• Indigenous, Standard 07/02/2019

National Indigenous Reform Agreement: PI 12b-Attainment of Year 12 or equivalent (survey data), 2019
Indigenous, Superseded 23/08/2019

The Survey of Education and Work (SEW) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) were collected, processed and published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The ABS operates within a framework that includes the Census and Statistics Act 1905 and the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975. These ensure the independence from political influence and impartiality of the ABS and the confidentiality of respondents.

For more information on the institutional environment of the ABS, including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, see ABS Institutional Environment.

The SEW is conducted annually in May as a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). Results from the 2014 survey were released in November 2014.

The 2014-15 NATSISS was conducted from September 2014 to June 2015. Results were released in April 2016. The previous NATSISS was conducted in 2008.

The data for SEW are available from the ABS website in the publication Education and Work, Australia (ABS 2014). This measure is also released as part of a SEW detailed education data cube.

Additional data are available at cost upon request through the National Information Referral Service. The survey microdata are available through the TableBuilder product, Microdata: Education and Work, Australia, May 2014 (ABS 2015).

The data for NATSISS are available from the ABS website in the publication National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2014-15 (2016a). Other information from the survey is available on request from the ABS.

Information on how to interpret and use the data appropriately is available from the Explanatory Notes in Education and Work, Australia, May 2014 (ABS 2014), and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey: User Guide, 2014-15 (ABS 2016b).

The SEW and NATSISS collect information on the highest year of school completed and highest level of non-school qualification, respectively. The classification of qualifications used is the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (ABS 2001).

For some respondents, information is supplied by another household resident (referred to as 'Any Responsible Adult'), such as a parent, partner or unrelated adult. While this is a standard survey methodology, answers to some questions may occasionally differ from those that would have been supplied in a personal interview.

The 2014 SEW response rate was 92% which constituted 39,100 completed interviews. The 2014 response rate was consistent with that in previous years. The data for the SEW are collected from Any Responsible Adult on behalf of other members of the household and are weighted for non-response.

The 2014–15 NATSISS was conducted in all states and territories, including very remote areas. Non-private dwellings such as hotels, motels, hospitals, nursing homes and short-stay caravan parks were excluded from the survey. The final response rate was 80.3%. Results are weighted to account for non-response.

As they are drawn from a sample survey, data for the indicator are subject to sampling error. Sampling error occurs because only a small proportion of the population is used to produce estimates that represent the whole population. Sampling error can be reliably estimated as it is calculated based on the scientific methods used to design surveys. Rates and measurement of changes should be considered with reference to the relative standard error (RSE) of the estimates. Estimates with RSEs between 25% and 50% should be used with caution.  Estimates with RSEs greater than 50% are generally considered too unreliable for general use.

Both the numerator and denominator for non-Indigenous persons come from the SEW. Measures based on the 2015 SEW are consistent with those supplied for the Council of Australian Governments reporting from previous cycles of this survey.

The SEW excludes people living in Indigenous communities. Since 2009, SEW has included people living in 'very remote' areas who are not in Indigenous communities. Prior to the SEW 2009, all persons living in 'very remote' parts of Australia were excluded. Nationally, less than 1% of persons in scope of the SEW live in 'very remote' areas that are not Indigenous communities. In the Northern Territory, this proportion is higher, at around 8%.

Persons who are permanently unable to work were included in the scope of the SEW for the first time in 2013. There were an estimated 491,170 people who reported being permanently unable to work in May 2014.

The ASCED has been used in all surveys with education items since 2001 and allows the education and training items between different surveys to be compared.

The Census of Population and Housing and the Qualifications and Work, Australia, 2015 (ABS 2016c) also provide information on educational attainment.

Australian Bureau of Statistics

ABS 2001. Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001. ABS Cat. no. 1272.0. Canberra: ABS.

ABS 2014. Education and Work, Australia, May 2014. ABS Cat. no. 6227.0. Canberra: ABS.

ABS 2015. Microdata: Education and Work, May 2014. ABS Cat. no. 6227.0.30.001. Canberra. ABS.

ABS 2016a. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2014–15. ABS Cat. no. 4714.0. Canberra: ABS.

ABS 2016b. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey: User Guide, 2014–15. ABS Cat. no. 4720.0. Canberra: ABS.

ABS 2016c. Qualifications and Work, Australia, 2015. ABS Cat. no. 4235.0. Canberra: ABS.