With nine in 10 new jobs expected to require post-secondary qualifications, understanding the transition from school to study, training or work and supporting more young people to complete Year 12, is essential.

This report draws on three years of surveys of over 2,000 young people experiencing disadvantage who were in Year 10 in 2020 and in-depth interviews, to identify how more young people can be supported to complete Year 12 and have positive post-school pathways.

Key findings

• 28% of respondents left school before completing Year 12.
• 92% of student who started Year 11 but didn’t complete school had intended to finish Year 12.
• 57% of students who had poor attendance in Year 9 (less than 70%) left school before finishing Year 12.
• 39% of students who couldn’t recall careers advice left school early.
• In 2022, 70% of young people were working, up from 55% in 2021 and 48% were studying in 2022, down from 52% in 2021.
• Students who left school early due to ‘pull’ factors (wanting to get a job, apprenticeship or training) generally had better post-school outcomes than students who left school due to ‘push’ factors (health or mental health issues, struggling academically, bullying, not liking school).