To achieve fair and meaningful comparisons, similar entities must be grouped.
One way to group companies and facilities is using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ANZSIC system has four levels, from broadest to most specific:
- Division
- Subdivision
- Group
- Class
Sometimes, the same category appears at more than one level.
You’ll notice this if the table under Drill Into More Specific Categories shows only one option and it’s the same as the one you’re already in. For example, Coal Mining is listed as a Subdivision, Group, and Class. That means there’s no more specific ANZSIC category below it.
Every facility and company is allocated all four levels, so you can compare them with increasingly narrow and relevant peer groups, wherever possible.
How are categories allocated?
Companies and facilities are categorised based on their main activity. For example, an aluminium manufacturer may be categorised as:
- Division: Manufacturing (C)
- Subdivision: Primary Metal and Metal Product Manufacturing (21)
- Group: Basic Non-Ferrous Metal Manufacturing (213)
- Class: Alumina Production (2131) or Aluminium Smelting (2132)
As mentioned above, some lower levels repeat a higher level. For instance, an iron ore miner would be categorised as:
- Division: Mining (B)
- Subdivision: Metal Ore Mining (08)
- Group: Metal Ore Mining (080)
- Class: Iron Ore Mining (0801)
Here are some things to know
For example, a mining company extracting multiple metals will have its Class determined by the metal with the highest production share.
This is especially the case where the main activity of the company behind a facility is holding assets and managing investments.
For example, Sev.En Global Investments Pty Ltd (Company Behind Facility) is responsible for Vales Point Power Station (Facility).
Sev.En Global Investments Pty Ltd is categorised as:
- Division: Financial and Insurance Services (B)
- Subdivision: Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services (08)
- Group: Auxiliary Finance and Investment Services
- Class: Other Auxiliary Finance and Investment Services
While Vales Point Power Station is categorised as:
- Division: Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services (D)
- Subdivision: Electricity Supply (26)
- Group: Electricity Generation (261)
- Class: Fossil Fuel Electricity Generation (2611)
Datasets may include them, often based on self-reported company data. Other allocations on OnlyFacts come from source data or our own research.
In the corporate and facility emissions data on OnlyFacts:
- Facility classifications are provided by the Clean Energy Regulator.
- Company classifications are based on research.
If you believe a facility or company has been classified incorrectly, please let us know. We'd also love to hear of any other suggestions or feedback. In the meantime, we hope you find the data useful.
