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For policymakers

The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health provides a rich evidence base to investigate the behavioural and socio-demographic characteristics that affect women’s health and their use of health services at different life stages. With over 20 years of longitudinal data, it is the nation’s largest, longest-running survey of women’s health and wellbeing. The Study has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and managed by the University of Newcastle and the University of Queensland since 1996.


An accessible evidence base for policy and practice

ALSWH is a national research resource. As a policymaker, there are a number of ways that you can utilise the Study data and our multidisciplinary research team to provide the evidence base and analysis needed to support your decision-making activities.

ALSWH data is freely available to approved researchers through an Expression of Interest (EOI) process. You can learn more about the data available and the EOI process in the Applying for Data section of this website.

The Study has been commissioned by Government Departments to complete a number of projects including:

  • Health service use at the end of life by older Australian women with chronic conditions (L2Y Project)
  • Family, domestic and sexual violence hotspot maps and research summaries
  • Domestic violence among women who have a disability or women who are culturally and linguistically diverse
  • Validation of survey instruments that measure domestic violence
  • Employment and caring in mid-aged women
  • Research on carers based on the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health

Please contact us to discuss your analysis requirements.

State and national health record administrative data sets have been linked with Survey data from participants. This provides additional insight into women’s diagnoses, use of services, and the associated costs. Linked data are available to approved researchers upon application. The ALSWH team also have extensive experience analysing linked data for commissioned research.

Linked data sets include:

  • Medicare Benefits Schedule
  • Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
  • Australian Cancer Database
  • National Death Index
  • Aged Care Datasets
  • Perinatal Data Collections
  • Admitted Patients Data Collections
  • Emergency Department Data Collections

Visit the Linked Data section of this website to learn more.

Since beginning in 1996, over 1300 researchers have collaborated on projects using data from the Study, and more than 795 papers have been published or accepted for publication in national and international scientific journals. There are over 500 current collaborators working with Study data.

Our publications database provides links to all published research using ALSWH data. Some papers are published under an open-access licence. Many are behind licenced paywalls. If you require support accessing a particular publication please contact us.

Search the publications database 

Every year ALSWH delivers a major report on topic commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. These reports feature an in-depth analysis of Survey data and linked administrative datasets. Recent topics have included:

  • A series of policy briefs informing the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030
  • An analysis of women’s caregiving roles and the impact on social, employment and health outcomes
  • Women’s use of and access to Medicare services across the lifecourse
  • A prediction of trends in health status, risks, and behaviours over the next two decades
  • A comparison of the health and wellbeing of 18-23 years olds in 1996 vs. 2013

Search ALSWH’s Major Reports


Research translation

The Study has been widely used by the Australian Government and other decision making bodies within Australia for the development and evaluation of policy and practice in many areas of health service delivery impacting women.



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