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Australian Early Development Census

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a national census of early childhood development.

It is based on data collected by educators about children in their first year of full-time school, also known as transition.

All schools are strongly encouraged to participate, however, parents can decide if their child takes part or not.

Read more about the AEDC on the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) website.

The AEDC was collected for the first time in 2009 and is repeated every three years. This data is publicly available on the AEDC Data Explorer dashboard.

The results can help communities understand what’s working well and what needs to be improved to better support very young children and their families.

A summary of recent research findings is available on the AEDC website.

AEDC data collection

The AEDC measures how children have developed by the time they start school.
The 5 key areas of development, referred to as domains, are:

  • physical health and wellbeing
  • social competence
  • emotional maturity
  • language and cognitive skills
  • communication and general knowledge.

Read more about the AEDC development domains.

Each of these domains is closely linked to the predictors of

  • good adult health
  • education
  • social outcomes.

Educators complete a survey each census year using their knowledge and observations of the children in their class. The AEDC questions are available online on the website.

Information collected by educators contributes to understanding the development of Australian children during their early years.

AEDC data is not reported for individual children. It is only reported for groups of children at:

  • community
  • school and
  • state or territory levels.

Families do not receive individual reports for their children.

AEDC results

The most recent collection of AEDC data was in 2024. The 2025 AEDC Northern Territory report is in production.

The Australian Government 2024 AEDC National Report is available on the AEDC website.

For data tables, maps and graphs relevant to the NT, go to the AEDC Data Explorer dashboard.

For whole-of-Territory and regional results, see the The 2021 AEDC Northen Territory Report  PDF (8.5 MB).

To request additional data to meet your needs or for support in understanding and using the data, contact the NT AEDC Coordinator at the details listed below.

Using the AEDC data

Anyone can use the AEDC data. The data has been used by many organisations to inform early childhood policy and practice.

This includes:

  • schools
  • early childhood services
  • health and community services
  • policy makers
  • researchers
  • parents.

The AEDC data can be used to tailor educational programming to meet the developmental needs of children and develop targeted support to address specific vulnerabilities.

The AEDC can help strengthen links between:

  • schools
  • preschools
  • playgroups
  • local government agencies
  • health centres
  • libraries
  • other local organisations.

It can be used to encourage them to explore new ways of working together.

For factsheets and stories about how communities and services have used the AEDC data, go to the national AEDC website.

A range of NT resources are being developed to support government schools to interpret and use the AEDC data. These are available on the eLearn site.

Email the NT AEDC Coordinator to request support or to share how you have used the AEDC data.

Contact the NT AEDC manager

The NT AEDC manager can help to support your understanding and use of the AEDC data.