Data dashboard (and download) 

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas is a freely available

data asset that maps information on children and young people aged 0 to 24 in

communities across Australia. This enables the visualisation, analysis, and

monitoring of health and wellbeing metrics for children and young people.

This unique new data asset empowers researchers, non-government, state and federal organisations to identify priorities for child health and wellbeing research and initiatives in meaningful and cost-effective ways. 

Our vision and mission

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas - ACYWA accelerates the national access to and use of spatial data to understand inequities and improve the wellbeing, health and development of children and young people.

By enabling equitable access to this information, the Atlas contributes to the democratisation of data, fostering a more inclusive and informed society.  

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas defines children’s health and wellbeing in the context of the evidence-based Nest framework of child and youth wellbeing developed by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), which includes six wellbeing domains: 

ACYWA Indicators

Our goals

  • Deliver a freely accessible nationwide platform featuring geospatial and temporal visualisation of comprehensive child health and wellbeing indicators at local and national levels.

  • Provide insights into the associations between community-level factors and children's outcomes.

  • Help guide the development of geographically sensitive policy, which acknowledges the relationships between the spatial patterns of children’s wellbeing outcomes, and the provision of services in an area.

  • Identify gaps, priorities, and research opportunities, aiding policy and investment decisions for tangible health improvements.

  • Expand a national network of experts in child and youth wellbeing and data monitoring, including policymakers, researchers, clinicians, and community representatives.

Our partnership

A partnership that breaks through system barriers:

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas is an exciting systemic initiative that brings together leading expertise across Australia’s child and youth research, advocacy, policy and practice fields. 

The partnership has naturally evolved, driven by an exceptional motivation to collaborate and fulfil a common mission. This mission aims to revolutionise the access and utilisation of data to enhance children's health, development, and wellbeing, ultimately striving for equitable outcomes for all Australian children.

Organisations involved in the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas include:

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Commissioner for Children WA.png
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Muroch Childrens Research Institute.png
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Qld Family and Child Commission.png
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Our team

  • Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert
    Scientific Director (Raine Study)
    University of Western Australia

  • Nicola Callard
    Strategic Partnerships
    Children's Health Queensland

  • Marketa Reeves
    Project Manager
    University of Western Australia

    Catherine Rennison
    Senior Project Officer
    University of Western Australia

    • Distinguished Professor Kerrie Mengersen
      Professor of Statistics
      QUT Centre for Data Science

    • Dr Aiden Price
      Centre Chief Investigator
      QUT Centre for Data Science

    • Dr Nishani Musafer
      Data Scientist
      QUT Centre for Data Science

    • Scott Sims
      Biostatistician
      University of Western Australia

    • Dr Ben Fitzpatrick
      Data Manager
      University of Western Australia

    ACYWA Prototype

    • Dr Claire Boulange
      Data Scientist
      University of Western Australia

    • Harriette Phillips
      Masters student, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences
      QUT Centre for Data Science

    • Dr Owen Forbes
      Data Scientist
      QUT Centre for Data Science

    • Associate Professor Wei Liu
      Associate Professor, Computer Science and Software Engineering
      University of Western Australia

    • Pascal Sun
      PhD Candidate, Computer Science and Software Engineering
      UWA NLP-TLP Group

    ACYWA Prototype

    • Associate Professor Kate Thompson
      Associate Professor of Digital Pedagogies
      QUT VISER

    • Ben Kleverlaan
      Lead Software Engineer
      QUT VISER

    • Michael Smallcombe
      Web Application Developer
      QUT VISER

    • Sarah Quijano
      User Experience and Interaction Designer
      QUT VISER

    • Shaun Kickbusch
      Software Engineer
      QUT VISER

    • Thom Saunders
      Visualisation Specialist UX/UI design, Program Coordinator
      QUT VISER

    • Anna Waters
      Chief Operating Officer, Psychologist,
      Neuropower™ Group

    • Bonnie Tai
      Associate Consultant Neuropower™ Group

    • Charmaine Ng
      Creative Director
      Neuropower™ Group

    • Dr Adrian Burton
      Australian Research Data Commons

    • Adrian Clutterbuck
      Children's Health Queensland

    • Anne Hollonds
      National Children's Commissioner

    • Catherine Brady
      Australian Research Data Commons

    • Professor Dan McAullay
      Edith Cowan University

    • Professor David Preen
      University of Western Australia

    • Adjunct Professor Frank Tracey
      Children's Health Queensland

    • Gabrielle Phillips
      Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

    • Heather D'Antoine
      University of Queensland

    • Isabelle Crompton
      Interim Commissioner for Children and Young People Tasmania

    • Jacqueline McGowan-Jones
      Commissioner for Children and Young People Western Australia

