Attainment of Year 12 or Certificate III or higher (YR12C3P)

This variable is used for national reporting purposes.

This variable indicates whether a person has attained Year 12 or equivalent or Certificate III or higher. This allows calculation of the proportion of the population that has attained the relevant qualifications, as used in the Report on Government Services (RoGS) Indicator BA. 12 – Proportion of 20-24 year olds who have completed Year 12 (or equivalent) or Certificate III level or higher.

All persons aged 15 years and over

This variable is created by combining information from:

• Highest year of school completed (HSCP)
• Non-school qualifications: level of education (QALLP)

A matrix is included in the downloads to show how the variable is created.

This variable was first created in 2016. For 2021, 'Overseas visitors' have been separated out from the 'Not applicable' category into a separate category.

This variable was created for National reporting purposes. Any analyses using this variable that are for other purposes should be done with caution and with reference to the relevant inclusions and exclusions described above.

Categories marked with an '*' are to be excluded from data extracted for national reporting purposes. 

This variable does not have a non-response rate as it is created during Census processing by using responses from more than one question on the Census form. 

Closing the Gap and Other National Government Reporting

This variable can be used to provide data on Target 5 for the National Agreement for Closing the Gap:

• By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (age 20-24) attaining year 12 or equivalent qualification to 96 per cent

Indigenous status (INGP) and Age (AGEP) will also have to be used to report on this measure. ‘Not applicable’ and ‘Overseas visitors’ categories should not be used for this measure.

For more information about ABS collections used in Closing the Gap and other National Government Reporting, see Closing the Gap and Other National Government Reporting.

Report on Government Services (RoGS)

This variable can be used to provide data for indicators in the Report on Government Services:

• BA.12 Proportion of 20-24 year olds who have completed year 12 (or equivalent) or Certificate III level or above
• BA.14 Proportion of 20-64 year olds with qualifications at Certificate III level or above, by age group
• BA.15 Proportion of 20-64 year olds with qualifications at Certificate III level or above, by Indigenous status

Indigenous status (INGP) and Age (AGEP) will also have to be used to report on these measures. 'Not applicable’ and ‘Overseas visitors’ categories should not be used when reporting on these measures.

• Highest year of school completed (HSCP)
• Non-school qualifications: level of education (QALLP)
• Attainment of Year 12 of Certificate II or higher (YR12C2P)

• Education statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, 2018-19
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Census