Examining the most important issues in Australia: similarities and differences across two generations

This study has built up a unique picture of the reality of the lives of two generations. The Life Patterns program: - Follows two generations of Australians - one that left secondary school in 1991 (corresponding to the popular notion of ‘Gen X’) and another that left secondary school in 2006 (corresponding to the popular notion of ‘Gen Y’ or the ‘Millennials’). - Explores the pathways through different areas of life taken by Australian young people. - Provides a unique picture, very different from the stereotypes of smooth transitions from education to work, or of the narcissistic or complacent generation often described in public discourse. - Allows for insights to be drawn that feed into policy advice and also into public debate. - Was designed to follow patterns in young people’s lives over time in order to gain more than a static glimpse