New data gathered through the Pathways for the Future program will be used by the NSW Department of Education to identify barriers and drivers of effective education and employment outcomes and help shape policy development.

The Pathways for the Future Program uses de-identified data to map how young people in NSW move through education into work. Findings from the program to date have been published in four fact sheets and two interactive data tools.

The Pathways Outcomes for Learners dashboard summarises the study pathways and outcomes of Year 10 students through to age 27. The interactive dashboard also allows users to see the results by region, gender, and other characteristics.

The dashboard reveals that women are more likely to attain higher qualifications by the age of 27, but earned a lower median income than men at every age from 21 to 27.​

At age 24, the median income for early school leavers is not substantially lower than for HSC completers. By age 27 however, students with higher levels of educational attainment are much more likely to earn a higher income.​

VET for Secondary Students is a strong pathway to post-school VET and A&T opportunities, with 80% of VETSS students enrolling in tertiary VET and 41% in A&T.​

66% of students from low socio-economic status (SES) areas complete year 12, compared to 86% of students from high SES areas. At age 27, 57% of students from low SES areas earn above minimum wage, but over 67% of students from high SES areas earn as much.

A refresh of the de-identified data occurs annually to ensure insights remain relevant. The upcoming 2026 refresh will include de-identified data from early childhood education students, primary and secondary school students, and students who have undertaken a vocational education and training qualification in NSW from 1996 to 2025.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics and Centre for Health Records Linkage are the approved authorities that link and de-identify the data. The department and its partners are committed to meeting all legal, privacy, ethics and data security requirements while maintaining the confidentiality and security of the data.

Students and learners can ask for their data to be withdrawn from the 2026 refresh of datasets through the Pathways for the Future webpage by 12 August 2026. People who have previously asked to have their data withdrawn from the Pathways dataset do not need to complete this form again.