    • Dr Jocelyn Jones
      Curtin University

    • Professor Natasha Nassar
      University of Sydney

    • Nicola Callard
      Child Health Queensland

    • Peter Robinson
      ACT Government Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate

    • Prue Warrilow
      Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth

    • Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert
      University of Western Australia

    • Scott Sims
      University of Western Australia

    • Professor Sharon Goldfeld
      Murdoch Children's Research Institute

    • Zavier Wileman
      Young People Advisory Group

    • Adrian Clutterbuck
      Children's Health Queensland

    • Dr Aiden Price
      Queensland University of Technology

    • Amanda Donges
      Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

    • Anna Lewkowicz
      Department for Education, South Australia

    • Anna Waters
      NeuroPower™ Group

    • Dr Ben Fitzpatrick
      University of Western Australia

    • Associate Professor Bruce Bradbury
      University of New South Wales

    • Carolyn Wallace
      VicHealth

    • Catherine Rennison
      University of Western Australia

    • Chanelle Wilson
      Commissioner for Children and Young People WA

    • Clare Patterson
      NT Office of the Children’s Commissioner

    • Professor Craig Olsson
      Deakin University

    • Professor Dan McAullay
      Edith Cowan University

    • Professor David Preen
      University of Western Australia

    • Dhiraj Nayanar
      Queensland Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy

    • Professor Gareth Baynam
      Australian National University

    • Associate Professor Helen Leonard
      The Kids Research Institute Australia

    • Dr Jocelyn Jones
      Curtin University

    • Professor Juli Coffin
      Murdoch University

    • Dr Kate Lycett
      Deakin University

    • Distinguished Professor Kerrie Mengersen
      Queensland University of Technology

    • Kym Wilkins
      The Child Development Council SA

    • Marketa Reeves
      University of Western Australia

    • Matthew Mooney
      The Child Development Council SA

    • Professor Melissa Green
      University of New South Wales

    • Professor Melissa Wake
      Murdoch Children's Research Institute

    • Dr Michelle Morgan
      Department of Premier and Cabinet Tasmania

    • Miranda Liu
      Australian Research Data Commons

    • Professor Natasha Nassar
      University of Sydney

    • Nerida Zammit
      Queensland Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy

    • Nicola Callard
      Child Health Queensland

    • Nicole Bortone
      Ian Potter Foundation

    • Nicole Deen
      Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth

    • Dr Nishani Musafer
      University of Western Australia

    • Professor Raghu Lingam
      University of New South Wales

    • Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert
      University of Western Australia

    • Scott Sims
      University of Western Australia

First Nations children and young people

In the Atlas prototype, data has not yet been disaggregated for First Nations children and young people. This decision arises from our profound awareness of the commonly inadequate representation of wellbeing outcomes concerning First Nations children and young people.

Prior to incorporating data pertaining to First Nations children and young people, we intend to establish a robust Indigenous Data Governance structure through our Indigenous Data Sovereignty Working Group. This framework will provide guidance to ensure the accurate inclusion and meaningful application of data related to First Nations children and young people.

Trans and Gender Diverse young people

In the Atlas prototype, data has not been disaggregated by gender identity. It only provides a breakdown based on the traditional categories of female and male.

We are profoundly aware that many young people identify with a wide spectrum of gender-diverse identities, which go beyond the binary concept of female and male. These identities include terms such as non-binary, gender fluid, gender questioning, agender, and others that best represent their gender identity.

The process of disaggregating data by these gender identities presents several challenges. Often, existing data collection methods do not yet capture this information, and even when they do, privacy concerns may necessitate data suppression due to small sample sizes or data quality issues.

The ACYWA project is committed to working on finding ways to overcome these obstacles. Our objective is to directly engage with trans and gender-diverse youth to understand their preferences regarding how their data should be represented.

An increasing body of research into wellbeing outcomes of gender-diverse people has revealed that gender-diverse children and youth face notably more challenges across multiple aspects of wellbeing, performing comparatively worse than other vulnerable groups across specific measures.¹

¹Commissioner for Children and Young People WA 2023, The Wellbeing of Trans and Gender Diverse Youth, [cited 2023 October 10]. Available at: https://www.ccyp.wa.gov.au/our-work/projects/the-wellbeing-of-trans-and-gender-diverse-youth/
https://www.ccyp.wa.gov.au/media/5127/trans-and-gender-diverse-full-report.pdf

Technical information

Learn more about our logo competition!

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (WA) and the Departments of Communities, Education, Health, Justice (including the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages) and Western Australia Police Force for provision of data through PeopleWA used for this project.

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas received investment (doi.org/10.47486/DP728) from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). The ARDC is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).