Data linkage means combining your answers in our survey with other records, like health and school data. This will help health leaders and researchers understand the different services your child uses and how mental health affects their educational performance.
What is Data Linkage?
What happens if you agree to data linkage?
If you say yes, we’ll ask you to fill out a consent form with your child’s details. This helps our survey team and trusted organisations (like Services Australia or education departments) match your child’s records.
- In the form, you can choose which records you’re happy for us to link — for example, health or school records.
- If your teenager (aged 14–17) was invited to do the survey, we’ll also ask for their permission to link their health records. They’ll get their own consent form, and we’ll explain everything clearly. It’s completely voluntary.
- To match records, we’ll securely send your child’s name, date of birth, address, gender, and school names to the organisations that hold their data.
- These organisations will then send us your child’s health and school records — also through a secure system. These files won’t include any personal details like your child’s name or address.
Your child’s data is kept safe and private
- We only share your child’s personal details (like name or date of birth) with trusted organisations that already hold their health or school records. This is done through a secure system.
- We don’t share your survey answers with these organisations — they’re not needed to match records.
- Once the records are matched, your child’s data is stored safely at Curtin University and the University of Queensland. It’s never sent overseas.
- Before storing the data, we remove anything that could identify your child — like their name or address.
- All data is protected with strong security and passwords. Only approved researchers can use the de-identified data.
Our research team has done this kind of data linkage before, and we’ve never had a data breach. We’re trained to keep your child’s information safe.
Data Linkage FAQs
Find answers to common questions about Young Minds: Our Future
No.
It’s completely voluntary. You can still take part in the survey even if you don’t agree to data linkage.
If you have completed the survey and decide not to agree to data linkage, you will still receive your gift card.
No.
Saying yes or no to data linkage will not affect any services, benefits, or payments you or your child receives from the government or other organisations.
After the survey, we will ask your permission to access your child’s:
• NAPLAN results
• Attendance records
We will also ask you for your permission for your de-identified data to be included in a secure, government-approved system like the National Health Data Hub. Your child’s personal information, such as name and address, will be removed before we include their data in this system.
Once you give your written permission:
• Services Australia will give us your child’s health records.
• NAPLAN authorities in each state or territory will provide us with test results.
• Schools or education departments will provide us with attendance data.
These organisations are not involved in our survey, and we will not share your survey data with them.
This helps decision makers and leaders understand the health and support services needed by children and young people with mental health problems. This will be the only updated data that will provide such information in whole Australia since 2013. This will make a difference in how we improve our mental health policies and programs in the country.
If you agree, we will ask you to complete a consent form with your child’s details so that our survey team and the relevant organisations that hold your child’s data can match their records.
In the consent form, you can choose which record you are giving us permission to link.
If your teenager who is between 14-17 years old was invited to complete the survey, we will also ask their permission to link their health records. They will be asked to complete a separate consent form. This is also voluntary, and we will explain to them what’s involved in data linkage.
Using a secure data transfer system, we will send your child’s name, date of birth, address, gender, and names of schools to relevant organisations that hold your child’s data. These include Services Australia, NAPLAN authorities, and/or schools or education departments. Securely sending them your child’s information is the only way to match or link your child’s data with their health and school records.
Once your child’ data is matched, Services Australia, NAPLAN authorities, and/or schools or education departments will send us your child’s health and school record using a secure data transfer system as well. These files will NOT contain any personal information of your child.
All data is kept confidential.
As mentioned above, your child’s personal data will only be provided to the relevant organisations that hold your child’s data using a secure data transfer system. We will not provide them with your survey data since this is not needed for matching.
Your child’s matched or linked data will be stored securely in Curtin University and the University of Queensland, and will not be sent overseas. We will also remove any information that can identify your child before we include it in a government-approved storage system.
All data storage has intensive security and is password-protected.
Only approved researchers can use your child’s de-identified data.
This is not the first time that our researchers have been doing data linkage. We have a strong track record of securely storing linked data. Our research team is trained and capable of managing linked data and has zero incidents of data leakage or breach.
Yes.
You can withdraw your consent at any time before December 2028 by emailing youngminds@curtin.edu.au
If your child’s data has already been analysed or published, it may not be possible to remove it. Any analysis or publication will not contain any personal information of your child.
This was approved by the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee.