YOUNG PEOPLE (16-17-YEAR-OLDS) IN GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY – SEPTEMBER 2025

Drawing on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census and other relevant datasets, this paper presents an overview of young people aged 16-17 year-olds in GWS, with a focus on their disengagement from school, family, and community. The paper closely served the focused discussion on one of the priority cohorts identified in the Targeted Earlier Intervention Program: children and young people at risk of disengagement from school, family, and community.

Currently, the paper is limited to young people only, 16-17 years of age. The findings underscore that the disengagement of young people is not only a matter of educational absence but can also be intertwined with or affected by broader social, economic, and health-related vulnerabilities.