The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a nationwide initiative that measures the development of children in their first year of full-time school, providing comprehensive data on the health, well-being, and learning outcomes of Australian children.
[1] First introduced in 2009, the AEDC is conducted every three years across all states and territories of Australia, covering approximately 305,000 children.
[3][4] The AEDC focuses on five key areas of early childhood development called domains: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills (school-based), and communication and general knowledge.
By collecting data on these domains, the AEDC generates a national snapshot of the developmental progress of Australian children, highlighting areas of strength and identifying where additional support may be needed.
[5] The AEDC was developed by the Australian Department of Education, in collaboration with the Centre for Community Child Health at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.