The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), also known as Growing Up in Australia, commenced in 2004 when parents of approximately 5,000 babies and 5,000 4-5 year olds were recruited to the study. Over the waves, parents have been asked to sign consent forms, sometimes on behalf of their children, allowing data linkage to various administrative data sources including:
• ABS Census of Population and Housing data such as SEIFA scores
• National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC)
• Australian Early Development Index (AEDI)
• National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
• Medicare Australia
• Centrelink
At 14-15 years old, the study children were asked to sign their own consent form to allow their Medicare data linkage to continue, and at 16-17 years of age, to sign to allow their Centrelink data to be linked.
While this process provides an enormously valuable wealth of data, there are challenges in obtaining consent and monitoring eligibility for continuation of linkage.
This session presents:
• the processes of gaining consent for various linkages;
• the response over the waves from the different respondent populations;
• the challenges that arise from having different forms in different waves;
• the impact of changes to the Australian Privacy Principles; and
• future hopes for more data linkage.