Detailed statistics about preschool education suitable for in-depth analyses
Microdata: Preschool Education, Australia is compiled with data from the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection (NECECC). The collection is derived from administrative data provided by state and territory and Australian Government education departments and the Catholic Education Office of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. The collection date is the first Friday in August each year and has been conducted annually since 2010 and contains statistics on children enrolled in and attending a preschool program across Australia.
Statistics in this release may not be fully comparable with previous releases due to differences in coverage and methodologies. Caution should therefore be used when comparing the data over time.
Information about the collection, including Methodology and changes to data quality and comparability, are available in the Preschool Education. A description of the collection framework is in National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection: Concepts, Sources and Methods. Impacts of COVID-19 in the 2020 and 2021 collections can be found in Impacts of COVID-19 of Preschool Education
The following microdata products are available from this collection:
The microdata products cover the following reference periods:
Information about TableBuilder and the DataLab, and other general information to assist users in understanding and accessing microdata, are available from the Microdata Entry Page.
Compare data services to see what's right for you or Frequently asked questions.
A complete list of data items for TableBuilder and the DataLab can be accessed from the Data downloads section. These contain details for each data item including the full output classification and any special codes used.
Users intending to apply for access to the DataLab should ensure the data they require, and the level of detail required, are available and applicable for the intended use. The test file would be helpful for this purpose.
The TableBuilder provides you with information about how to create basic tables, custom groups, graphs and large tables.
A confidentiality process called perturbation is applied to the data in TableBuilder to avoid releasing information that may lead to the identification of individuals, families, households, dwellings or businesses. See Confidentiality.
The DataLab is an interactive data analysis solution available for users to run advanced statistical analyses, for example, multiple regressions and structural equation modelling.
The DataLab environment contains recent versions of analytical software, including R, SAS, Stata and Python. Controls in the DataLab have been put in place to protect the identification of individuals and organisations. These controls include environmental protections, data de-identification and confidentialisation, access safe guards and output clearance. All output from DataLab sessions is cleared by an ABS officer before it is released. See DataLab page for more information.
Please read the Responsible use of ABS microdata before applying for access.
A test file is available in the Data downloads section.
The test file mimics the structure of the detailed microdata in that it has the same data items and allowed values. This allows users to become familiar with the data structure and prepare code/programs before applying for, or beginning a DataLab session.
All data in the file is false, created through a randomisation process, therefore it cannot be used for analysis.
See Preschool Education methodology for information on:
Addition of new reference period 2023 Preschool Education
Addition of new reference period 2022 Preschool Education
Addition of new reference period 2021 Worker component
Updated TableBuilder product to correct 2021 Non-ABS Geography Structures. The update affects data in Commonwealth Electoral Divisions and State Electoral Divisions. Total children counts are not affected.
Updated detailed microdata product to correct 2021 Non-ABS Geography Structures. The update affects data in Commonwealth Electoral Divisions and State Electoral Divisions. Total children counts are not affected. This update will be available in TableBuilder in an upcoming release. For more information, see the TableBuilder page.
Addition of new reference period 2021 Preschool Education, Australia.
This replacement contains corrections to the 2018 and 2019 microdata in TableBuilder and the DataLab due to a revision in the Indigenous Status for Centre based day care services. The correction affects data for all states and territories and Australian totals. Dedicated preschools and total children counts are not affected. We recommend you check your analysis to see if you are impacted.
Addition of new reference period 2020 Preschool Education, Australia.
Replacement of Data Item List 2018 and 2019 - DataLab due to file not downloading. There has been no content changes to this data item list.
This release previously used catalogue number 4240.0.55.003.