In Australia, attendance at school is compulsory until year 10 or you have turned 17. Most Australians decide to remain in high school, with 56.8% of Australians (aged over 15 years) having completed their year 12 studies.

Comparing the average highest year of schooling completed, average personal incomes and rates of self-assessed health for Australian local government areas, strongly indicates staying in school can have long-term socio-economic and health benefits for Australians.

Residents in local government areas recording average high school completion of year 11 (or equivalent) or below also recorded lower average personal incomes by approximately $9,000 per annum compared to those with high school completion above year 11 (or equivalent). Similar results were also observed for self reported health. Residents in areas which recorded an average high school completion of year 11 (or equivalent) or below recorded self-assessed health of good, very good or excellent (GVGE) approximately 3.5 percentage points (i.e. the difference between 83.5% and 80.0%) lower than those local government areas in which the average high school completion was above year 11 (or equivalent).

Highest Year of Schooling (2016), Average Personal Income (2016) and Self-Assessed Health (2014-15)