LSAY 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-twenties.

The current LSAY program began in 1995, and involves large, nationally representative samples of young people. Data is initially collected through a combination of school achievement tests and a questionnaire administered at school. Subsequent data is gathered through annual telephone interviews about education and training, work, financial matters, health, social activities and attitudes to these and related issues. To date there have been four cohorts:

• a group of young people who were in Year 9 in 1995 (this group was interviewed for the last time in 2006)
• a group of young people who were in Year 9 in 1998
• a group of young people who turned 15 years in 2003 and participated in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003
• a group of young people who turned 15 in 2006 and participated in OECD PISA 2006.

Another group of young people who will turn 15 in 2009 is expected to be added to the study in 2010.

The data is collected by the Wallis Consulting Group.

Further information about the surveys can be obtained from the LSAY technical papers.

How to access LSAY data?

LSAY data is deposited with the Australian Social Science Data Archives (ASSDA) at the Australian National University in Canberra. Permission to use the data and access requirements are managed by ASSDA. To access LSAY data, please complete the Application to Access Restricted Data and send it to ASSDA. For further information on downloading data and accessing restricted data please visit ASSDA's accessing data page.

For those interested in more historical data, the current LSAY program built on two previous studies undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER): 

• the Youth in Transitions (YIT) survey, which was conducted from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER); and
• the Australian Youth Survey (AYS), undertaken by the Australian Government which began in 1989 and concluded in 1997.

Both these data sets form part of the LSAY suite and are retained in ASSDA where they are available for use by researchers.

Part of the NCVER's role is to promote and encourage the use of the LSAY data. If you have any queries about the data and how to access or use it you should contact ASSDA or you may wish to contact the NCVER via the LSAY hotline 1800 825 233 or email lsayrequests@ncver.edu.au.

How to make a specific data request?

A specific data request allows you to ask for specific data or data analysis to be undertaken by NCVER without the need for you to obtain full sets of the data.

A specific data request can be made to lsayrequests@ncver.edu.au.

There are fees and charges applicable for all data requests that require more than one hour to prepare. Please refer to NCVER's policy on charging.