Notes on the data: Aboriginal Education

School leavers enrolled in higher education, Aboriginal students, 2023

Policy context: Education increases opportunities for choice of occupation and for income and job security, and also equips people with the skills and ability to control many aspects of their lives – key factors that influence wellbeing throughout the life course. Young people who complete Year 12 are more likely to make a successful initial transition to further education, training and work than early leavers [1].

The acquisition of a non-school qualification increases work and employment opportunities and increases the likelihood of a financially secure future. Despite the Global Financial Crisis and the end of the mining boom impacting on the earning of early career graduates, Bachelor degree holders continue to enjoy a significant income premium over Year 12 holders [2]

References

McMillan J, Marks GN. School leavers in Australia: profiles and pathways. (Research report no. 31). Camberwell, Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Research, 2003.
Norton A, Cherastidtham, I and Mackey W. Mapping Higher Education 2018. Grattan Institute, 2018 [accessed 19 February 2019]. Available from: https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/907-Mapping-Australian-higher-education-2018.pdf

Notes: The data comprise Aboriginal school leavers who are identified as enrolled at an Australian university at 31 March 2023. ‘School leavers’ are students who attained an Australian Year 12 qualification in 2022 in any State/ Territory through the completion of one or more Year 12 courses; may include (unless noted otherwise below) adult students, part time students and students doing one or more subjects to improve their overall score (repeating students).

The population is the population aged 17 years, as this is the age of the majority of Year 12 students at 30 June 2021. As age data at the small geographical area level are not available by single years, the number at age 17 was estimated by applying the proportion of children at age 17 in the 15 to 19-year age group at the 2021 Census.

Data have been provided by individual State and Territory tertiary admission centres. As these data were collected from each State and Territory, they may exclude people who live in one State/Territory and were enrolled in another.

Direct enrolments to universities were not included in the data collected. Currently, these represent a small proportion of total enrolments, other than in the ACT.

Variations in data between States

Definitions vary across the States and Territories, however, the impact of any difference is considered to be small.

South Australian data represent the number of school leavers that have received and accepted an offer to a university in South Australia and the Northern Territory; however this is not necessarily indicative of the enrolment status as they may not have enrolled at the institution by 31 March 2023.
The University of Notre Dame (NSW and WA) did not provide data for the 2023 time period, and were not included in the final data published.

For more information, please consult the relevant admissions centre as listed in the Source below.

Geography: Data available by Indigenous Area, Primary Health Network, Quintile of socioeconomic outcomes (based on IRSEO) and Remoteness Area

Numerator: Aboriginal school leavers who are identified as enrolled at an Australian university at 31 March 2023

Denominator: Estimated resident population aged 17 years at 30 June 2021 (population data not available for 2023)

Detail of analysis: Per cent

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on data from the:

Universities Admissions Centre (NSW & ACT), Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (Vic.), Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (Qld), South Australian Tertiary Admission Centre (SA & NT), Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (WA), and the University of Tasmania (Tas.).
Estimated resident population (ERP), 2021 (produced as a consultancy for PHIDU by ABS), 30 June 2021