Overview: Footprints in Time is the name given to the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, an initiative of the Australian Government. It is the most comprehensive source of longitudinal information on early childhood development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It shows how early childhood experiences can impact on later life and provides policy makers with information about ‘what matters’ and ‘what works’ for producing improved Indigenous outcomes.

This report is the fifth in a series of reports produced for each wave of the data collection. The report provides a selection of research findings from wave 5. Readers may wish to refer to the previous reports for more detailed information about the developmental phase of the study and for results from the first four waves.