE CLASS JOBS HOLLOWING OUT
78,300 full time jobs were lost for Tradesmen and Tradeswomen in the past year, virtually all of them in the
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OWEN RIVER LODGE HIGHLIGHTS 2015/16
Running a fishing lodge can be a complex thing. There are so many variables to take into account, without doubt,
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WE’RE BACK! SPATSIZI LODGE, BC
Now I’m a sensitive Green kind of guy, but when you’re up this close, I think it’s fair to say
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FINALLY GOING BACK IN 2017 TO REVIST SPATSIZI
Twelve years ago at a Vancouver airport lounge, a tall Prussian looking gentleman strode past me, carrying a four piece
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DEMOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO 2016 ELECTIONS
ADS, in conjunction with ESRI and Map Data Services, have produced a dashboard and linked interactive maps, to show you
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PHOTO ESSAY FROM KIWI GUIDE ZANE MIRFIN
This summer – apart from a brief early season trip to Owen River Lodge – I haven’t had a chance to
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SA 1973 to 1977
Project One – The South Australian Research This is the original research carried out by John Black while working on
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EDUCATION SECTOR CHANGES 2008-2015
The Australian economy has been hit by a series of economic upheavals and mixed economic responses from Governments since the
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A big one that didn’t get away
I’m standing in the front of a small wooden dinghy which is floating on a remote loch in the central
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LABOUR MARKET – NOV QUARTER 2015
The labour market entered a period of recovery in the 12 months leading up to the November Quarter 2015, when
Read MoreNov 2015 Australian Jobs Update
The Australian Labour market began a recovery phase in mid-2014 and this now appears to be continuing, despite fluctuations in
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Do you want healthy living with that green tea?
A wedding invitation from an old friend who is a Chinese Australian took me unexpectedly on my first trip to
Read MoreOctober 2015 – Australian Jobs Update
The Australian Labour market began a recovery phase in mid-2014 and this now appears to be continuing, despite fluctuations in
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OWEN RIVER LODGE – CAN’T WAIT TO DO IT ALL AGAIN
Bottom line with any trip is whether you’d do it again. With Owen River Lodge the answer is yes and
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AUG QTR 2015 – AUSTRALIAN JOBS PROFILE
Summary : Signs of recovery detected in May Quarter Labour Force figures have evaporated. Year on Year figures to August
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AUSTRALIAN ELECTION PROFILES 1966 TO 1980
PROJECT 1 – South Australia 1973 to 1977 PROJECT 2A, B & C – Any election you win is a good
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Demographic Strategy for Historic ALP Win
The historic election win by Bob Hawke in 1983 set Labor up for more than a decade of reformist Governments.
Read MoreMAY QTR 2015 – AUSTRALIAN JOB PROFILE
The Labour Market national summary figures look strong, but a detailed examination shows structural and demographic weaknesses. Many of the
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Roller Coaster for Grown ups
NIMMO BAY Canada. https://nimmobay.com/ Talk about an adrenalin rush. I’m strapped down tight in a Bell Jet helicopter two
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2015 NSW State Election Profile
The current study takes a close look at the demographic characteristics of New South Wales voters who supported Labor or
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Wetting a line in Rugby Territory
John Black – Fly fishing Cape Town, South Africa If Rugby Union is indeed the sport for thugs played by
Read MoreAustralian Jobs profile for Feb Qtr. 2015
This report focuses on participation rates and the political and welfare links to participation rates across regions. It starts with
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Labour Market – Feb Quarter 2015
Job losses in Northern NSW to impact State Poll According to the latest ABS labour market statistics more than 55,000
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2015 – Qld State Election Report
A week after the election on January 31, it is still unclear which of the two major parties will form
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Small Streams Big Thrills
I learned to fly fish 23 years ago, on the beautiful Bundara River at Anglers Rest in North East Victoria.
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DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF QLD VOTES IN 2012
The strongest swings against the ALP in 2012 were from Labor’s own 2009 Labor voters. This swing correlation of minus
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MAY QTR 2014 – LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE MAP
To locate a postcode, type your postcode into the search window and hit enter. Click on the search result
Read MoreMAY QTR 2014 – AUSTRALIAN JOB PROFILE
Originally published in “The Australian” During the 12 months to May 2014, YoY employment growth was 99,400, unemployment growth
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PREDICTED 2 PARTY PREFERRED SWING
Postcodes that swing to the coalition are shown in blue. Postcodes that swing to Labor are in Yellow – Red.
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FEB 13 to FEB 14 -CHANGE IN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
To locate a postcode, type your postcode into the search window and hit enter. Click on the search result
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NOV 2007 to NOV 2013 – CHANGE IN PARTICIPATION RATES
To locate a postcode, type your postcode into the search window and hit enter. Click on the search result and
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2013 FEDERAL ELECTION MAP BY POSTCODE
Postcodes that swing to the coalition are shown in blue. Postcodes that swing to Labor are in Yellow – Red.
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Demographic Winners & Losers in 2014
We have been saying for some time that any improvement in the labour market could be identified by a rise
Read MoreOur People
Dr Jeanine McMullan
( CEO & Spatial Analyst)
Reg Kernke
( Director & Dashboard Designer)
John Black
( Founder and Executive Chairman)What Our Clients Say
Billanook College has worked with John Black and the Education Geographics team for many years now and this partnership has been critical to underpinning the Strategic Planning that we have conducted as a school. Their focus on providing quantitative information, supported by broad industry knowledge, has formed an essential part of our decision making and I would highly recommend their work to my colleagues.
Roger Oates
( Principal - Billanook College )As a result of the work we have done with ADS and Business Geographics, our approach to future enrolment recruitment has become far more strategic, focussed and efficient. In particular, the geo-coding of enrolments has enabled us to recalibrate our bus runs… so as to maximise service to families with enrolled students in 2015. Really useful data.
Geoff McLay
( Principal - West Moreton Anglican College )ADS demographic profiling has helped us focus marketing initiatives in areas where we could make the biggest enrolment gains. ADS also coordinated a follow up phone survey which was valuable in a number of ways. It led to several parents contacting the College for more information, assisted the College to better understand the thinking behind the decision making of parents in the local area and provided a new perspective on current and future bus routes. I would recommend the process to any school looking for new insights into how to gain enrolments.
Steve Croft
( Retired Head of College - Springfield Anglican College )Our College has used the services of John Black (ADS) for many years now, and reliable statistics with great interpretation has given our Board and Executive greater confidence about the marketplace than we could possibly have otherwise. Every school should be watching its market and demographics closely, and in this field, the work of John Black (ADS) is outstanding
Pastor Ron Woolley
( Retired Headmaster - Citipointe Christian College )These new on line reports and the format they are presented on are fantastic. There is a lot of rich data there that would have gathered dust in the hard copy of the report, but the interactivity of the site is much more conducive to digesting the material. One key to making this useful is your interpretation and descriptions for the items like Stereotypes, Demographics, etc. Thanks for taking us on as a demonstration school. I hope you benefit from it as much as we are.
Stephen Cooke
( Former Business Manager - St Andrews Lutheran College )John Black, through ADS and Education Geographics has assisted our strategic marketing, enrolment targeting, bus routes and aided in a deeper understanding of our current parent demographics and the overall demographics of our drawing area. This has been done via data sets, presented as interactive maps and easy to understand visual information. The interactive maps and visual information comes with easy to understand instructions and most importantly, accurate analysis.
Allan Shaw
( Retired Principal and Chief Executive - The Knox School )Meet Our Greatest Partnery
Would you like more information on how Australian Strategy Developments can cost effectively leverage your existing customer information?
