FAQs for participants

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Cannot find an answer to your question here? Please refer to our contact information at the bottom of the page.

How did I get to be in the Study?
Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children commenced in 2004 with two groups or 'cohorts' of 5,000 children. The 'Baby', or 'B' group was aged 0 – 1 year old and the 'Kinder', or 'K' cohort was aged 4 – 5 years old. The sample of 10,000 children was selected from the Medicare enrolment database held by the Health Insurance Commission. The Health Insurance Commission selected children of the appropriate ages and sent an 'invitation to participate' letter to the Medicare cardholder, along with a brochure on Growing Up in Australia. Families had 4 weeks to register their withdrawal from the Study.

Interviewers subsequently contacted families who had not withdrawn to arrange an appointment for their first interview. The Study has contacted participating families every 2 years since to conduct interviews (with exceptions due to COVID-19). Participants in the Study have included the Study Child/Young Person, as well as their parents, carers, and teachers.

Why is the Study so important?
The Study aims to identify opportunities for improving support and early interventions for children and their families. Findings from the Study are used to work out how to make things better for Australian children and young people in the future.

See our News and study updates page to find out more about how you continue to make an impact.

Why can't I be replaced?
One of the aims of the Study is to find out how events and circumstances in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood affect outcomes later in life. As the information we have collected as you have grown up is only relevant to you and your future, we cannot replace you or your family in the Study.

I'm over 18, so no longer a child. Why am I still part of the Study?
Growing Up in Australia is a longitudinal study, which means data is collected from the same people over time. The longer we are able to collect data from the same young people and their families, the more important and useful the information will be.

How much longer will the Study go for?
Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children was made an ongoing project by the Australian Government in 2007. The hope is that the Study will continue for years to come.

Do I have to participate in the study?
Growing Up in Australia Study participants may withdraw from the Study at any time or choose not to take part in some aspects of the Study as participation is voluntary. However, it is important for a study like this to keep in contact with as many people as possible to remain representative. Each young person in the Study represents around 50 others like them. You and your place in the study cannot be replaced by anybody else.

The value of this study comes from having information about the same people collected over time. Your experiences when you were younger helped to make changes that benefit children and their families today. Your experiences today, like opportunities for work and further study, will help to inform policy makers to improve outcomes for young people in the future.

Being in Growing Up in Australia gives you a chance to be part of a unique study that helps develop better services for young people and their families.

When will my next interview be?
We will be in contact with you prior to your next interview, which is likely to be in late 2023 or early 2024.

Please ensure we have your most up-to-date contact information by updating your details.

I’m a parent/guardian/carer participant, how will I be interviewed?

For Wave 10, you may be contacted to do a telephone interview. This will be in late 2023 or early 2024.

Where can I update my details?
The easiest way to update your contact information is by using the form on our website.

You can also update your contact information via our study hotline, 1800 005 508.

Where can I find up-to-date study information?
Our dedicated ‘news and study updates’ page for participants will keep you up-to-date with the current state of the study, upcoming events, recent findings and other information you might find interesting or useful.

Alternatively, you can contact our study hotline (1800 005 508) to find out more.

Where can i get help with my online survey?
If you are having technical difficulties filling out your survey, refer to the Technical Survey FAQs page.

Why we ask for the contact details of a person who you do not live with and are not your parents (an alternative contact)
To ensure that we do not lose contact with our study participants, we ask you to provide Growing Up in Australiawith an alternative contact. Preferably a person who you do not live with and are not your parents.

We usually seek alternative contacts who are not already associated with the study. Often, the people you live with, and your parents/ guardians/ carers may already be linked with your profile. To better our chances of re-connecting with you, we ask that you list a friend or external family member who the study would not have been in contact with. Many of our participants list the below people as their alternative contacts:

Siblings who do not live with them
Cousins
Aunties/ uncles
Nieces/ nephews
Grandparents
Neighbours
Friends (family friends, work friends etc.)
Colleagues
Boyfriend/ girlfriend

Any nominated person should be given the alternative contact brochure by the study participant so they are aware that their details have been provided to us. A reminder that we will only contact your nominated alternative contact if we are unable to contact you. Your alternative contact can request their details to be removed at any time.

If I don’t currently receive Centrelink benefits, can I still link my data?
Yes, even if you don’t currently access any Centrelink services we would still appreciate your permission to link to any future data in case your situation changes. You do not need a Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN) to do this.

It is just as important to understand the dynamics of people who do not access Centrelink services, and the situations that occur which might change this status.

For Wave 10, we will be asking 19–21 year olds permission to link their survey data to Centrelink data to better understand how these payments work (or don’t work) for those who need them.

Information for parents/carers/guardians

Why am I not interviewed with my child anymore?

Now that your child is over the age of 18, they are old enough to participate in the study without an adult present. Parents, guardians and carers of the young person are still an incredibly important part of the study and are interviewed separately. Participation in the survey continues to be voluntary and you and your young person are able to skip any survey questions you don’t feel comfortable answering.

How and when will I be interviewed?

Parents, guardians and carers of the young person may take part in a telephone interview after your young person has completed their online survey and face-to-face interview. We will attempt to call you to set up your interview when the time comes.

How can I verify the call if from Growing Up in Australia?

You can check if the phone number is from Roy Morgan (our partner fieldwork provider) by visiting their website: roymorgan.com/services/who-called-me

Information about Roy Morgan

Who is Roy Morgan?

Roy Morgan is an Australian owned and independent research company that has been operating continuously in Australia for more than 80 years. Roy Morgan is highly regarded for its integrity and independence and, in addition to the Growing Up in Australia study conducts many of the best-known Government research studies in Australia, including:

HILDA – the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, also known as “Living in Australia”
LSIC – the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, also known as “Footprints in Time”
National Drug Strategy Household Survey – an ongoing national survey about awareness, attitudes and behaviour relating to licit and illicit drugs

Does my Growing Up in Australia interviewer have a Police check?

Yes. All of our Growing Up in Australia Roy Morgan interviewers have completed and passed National Police Checks.

Is my Roy Morgan interviewer based in Australia?

Yes, all Roy Morgan interviewers are based in Australia, they are highly trained with multiple years of experience. All telephone interviewers are based in Australia and face-to-face interviewers are usually local to their interviewing area.

I want to give feedback on my interviewer. How can I do this?

If you would like to give feedback on your interviewer or on any other aspect of the study, you can call 1800 005 508 or send an email to info@growingupinaustralia.gov.au. Please include as much detail as possible so we can follow up any feedback you may have.

Information on Data Linkage and Privacy

What steps does the study take to prevent data breaches?

Our fieldwork provider, Roy Morgan, ensures your data is stored securely in Australia in line with the standards set by the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Information Security Management System standard ISO 27001. Your information is encrypted and is only accessed by authorised study team members on a need-to-know basis.

Where can I find more information on Privacy and Data Linkage?

To read more about how we protect your privacy, you can visit the Privacy page or read the privacy brochure. To learn more about data linkage, view the data linkage brochure.

Need to contact us?

If your questions aren’t satisfactorily answered here, you can contact us for further information:

General enquiries

Phone: 1800 005 508
Email: info@growingupinaustralia.gov.au
Website: growingupinaustralia.gov.au
Mail: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Roy Morgan, GPO Box 2282, Melbourne VIC 3001