The NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey (PSDES) collects information about the main destinations of recent school leavers in the 6 to 12 months after leaving school.

Data Notes

• The survey collected data on school leavers in the 6-12 months after leaving school in 2024, School leavers comprise students who completed Year 12 and students who left school while they were in Year 10,11 or 12 (early school leavers).

• There are some caveats and limitations in the generalisability of survey findings to the total population of recent school leavers in NSW. For example, students who completed Year 12 via an alternative pathway other than the HSC, such as the International Baccalaureate, are not counted as Year 12 completers and are not covered in the survey.

• Since 2021 the sampling strategy for non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and non-Connected Communities (CC) Year 12 completers changed from stratified sampling to census and resulted in a marked increase in the overall proportion of responses collected from the target population.

• Time series data of destinations by student type from 2014 to 2018 should be used with caution as some counts of school leavers are estimated from lower cell counts than in later years. Contrary to previous years, students from Schools for Specific Purposes (SSPs) which fall into the categories of Medium/High Support needs; Debilitated by physical difficulties; or Diagnostic remedial reading assessments as defined by the CESE school list were included in the 2024 survey.

• Estimates in the data are based on base weights which are adjusted to matched population distributions for school leavers based on known characteristics to minimise non-response bias.

• For a full description of notes and caveats, see the 2024 Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey Technical Report

Data Source

NSW Post-School Destinations and Experiences Survey