LSAY Data

• What is the scope of this data?
• Latest data releases
• How to access LSAY data
• How to make a specific LSAY data request
• Protocols for the collection and reporting of LSAY data
• Data quality policy
• Cohort reports
• Technical papers

LSAY Data

What is the scope of this data?

The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) focus on the progress of young Australians as they move from their mid-teens to their mid-20s. It includes surveys conducted from the mid-1970s through to the mid-1990s: the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS); the Australian Longitudinal Survey (ALS); the Australian Youth Survey (AYS); and the current LSAY collection, which began in 1995.

LSAY involves surveying a large, nationally representative sample of students at school. Data are initially collected through a combination of school achievement tests and a questionnaire administered at school. Subsequent data are gathered through annual telephone interviews. Since 2003, the initial survey wave has been integrated with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Subsequent data are gathered through annual telephone interviews about education and training, work, financial matters, health, social activities and attitudes to these and related issues. The following table summarises the LSAY cohorts:

Table 1: Summary of LSAY cohorts