Research program

The ABS is helping approved external organisations access data for research projects. This work will help demonstrate the value of the pilot Life Course Dataset.  

Initial Life Course Data Initiative (LCDI) research program projects include:

• the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government with the Australian National University (ANU) is leading a research project to explore factors that characterise multiple disadvantage in children and young people in Australia to identify a set of predictors of exit from (or persistence in) entrenched disadvantage.
• the South Australian (SA) Government and University of Adelaide’s BetterStart is leading a research project to investigate transitions through the education system from early childhood to post-school education, employment, training and welfare outcomes, and how these vary according to experiences of socioeconomic, and health disadvantage.
• the Life Course Centre is leading a research project to examine the social and economic trajectories of single parents and the circumstances immediately before and five years after the birth of a child. The study will investigate the interplay between family structure dynamics, parental education and labour market outcomes, and early childhood indicators.

There will be a limited number of additional research projects to be delivered as part of the LCDI pilot. 

Research projects will:  

• require data custodian approval, including ethics approval where required
• be supported by the ABS through the project proposal, analysis, and output phases. 

Outputs from the LCDI research program will be released from 2026.  

For more information about the LCDI research program, contact life.course@abs.gov.au.