This paper was written in 2010 to encourage policy-makers to think about how to measure socioeconomic status (SES). The findings show that measurement of SES is a complex issue, and that the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) measures perform quite well in measuring the aggregate relationship between socioeconomic status and education participation. People who are currently not in any education (typically of higher socioeconomic status) are more likely, in an expanded higher education section, to participate in university than those students studying vocational education and training.

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