Person—sex, code X

Identifying and definitional attributes

• Children and Families, Recorded 18/05/2020
• Early Childhood, Standard 24/07/2018
• Health, Superseded 15/02/2022
• Homelessness, Standard 10/08/2018
• Indigenous, Standard 16/10/2017

Sex is a core metadata item in a wide range of social, labour and demographic statistics.

Value domain attributes

Representational attributes

Collection and usage attributes

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Standard for Sex and Gender Variables includes the following Alternate Code system:

M    Male

F    Female

X    Other

For statistical purposes, the following category codes, labels and definitions are preferred:

CODE 1   Male

Persons who have male or predominantly masculine biological characteristics, or male sex assigned at birth.

CODE 2   Female

Persons who have female or predominantly feminine biological characteristics, or female sex assigned at birth.

CODE 3   Other

Persons who have mixed or non-binary biological characteristics (if known), or a non-binary sex assigned at birth.

The value meaning of 'Other' has been assigned to Code 3 for this value domain, which replaces 'Intersex or indeterminate' for the superseded value domain Sex code N. Terms such as 'indeterminate', 'intersex', 'non-binary', and 'unspecified' are variously used to describe the 'Other' category of sex. The label 'Other' is used because a more descriptive term has not been widely agreed within the general community.

Sex refers to the chromosomal, gonadal and anatomical characteristics associated with biological sex. Where there is an inconsistency between anatomical and chromosomal characteristics, sex is based on anatomical characteristics.

The ABS will periodically review its Standard for Sex and Gender Variables. This process will specifically investigate the appropriateness of the naming of the 'Other' category.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016. Standard for Sex and Gender Variables (Cat. no. 1200.0.55.012). Viewed 26 July 2016.

Attorney-General's Department 2015. Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender. Viewed 26 July 2016.

Data element attributes

Collection and usage attributes

The term 'sex' refers to a person's biological characteristics. A person's sex is usually described as being either male or female; some people may have both male and female characteristics, or neither male nor female characteristics, or other sexual characteristics.

Sex is assigned at birth and is relatively fixed. However, a person's sex may change during their lifetime as a result of procedures commonly referred to as sex change, gender reassignment, gender affirmation, transsexual surgery, transgender reassignment or sexual reassignment. Throughout this process, which may be over a considerable period of time, sex may be recorded as either male, female or other.

Collection of sex excludes gender information, which is interrelated but conceptually distinct. The concept of sex is based on the physical or biological aspects of a person's body while the concept of gender relates to the way a person feels, presents and is recognised within the general community and may refer to outward social markers such as their name, outward appearance, mannerisms and dress. Sexual orientation is a separate concept to sex and gender, involving a person's emotional or sexual attraction to another person, and is not covered in the collection of sex information.

In general, both sex and gender should not be collected in a single collection instrument. The Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender recommends the preferred Australian Government approach of collecting and using gender information, with sex only being collected where there is a legitimate need to know the biological characteristics of the target population. It should be recognised that in some cases an individual may choose to report their gender when sex is being requested.

Organisations should ensure when they collect sex and/or gender information they use the correct terminology for the information they are seeking. Male and female are predominantly associated with the set of biological attributes that define the different types of sexes, while masculine and feminine characteristics are predominantly associated with the set of factors that make up gender. However, it should be recognised that male/female and masculine/feminine are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to sex and/or gender.

Standard Question Module

For the collection of sex, the following standard tick box question module could be used:

What is your sex? Please [tick/mark/select] one box.

[] Male

[] Female

[] Other, please specify _______________

Mandatory elements

The following elements should be included:

• the word 'sex' in the question to clearly articulate the concept being collected;
• label the response options 'Male', 'Female' and 'Other'; and
• a note that only one response is permitted.

Optional elements

The following elements may be included:

• the response option for 'Other' is labelled 'Other, please specify'; and
• a write-in facility is available when the 'Other' response option is selected.

The inclusion of the write-in facility for 'Other' allows respondents the opportunity to describe their sex using a term they are comfortable with, whilst also maximising the potential for analysis of the responses provided. Where the 'Other' code has been selected for sex, the data element Person—sex, text X[X(99)] may be used to capture any further (optional) specification of sex descriptors.

Allowable variations

Minor variations to the question wording are allowed. For example:

Which of the following describes your sex? Please [tick/mark/select] one box

or

Sex, please [tick/mark/select] one box.

Optional inclusions

Organisations should refrain from making assumptions about a person's sex based on indicators such as their name, voice or appearance. Respondents should be presented with all response options for sex. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Standard for Sex and Gender Variables recommends a standard script explaining the importance of the question. Refer to the ABS standard for explanatory information that can be included in self-completed questionnaires (e.g., web forms and paper forms), or read in face-to-face and telephone interviews. The inclusion of explanatory material is optional and at the discretion of those undertaking the collection.

Supplementary values

CODE 9   Not stated/inadequately described

This supplementary value is used to code inadequately described responses and non-responses for sex. It is not to be used on primary collection forms. It is primarily for use in administrative collections when transferring data from data sets where the item has not been collected.

Source and reference attributes

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016. Standard for Sex and Gender Variables (Cat. no. 1200.0.55.012). Viewed 26 July 2016.

Attorney-General's Department 2015. Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender. Viewed 26 July 2016.

AS4846 Health Care Provider Identification, 2014, Sydney: Standards Australia

AS4590 Interchange of Client Information, 2008, Sydney: Standards Australia

Relational attributes