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:
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 fulfill 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:
Our team
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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 -
Distinguished Professor Kerrie Mengersen
Professor of Statistics
QUT Centre for Data ScienceDr Aiden Price
Centre Chief Investigator
QUT Centre for Data ScienceDr Claire Boulange
Data Scientist
University of Western AustraliaHarriette Phillips
Masters student, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences
QUT Centre for Data ScienceDr Nishani Musafer
Data Scientist
QUT Centre for Data ScienceDr Owen Forbes
Data Scientist
QUT Centre for Data ScienceScott Sims
Biostatistician
University of Western Australia
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Associate Professor Kate Thompson
Associate Professor of Digital Pedagogies
QUT VISERBen Kleverlaan
Lead Software Engineer
QUT VISERMichael Smallcombe
Web Application Developer
QUT VISERSarah Quijano
User Experience and Interaction Designer
QUT VISERShaun Kickbusch
Software Engineer
QUT VISERThom Saunders
Visualisation Specialist UX/UI design, Program Coordinator
QUT VISER
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Anna Waters
Chief Operating Officer, Psychologist,
Neuropower™ GroupBonnie Tai
Associate Consultant Neuropower™ GroupCharmaine Ng
Creative Director
Neuropower™ Group
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Anne Hollonds
National Children's CommissionerAdrian Clutterbuck
Children's Health QueenslandCatherine Brady
Australian Research Data CommonsProfessor Dan McAullay
Edith Cowan UniversityProfessor David Preen
University of Western AustraliaAdjunct Professor Frank Tracey
Children's Health QueenslandGabrielle Phillips
Australian Institute of Health and WelfareHeather D'Antoine
University of QueenslandJacqueline McGowan-Jones
Commissioner for Children and Young People Western AustraliaDr Jocelyn Jones
Curtin UniversityLeanne McLean
Commissioner for Children and Young People TasmaniaProfessor Natasha Nassar
University of SydneyNichola Burton
Australian Research Data CommonsNicola Callard
Department of the Premier and Cabinet, QueenslandNicole Hucks
Acting Children’s Commissioner Northern TerritoryPenny Dakin
Australian Research Alliance for Children and YouthPeter Robinson
ACT Government Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development DirectorateAssociate Professor Rebecca Glauert
University of Western AustraliaProfessor Sharon Goldfeld
Murdoch Children's Research InstituteZavier Wileman
Young People Advisory Group
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Adrian Clutterbuck
Children's Health QueenslandAmanda Donges
Australian Institute of Health and WelfareAngela Agostini
Department for Health, Northern TerritoryAnna Lewkowicz
Department for Education, South AustraliaAnna Waters
Neuropower™ GroupAntony Deck
Department of Premier and Cabinet, TasmaniaBernie Morris
Australian Research Alliance for Children and YouthAssociate Professor Bruce Bradbury
University of New South WalesCatherine Brady
Australian Research Data CommonsProfessor Craig Olsson
Deakin UniversityDhiraj Nayanar
Queensland Government Customer and Digital GroupEmma Fuller
Telethon Kids InstituteProfessor Gareth Baynam
Australian National UniversityAssociate Professor Helen Leonard
Telethon Kids InstituteDr Jocelyn Jones
Curtin UniversityProfessor Juli Coffin
Murdoch UniversityMarketa Reeves
University of Western AustraliaProfessor Melissa Green
University of New South WalesProfessor Melissa Wake
Murdoch Children's Research InstituteAssociate Professor Kate Thompson
QUTNicola Callard
Department of the Premier and Cabinet, QueenslandAssociate Professor Rebecca Glauert
University of Western AustraliaProfessor Raghu Lingam
University of New South Wales
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
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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).
