This vignette is the reference listing for the ~50 age-banding
schemes available to preening() and
list_age_schemes(). Each scheme is identified by a unique
snake_case name that you pass directly to
preening(scheme = ...).
Browse interactively with:
# All schemes
list_age_schemes()
#> scheme family
#> abs_10yr national_stats
#> abs_5yr national_stats
#> abs_5yr_extended national_stats
#> abs_broad_lifecourse national_stats
#> aihw_10yr_55plus national_stats
#> aihw_10yr_65plus national_stats
#> aihw_5yr_75plus national_stats
#> census_age10p national_stats
#> census_age5p national_stats
#> labour_force_15plus national_stats
#> eurostat_5yr international_stats
#> un_world_population international_stats
#> unicef_child_bands international_stats
#> us_census_bridged international_stats
#> who_5yr_100plus international_stats
#> who_5yr_85plus international_stats
#> who_life_course international_stats
#> acip_us vaccination
#> air_dose_eligibility vaccination
#> atagi_covid19_2025 vaccination
#> atagi_influenza vaccination
#> atagi_nip_schedule vaccination
#> pneumococcal_program vaccination
#> rsv_maternal_infant vaccination
#> rsv_older_adult vaccination
#> shingles_zoster vaccination
#> who_sage_priority vaccination
#> ed_syndromic surveillance
#> flucan_sentinel surveillance
#> hospital_admitted_patient surveillance
#> nndss_decadal surveillance
#> nndss_standard surveillance
#> nors_outbreak surveillance
#> notifiable_std_bbv surveillance
#> racf_aged_care surveillance
#> geriatric_fine clinical_developmental
#> geriatric_frailty clinical_developmental
#> neonatal_early clinical_developmental
#> paediatric_developmental clinical_developmental
#> perinatal_maternal clinical_developmental
#> reproductive_age clinical_developmental
#> school_entry_bands clinical_developmental
#> who_paediatric_growth clinical_developmental
#> cardiovascular_risk disease_specific
#> covid19_severity_strata disease_specific
#> influenza_research disease_specific
#> mental_health_lifecourse disease_specific
#> oncology_trial_bands disease_specific
#> rsv_research disease_specific
#> sepsis_research disease_specific
#> focus n_bands age_range
#> national_au 9 0+
#> fine_grained|national_au 18 0+
#> fine_grained|national_au|aged_care 22 0+
#> broad|national_au 6 0+
#> national_au 6 0+
#> national_au|aged_care 7 0+
#> fine_grained|national_au 16 0+
#> national_au 11 0+
#> fine_grained|national_au 21 0+
#> national_au 12 0+
#> fine_grained 19 0+
#> fine_grained 21 0+
#> paediatric|who_standard 6 0+
#> fine_grained 18 0+
#> fine_grained|who_standard|aged_care 21 0+
#> fine_grained|who_standard 18 0+
#> broad|who_standard 6 0+
#> vaccination 7 0+
#> vaccination|national_au 5 0+
#> vaccination|national_au|aged_care 5 0+
#> vaccination|national_au|broad 4 0+
#> vaccination|national_au|paediatric 10 0+
#> vaccination|paediatric|aged_care 4 0+
#> vaccination|paediatric 3 0+
#> vaccination|aged_care|national_au 3 0+
#> vaccination|aged_care 5 0+
#> vaccination|who_standard 3 0+
#> surveillance|broad 6 0+
#> surveillance|broad|national_au 5 0+
#> surveillance 6 0+
#> surveillance|national_au 9 0+
#> surveillance|fine_grained|national_au 10 0+
#> surveillance|broad 5 0+
#> surveillance|fine_grained 6 0+
#> surveillance|aged_care 5 0+
#> aged_care|fine_grained 7 0+
#> aged_care|broad 4 0+
#> paediatric|fine_grained 5 0+
#> paediatric|fine_grained 7 0+
#> fine_grained|research 7 0+
#> who_standard|fine_grained 9 0+
#> paediatric|broad 4 0+
#> paediatric|who_standard|fine_grained 6 0+
#> research|aged_care|broad 5 0+
#> research|fine_grained 8 0+
#> research|paediatric|fine_grained 7 0+
#> research|broad 5 0+
#> research|broad 5 0+
#> research|paediatric|fine_grained 8 0+
#> research|broad 6 0+# Filter by family and focus
list_age_schemes(family = "vaccination", focus = "national_au")
#> scheme family focus n_bands
#> air_dose_eligibility vaccination vaccination|national_au 5
#> atagi_covid19_2025 vaccination vaccination|national_au|aged_care 5
#> atagi_influenza vaccination vaccination|national_au|broad 4
#> atagi_nip_schedule vaccination vaccination|national_au|paediatric 10
#> rsv_older_adult vaccination vaccination|aged_care|national_au 3
#> age_range
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+Full-lifespan coverage: every scheme spans
0 to Inf. Bands marked with ⁺ below are
catch-alls added so that preening() never returns
NA for an out-of-scope record. A non-trivial count in a
⁺-band is almost always a signal that the wrong scheme was chosen, not a
real finding.
