Jenny Gordon

The HILDA Study is a 'go to' data source for the Commission in many of its inquiries and research studies.

And as it includes more waves of data, HILDA is providing a much richer picture of the lives of Australians. The information on the housing wealth of older Australians, for example, was essential in exploring the potential standard of living available to older Australians. HILDA has also been central to the Commission’s work on income distribution and, as the only Australian data source that follows people over time, the Commission has used HILDA to provide measures of persistent disadvantage.

HILDA is one of the few sources that allows us to model the likely response to policy induced changes in prices of goods and services and the effect of changes in income on demand for services. For example, for the inquiry into Childcare and Early Childcare Learning, the Commission drew on HILDA derived estimates to assess the effect of changes in the cost of childcare on the working hours for women with young children. HILDA also supports a growing body of research that the Commission draws on its analysis of influences on outcomes such as employment, savings and health.

Looking forward, HILDA is the only data source that can monitor trends in, and the outcomes of, life-long learning. HILDA has been and will remain an important source of information about the lives of Australians that better informs policy choices.