New research released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is offering fresh insight into childhood disadvantage, highlighting how household circumstances, location and access to services intersect across Australia.

Published as part of the Life Course Data Initiative (LCDI), the release combines data from early childhood, health, education and community services to provide a clearer picture of disadvantage and service access.

Steven Nicholas, ABS head of the Life Course Data Initiative, said the initiative is designed to strengthen decision-making.

“The LCDI combines data from early childhood, health, education and community services to give communities and policy makers a clearer picture of disadvantage,” he said.

A key feature of the update is the launch of the Service Accessibility Explorer - an interactive map and dashboard showing how far people needed to travel in 2021 to reach essential services such as childcare, schools, hospitals and GPs.

“This analysis showed that nearly 80 per cent of children aged 5–12 years lived in areas where the median distance by road to a primary school was less than 2 km,” Mr Nicholas said.

The release also presents new findings on household and area-level disadvantage, drawing on 2021 Census data alongside national socio-economic indexes.

“The analysis showed that 42 per cent of the most disadvantaged households were living in the most disadvantaged areas,” Mr Nicholas said.

However, disadvantage is not always concentrated in the most disadvantaged locations.

“We also found that 13 per cent of the most disadvantaged households were living in the most advantaged areas,” he said.

Family structure was another key factor highlighted in the data. The ABS found that 42 per cent of lone parent family households were among the most disadvantaged households, compared with 6.5 per cent of couple family households.

The ABS notes that while distance and travel time are important measures of service access, they are not the only barriers. Factors such as cost and availability also influence whether families can access essential services.

The LCDI is being delivered as a pilot in partnership with the ACT Government, South Australian Government and Adelaide University’s BetterStart, under the Targeting Entrenched Disadvantage package led by the Commonwealth Treasury and Department of Social Services.

The ABS says the initiative aims to turn data into practical insights, helping better understand how disadvantage is distributed and how services can be improved to support children and families across Australia.