Risk-group flags: a handful of scheme definitions in
the source guidance include risk-group distinctions (e.g. “18–64,
immunocompromised” as a distinct band). These cannot be represented on a
strictly increasing numeric age axis and have been collapsed to plain
age bands with inline notes. If risk-group stratification is needed,
capture it as a separate covariate and cross-tabulate with
age_group.
Illustrative schemes: entries marked (illustrative) follow a documented convention but are not tied to a single citable primary source. Verify against current SCPHU practice before using in a published report.
list_age_schemes(family = "national_stats")
#> scheme family focus n_bands
#> abs_10yr national_stats national_au 9
#> abs_5yr national_stats fine_grained|national_au 18
#> abs_5yr_extended national_stats fine_grained|national_au|aged_care 22
#> abs_broad_lifecourse national_stats broad|national_au 6
#> aihw_10yr_55plus national_stats national_au 6
#> aihw_10yr_65plus national_stats national_au|aged_care 7
#> aihw_5yr_75plus national_stats fine_grained|national_au 16
#> census_age10p national_stats national_au 11
#> census_age5p national_stats fine_grained|national_au 21
#> labour_force_15plus national_stats national_au 12
#> age_range
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+| Scheme | Bands | Notes |
|---|---|---|
abs_5yr |
0–4, 5–9, …, 80–84, 85+ | ABS Age Standard; primary age-standardisation reference for Australian epidemiology |
abs_5yr_extended |
0–4, …, 100–104, 105+ | Life-table extension for aged-care and mortality analyses |
abs_10yr |
0–9, 10–19, …, 70–79, 80+ | 10-year aggregation for small-count settings |
aihw_5yr_75plus |
0–4, …, 70–74, 75+ | AIHW convention with 75+ ceiling |
aihw_10yr_65plus |
0–<15⁺, 15–24, …, 55–64, 65+ | AIHW small-sample convention; 0–<15 is a
catch-all |
aihw_10yr_55plus |
0–<15⁺, 15–24, …, 45–54, 55+ | Lower ceiling variant |
abs_broad_lifecourse |
0, 1–14, 15–24, 25–44, 45–64, 65+ | ABS international-guideline-aligned broad bands — the former
"general" default |
census_age5p |
0–4, …, 95–99, 100+ | ABS Census AGE5P variable |
census_age10p |
0–9, …, 90–99, 100+ | ABS Census AGE10P variable |
labour_force_15plus |
0–<15⁺, 15–19, …, 60–64, 65+ | ABS Labour Force Survey convention; 0–<15 catch-all
(illustrative) |
list_age_schemes(family = "international_stats")
#> scheme family focus
#> eurostat_5yr international_stats fine_grained
#> un_world_population international_stats fine_grained
#> unicef_child_bands international_stats paediatric|who_standard
#> us_census_bridged international_stats fine_grained
#> who_5yr_100plus international_stats fine_grained|who_standard|aged_care
#> who_5yr_85plus international_stats fine_grained|who_standard
#> who_life_course international_stats broad|who_standard
#> n_bands age_range
#> 19 0+
#> 21 0+
#> 6 0+
#> 18 0+
#> 21 0+
#> 18 0+
#> 6 0+| Scheme | Bands | Notes |
|---|---|---|
who_life_course |
<1, 1–4, 5–14, 15–24, 25–64, 65+ | WHO standard life-course bands; default for international comparisons |
who_5yr_85plus |
0–4, …, 80–84, 85+ | WHO standard population (5-year, 85+ ceiling) |
who_5yr_100plus |
0–4, …, 95–99, 100+ | WHO extended standard population for aged-care settings |
un_world_population |
0–4, …, 95–99, 100+ | UN World Population Prospects (illustrative) |
eurostat_5yr |
0–4, …, 85–89, 90+ | Eurostat demographic standard |
us_census_bridged |
0–4, …, 80–84, 85+ | US Census Bureau bridged-race bands (illustrative) |
unicef_child_bands |
