Excerpts from the report:
Growing Up in Australia is the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (also known as LSAC). This study aims to examine the impact of Australia's unique social, economic and cultural environment on children growing up in today's world. It will further our understanding of early childhood development, inform social policy debate, and be used to identify opportunities for early intervention and prevention strategies in policy areas concerning children.
During 2004, over 10,000 children and their families were recruited to the study from a sample selected from the Health Insurance Commission's Medicare database. It is intended that these children and their families will be followed at two-yearly intervals until 2010, and possibly beyond.
LSAC addresses a range of key research questions about children's development and wellbeing. Information is collected on the children's physical health and social, cognitive and emotional development, as well as on their child care, education, and family and social environment. Respondents include parents, child carers, preschool and school teachers and, in time, the children themselves. The study's longitudinal design will enable researchers to determine optimal periods for the provision of services and welfare support and identify the long-term consequences of policy innovations. LSAC delivers the first-ever comprehensive Australian national data on children as they grow up.