Executive Summary

• For the 2009 survey, 768 schools were randomly selected from a sampling frame of schools grouped by school type and decile. The response rate was 85 percent which was slightly lower than previous surveys (91% in 2006 and 87% in 2004). A weighted mean of the absence rates was used to estimate the national absence rates.
• The estimate of the national absence rate in 2009 is 11.6 percent. This compares to an absence rate of 11.5 percent in 2006 and 10.9 percent in 2004. The margin of error for the 2009 national absence estimate (with 95% confidence) is 2.1%, therefore the difference between the estimate of national absence for 2009 is not statistically significant, compared to estimates for 2006 (11.5 %) or 2004 (10.9%).
• The unjustified (whole day) absence rates in 2009 (2.2%) is similar to the rate measured in the 2006 survey (2.3%).
• From year 9 to year 13 the total unjustified absence rates (whole and part day) increase rapidly. Year 13 students have the highest total unjustified absence rates of all year levels.