0–1, 1–4, 5–9, 10–14, 15–<18, 18+⁺ | UNICEF child/adolescent standard; 18+ is a
catch-all |
list_age_schemes(family = "vaccination")
#> scheme family focus n_bands
#> acip_us vaccination vaccination 7
#> air_dose_eligibility vaccination vaccination|national_au 5
#> atagi_covid19_2025 vaccination vaccination|national_au|aged_care 5
#> atagi_influenza vaccination vaccination|national_au|broad 4
#> atagi_nip_schedule vaccination vaccination|national_au|paediatric 10
#> pneumococcal_program vaccination vaccination|paediatric|aged_care 4
#> rsv_maternal_infant vaccination vaccination|paediatric 3
#> rsv_older_adult vaccination vaccination|aged_care|national_au 3
#> shingles_zoster vaccination vaccination|aged_care 5
#> who_sage_priority vaccination vaccination|who_standard 3
#> age_range
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+
#> 0+| Scheme | Bands | Notes |
|---|---|---|
atagi_covid19_2025 |
0–<5⁺, 5–<18, 18–64, 65–74, 75+ | ATAGI 2025 COVID-19 statement; verified 2026-06-19 |
atagi_influenza |
0–<6m⁺, 6m–<5y, 5–64, 65+ | ATAGI seasonal influenza guidance |
atagi_nip_schedule |
Birth–<2m, …, 13–<70yr, 70yr+ | NIP schedule timepoints as age intervals |
who_sage_priority |
0–<18⁺, 18–59, 60+ | WHO SAGE roadmap; risk-group bands collapsed (illustrative) |
acip_us |
0–<6m⁺, 6m–4y, 5–11, 12–17, 18–49, 50–64, 65+ | US ACIP (illustrative) |
air_dose_eligibility |
0–<5, 5–<12, 12–<18, 18–<65, 65+ | AIR dose eligibility (illustrative) |
rsv_maternal_infant |
0–<6m, 6m–<2y, 2y+ | RSV maternal/infant program |
rsv_older_adult |
0–<60⁺, 60–74, 75+ | RSV older-adult program, ATAGI-consistent |
shingles_zoster |
0–<50⁺, 50–64, 65–69, 70–79, 80+ | Herpes zoster program (illustrative) |
pneumococcal_program |
0–<2, 2–<5, 5–<70, 70+ | National pneumococcal program; at-risk band collapsed |
list_age_schemes(family = "surveillance")
#> scheme family focus
#> ed_syndromic surveillance surveillance|broad
#> flucan_sentinel surveillance surveillance|broad|national_au
#> hospital_admitted_patient surveillance surveillance
#> nndss_decadal surveillance surveillance|national_au
#> nndss_standard surveillance surveillance|fine_grained|national_au
#> nors_outbreak surveillance surveillance|broad
#> notifiable_std_bbv surveillance surveillance|fine_grained
#> racf_aged_care surveillance surveillance|aged_care
#> n_bands age_range
#> 6 0+
#> 5 0+
#> 6 0+
#> 9 0+
#> 10 0+
#> 5 0+
#> 6 0+
#> 5 0+| Scheme | Bands | Notes |
|---|---|---|
nndss_standard |
0–4, 5–9, 10–19, 20–29, …, 70–79, 80+ | NNDSS standard (illustrative) |
nndss_decadal |
0–9, 10–19, …, 70–79, 80+ | NNDSS decadal aggregation (illustrative) |
flucan_sentinel |
0–4, 5–15, 16–49, 50–64, 65+ | FluCAN sentinel hospital surveillance |
ed_syndromic |
0–4, 5–14, 15–24, 25–44, 45–64, 65+ | ED syndromic surveillance (illustrative) |
nors_outbreak |
0–4, 5–17, 18–49, 50–64, 65+ | Foodborne/enteric outbreak (illustrative) |
racf_aged_care |
0–<65⁺, 65–74, 75–84, 85–94, 95+ | Residential Aged Care Facility; 0–<65 catch-all |
hospital_admitted_patient |
0–4, 5–14, 15–34, 35–54, 55–74, 75+ | Admitted-patient collection (illustrative) |
notifiable_std_bbv |
0–14, 15–19, 20–24, 25–29, 30–39, 40+ | STI/BBV surveillance (illustrative) |
list_age_schemes(family = "clinical_developmental")
#> scheme family
#> geriatric_fine clinical_developmental
#> geriatric_frailty clinical_developmental
#> neonatal_early clinical_developmental
#> paediatric_developmental clinical_developmental
#> perinatal_maternal clinical_developmental
