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Relative age effects (RAEs), where older children within an age-based group have better academic, sporting, self-concept and mental health outcomes than their younger peers, have been demonstrated in multiple countries. Australian research has found self-concept and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder RAEs, but academic RAEs have not been explored. This cross-sectional observational study investigated RAEs among Western Australian year 3, 5, 7 and 9 government school students who took a National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) test in Numeracy, Reading, Spelling, or Grammar and Punctuation in 2017. After adjusting for gender and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, we found that among the 98% of students who were in their recommended school year, younger students were on average significantly outperformed by their older classmates in all tests. RAEs were strongest in year 3, and progressively weakened through years 5, 7 and 9. These results are consistent with international research. They also support the hypothesis that age-related immaturity of relatively young children disadvantages them in academic competition, but this decreases as the age difference becomes a smaller proportion of their lived years. We also examined the performance of the 2% of children who were outside their recommended year. Accelerated students on average significantly outperformed their older classmates. Delayed progress students performed significantly worse than their younger classmates. A likely explanation for this reverse RAE is that accelerated students are often promoted because they are high academic achievers and delayed children are held back because they are performing below expectations. [Author abstract]

A method is developed for measuring the intensity with which skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are used in different occupations based on workers' field of education of their highest qualification and weighted by the wage premium associated with that level of qualification. This is used to model changes in demand for STEM skills, and in other fields, based on the changing occupational composition of employment in Australia between the 2006 and 2016 censuses, and on projected changes to 2024. The approach offers a number of advantages over previous measures used to define STEM workers. Most importantly, by generating a continuous measure of STEM-intensity rather than a binary STEM versus non-STEM definition, it incorporates VET qualifications rather than just university level qualifications, and allows for transferability of STEM skills to what might be considered 'non-STEM' jobs. Contrary to popular narratives around STEM and the future of work, we find that the changing nature of work is actually reducing the demand for STEM skills relative to skills in other fields of education. Health stands out as the field in which the demand for qualifications has been growing most strongly. We also find that technical and trade jobs account for almost the same level of demand for STEM skills as professional occupations, reflecting the importance of including the VET sector in any STEM agenda. While governments have actively sought to promote 'women in STEM', our results suggest that, if anything, women are benefitting in terms of the demand for their skills by the fact that they are under-represented in STEM, and over-represented in key services such as Health and Education. We caution against an uncritical acceptance of the need for a higher proportion of people to specialise in STEM fields. More explicit and testable statements of the rationales and assumptions behind STEM definitions and associated policy are needed to further advance skills forecasting and the appropriate role, if any, of a unique STEM agenda within that framework. [Author abstract]

To expand on the themes identified by Tomas Hachard's paper 'Capacity, voice and opportunity: advancing municipal engagement in Canadian federal relations', the Journal commissioned six personal 'perspectives' from a diverse group of other Commonwealth countries - Australia, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK). This replicated the model adopted in Issue 26 for Zack Taylor's paper on 'Regionalism from above: intergovernmental relations in Canadian metropolitan governance'. Similarly, the purpose was to establish a broader picture of issues and trends across the Commonwealth, rather than 'review' Hachard's work.

This paper uses Australian Bureau of Statistics' fiscal incidence figures to track trends in the treatment of families with children in the Australian welfare state across the period 1984 to 2010. Our four main findings are that: sole parent families gained while couple families made no net gain; there was no growth in ‘middle class welfare‘; couple families are slightly better off than elderly households in terms of their final incomes, but considerably less well off in terms of their net worth; and stated differences in policy intentions by the major political parties have had little influence on trends in actual government redistribution.

This paper uses Australian Bureau of Statistics fiscal incidence figures to track trends across the period 1984 to 2010 in one key aspect of the Australian welfare state — whether welfare policies have favoured the elderly at the expense of the young. Our three main findings are: that there has been a substantial shift over this period in favour of the elderly; that this trend has accelerated rapidly in recent years; and that as a result of this accelerated trend, elderly households today are on average well off by comparison with younger households. We see little influence of party politics or ideology on the processes we are describing.

Australian government health expenditure per capita has grown steadily across the past few decades, but little is known about trends in the age distribution of health expenditure. In this paper, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) fiscal incidence studies, which track expenditure at the household level between 1984 and 2010, are used to shed light on this topic. The main finding was that spending has shifted focus from the younger half to the older half of the population. This shift is evident in three areas: (1) acute care (hospitals); (2) community health services (doctors); and (3) pharmaceuticals. Together, these areas account for approximately 88% of expenditure. The trend is independent of demographic aging. It is unlikely to reflect changes in population health. Its explanation is open to debate. Growth in expenditure per household has been more than threefold faster for elderly than young households. Across this period, expenditure per household per week has increased by 51% for the young, by 79% for the middle aged and by 179% for the elderly. This age-related growth is most prominent in expenditure on acute care, community health services and pharmaceuticals. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC?: The Productivity Commission has published figures that relate age and Australian heath expenditure. However, there has been no published study of age-related trends in Australian health expenditure. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD?: In addition to tracking age-related trends across 26 years, this paper adds a breakdown of those trends into four categories of expenditure, namely acute care, community health services, pharmaceutical benefits, and other. This breakdown shows that the trends vary by expenditure type. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS?: The paper shows that forward projections in health expenditure need to take into account age-related trends as well as demographic trends.

A method is developed for measuring the intensity with which skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are used in different occupations based on workers’ field of education of their highest qualification and weighted by the wage premium associated with that level of qualification. This is used to model changes in demand for STEM skills, and in other fields, based on the changing occupational composition of employment in Australia between the 2006 and 2016 censuses, and on projected changes to 2024. The approach offers a number of advantages over previous measures used to define STEM workers. Most importantly, by generating a continuous measure of STEM-intensity rather than a binary STEM versus non-STEM definition, it incorporates VET qualifications rather than just university level qualifications, and allows for transferability of STEM skills to what might be considered ‘non-STEM’ jobs. Contrary to popular narratives around STEM and the future of work, we find that the changing nature of work is actually reducing the demand for STEM skills relative to skills in other fields of education. Health stands out as the field in which the demand for qualifications has been growing most strongly. We also find that technical and trade jobs account for almost the same level of demand for STEM skills as professional occupations, reflecting the importance of including the VET sector in any STEM agenda. While governments have actively sought to promote ‘women in STEM’, our results suggest that, if anything, women are benefitting in terms of the demand for their skills by the fact that they are under-represented in STEM, and over-represented in key services such as Health and Education. We caution against an uncritical acceptance of the need for a higher proportion of people to specialise in STEM fields. More explicit and testable statements of the rationales and assumptions behind STEM definitions and associated policy are needed to further advance skills forecasting and the appropriate role, if any, of a unique STEM agenda within that framework.

The National Competition Policy (NCP) is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most successful examples of cooperative federalism. Through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), the Commonwealth, states and territories agreed in 1995 to implement a set of microeconomic reforms focused on removing impediments to equal competition between public and private businesses and creating competitive pricing and regulatory mechanisms for utility services and road transport. In return for the successful implementation of the reform package, the Commonwealth transferred payments to the states and territories. The NCP was subsequently commended as an economic success by the Productivity Commission (2005). However, whether