Inequalities in child development at school entry: A repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Australian Early Development Census 2009-2018

Australia is the only developed country to consistently undertake a developmental census of its children nationwide. The repeated collection of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) has provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the prevalence of developmental vulnerability across Australia's states and territories, the socio-economic distribution of developmental vulnerability across jurisdictions, and how these distributions might have changed over time.

Citation:
Collier LR, Gregory T, Harman-Smith Y, Gialamas A, Brinkman SA. Inequalities in child development at school entry: A repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Australian Early Development Census 2009–2018. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific. 2020;4.

Keywords:
Socio-economic inequality; jurisdictional; population monitoring; developmental vulnerability; school readiness

Abstract:
Australia is the only developed country to consistently undertake a developmental census of its children nationwide. The repeated collection of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) has provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the prevalence of developmental vulnerability across Australia's states and territories, the socio-economic distribution of developmental vulnerability across jurisdictions, and how these distributions might have changed over time.