#> reproductive_age clinical_developmental
#> school_entry_bands clinical_developmental
#> who_paediatric_growth clinical_developmental
#> focus n_bands age_range
#> aged_care|fine_grained 7 0+
#> aged_care|broad 4 0+
#> paediatric|fine_grained 5 0+
#> paediatric|fine_grained 7 0+
#> fine_grained|research 7 0+
#> who_standard|fine_grained 9 0+
#> paediatric|broad 4 0+
#> paediatric|who_standard|fine_grained 6 0+| Scheme | Bands | Age unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
neonatal_early |
0–<24h, 24–<72h, 72h–<7d, 7–<28d, 28d+ | days | Requires age_unit = "days" |
who_paediatric_growth |
0–<3m, 3–<6m, 6–<12m, 1–<2y, 2–<5y, 5y+ | years | WHO Child Growth Standards |
paediatric_developmental |
Neonate, Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-age, Adolescent, Adult | years | Standard paediatric staging |
school_entry_bands |
0–4, 5–11, 12–17, 18+ | years | Education-aligned (illustrative) |
geriatric_frailty |
0–<65⁺, 65–74 (young-old), 75–84 (middle-old), 85+ (oldest-old) | years | Standard geriatric convention |
geriatric_fine |
0–<65⁺, 65–69, …, 85–89, 90+ | years | Fine-grained RACF research (illustrative) |
perinatal_maternal |
0–<15⁺, 15–19, 20–24, …, 35–39, 40+ | years | Perinatal maternal-age (illustrative) |
reproductive_age |
0–<15⁺, 15–19, …, 45–49, 50+⁺ | years | WHO reproductive-age standard |
list_age_schemes(family = "disease_specific")
#> scheme family focus
#> cardiovascular_risk disease_specific research|aged_care|broad
#> covid19_severity_strata disease_specific research|fine_grained
#> influenza_research disease_specific research|paediatric|fine_grained
#> mental_health_lifecourse disease_specific research|broad
#> oncology_trial_bands disease_specific research|broad
#> rsv_research disease_specific research|paediatric|fine_grained
#> sepsis_research disease_specific research|broad
#> n_bands age_range
#> 5 0+
#> 8 0+
#> 7 0+
#> 5 0+
#> 5 0+
#> 8 0+
#> 6 0+| Scheme | Bands | Notes |
|---|---|---|
rsv_research |
0–<3m, 3–<6m, 6–<12m, 1–<2y, 2–<5y, 5–<18y, 18–64, 65+ | RSV burden-of-disease research |
influenza_research |
0–<6m, 6m–<2y, 2–<5y, 5–<18y, 18–49, 50–64, 65+ | Influenza VE test-negative design |
covid19_severity_strata |
0–<18⁺, 18–29, 30–39, …, 70–79, 80+ | COVID-19 severity research (illustrative) |
oncology_trial_bands |
0–<18, 18–39 (AYA), 40–64, 65–74, 75+ | AYA oncology trial convention (illustrative) |
sepsis_research |
0–<1, 1–17, 18–44, 45–64, 65–79, 80+ | Sepsis epidemiology (illustrative) |
cardiovascular_risk |
0–<45, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, 75+ | Cardiovascular risk stratification (illustrative) |
mental_health_lifecourse |
0–11 (child), 12–17 (youth), 18–24, 25–64, 65+ | Mental health service planning (illustrative) |
Before using any (illustrative) scheme in a
published report or regulatory submission, verify the exact cut-points
against the most recent published guidance for your program. Record the
verification date and source URL in your analysis log. The
age_schemes data object stores last_checked
and source_url for each scheme to support this audit
trail.
# Check the source and last_checked date for any scheme
age_schemes[age_schemes$scheme == "atagi_covid19_2025",
c("scheme","source","source_url","last_checked","is_illustrative")]
#> # A tibble: 1 × 5
#> scheme source source_url last_checked is_illustrative
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <date> <lgl>
#> 1 atagi_covid19_2025 ATAGI Statement on… https://w… 2026-06-19 FALSE