Introduction
Footprints in Time is the name given to the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC), an initiative of the Australian Government. Footprints in Time is conducted by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) under the guidance of the Footprints in Time Steering Committee, chaired by Professor Mick Dodson AM. The study aims to improve the understanding of, and policy response to, the diverse circumstances faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and communities.
What is the purpose of the study?
The main objective of the study is to provide high quality quantitative and qualitative data that can be used to provide a better insight into how a child’s early years affect their development.
The study's quality declaration provides further detail about data quality.
Community Booklet and key summary report
The parents and carers of two groups of children, mostly aged between 6 to 18 months and 3½ - 4½ years, were interviewed in 2008 for wave 1.
Over 1,680 interviews were conducted with a parent or primary carer of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, usually the mother, and over 265 interviews were conducted with fathers or other significant carers. Footprints in time interviewers successfully interviewed 1,436 families in wave 2, achieving an overall response rate of 86 percent for the study.
Footprints in Time Key Summary Report from Wave 2
Two feet on the ground – standing proud: Findings from Wave 2 of Footprints in Time - 2010
Footprints in Time Key Summary Report from Wave 1
Highlights from Wave 1: topics include family life, growing up strong, learning and doing, and strong souls and safe communities.
Highlights from Wave 2: Changes in family life structure and new topics such as child support, stolen generations and pre-school.
Study members?
Update your contact details
Please keep in touch! If you have changed your contact details please let us know by:
- Email: lsic@fahcsia.gov.au
- Phone: free call 1800 106 235
Providing feedback to us
We have received some really positive feedback from parents who are involved in the study, and also some amusing anecdotes. If you have any feedback about being in the study that you would like to pass on please contact us or free call 1800 106 235
Who is undertaking the study?
Interviews are primarily conducted by FaHCSIA-employed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Administration Officers. Interviews are also conducted by other National Office Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff. The information collected is the property of FaHCSIA.
How do I access Release 3.0 LSIC data?
Release 3.0 of the LSIC data is now available. It contains data from waves 1 to 3 of LSIC. Prospective users will be required to complete a deed of licence for the Release 3.0 data. Users who have earlier releases of the data also need to re-apply for Release 3.0 data.
Ordering the data
In order to apply for the LSIC data users should read the following Manual for the access and use of FaHCSIA Longitudinal Survey Datasets to understand how to obtain access to the dataset.
Licensing arrangements
Organisational Licence
List of organisations and data managers - [200kB]
Users affiliated with these organisations need to contact their Organisational Data Manager and obtain and sign a Deed of Confidentiality. If you are a Data Manager and wish to obtain the Organisational Licence forms please contact FaHCSIA.
Individual Licence
Users from all other organisations will need to sign an Individual 
Deed of Licence for Australian Academic and Government Users - PDF [166 KB]
Note:
- Honours students will only be granted access under an Organisational Licence.
- Students will only be granted access if their supervisor has access.
- Research assistants may only be granted access if a senior research officer from the same project has access.
Further questions regarding the data access can be directed to longitudinalsurveys@fahcsia.gov.au.
Data documents
LSIC data documentation
Questions regarding these documents can be directed to lsicdata@fahcsia.gov.au.
Technical papers
Wave 4 data collection
Wave 4 data was collected between March 2011 and December 2011. Wave 4 includes two new direct assessments for the K cohort children measuring cognitive development and literacy. New questions in the Parent 1 interview include access to computers and the Internet, access to transport, rules about television, whether child goes camping, and whether child attends religious services. Wave 4 also includes an interview to gather information from the child’s father.
Wave 5 and beyond
Wave 5 interviews commenced in March 2012. In addition to repeated measures collected in other waves, Wave 5 has new questions on life satisfaction, parenting efficacy and peer relationships.
Planning for Wave 6 survey content also commenced in March 2012.
FLoSse
You can also access FaHCSIA's Longitudinal Surveys Electronic (FLoSse) Research archive to browse or search for bibliographic details of research material using data from LSIC and FaHCSIA's other longitudinal surveys.
Staff contact details
For general enquiries about Footprints In Time - The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children :
- email LSIC (lsic@fahcsia.gov.au)
- Telephone toll free: 1800 106 235
- Fax: (02) 6244 7909