This article was originally published in February 2017.
LCC researchers continue to work hand-in-hand with Government to pilot and trial data access models that will inform policy gaps relating to disadvantage.
The ongoing Data for Policy initiative brings together multiple Commonwealth Government agencies to explore ways of realising the potential of Commonwealth administrative data.
One innovative project born of this initiative is NEET in Australia: Characteristics of Social Security Payment Recipients who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET). The NEET project is a collaboration between LCC, the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). It uses DSS Social Security and Related Information linked with ABS Census data for the first time in Australian social research, and utilises stringent privacy control measures.
This project is also the first of its kind to look at the NEET cohort as a working age phenomenon covering ages 15-64 years. Previous work has concentrated on young people aged 15–29 years, as per OECD standards, with Australian policy discussions focussing on this younger group. LCC’s analysis highlights a need to widen this age focus to encompass all working ages up to age-pension eligibility. Young NEETs, mid-life NEETs, and older NEETs are all policy relevant for different reasons.
Proportion of DSS payment recipients classified as NEET, by age group
Research Note: Maintaining individuals’ privacy is a key priority in these types of projects. As such, analysis is conducted using only de-identified information accessed inside a secure environment by authorised personnel.
The initial results of the NEET in Australia project were presented at the Longitudinal Data Conference in November 2016.