By
school entry, 43 — 47 % of Aboriginal children have markers of developmental vulnerability.12, 13 In 2009, the first - ever national
census of childhood development at
school entry showed that Aboriginal children were 2 — 3 times more likely than non-Aboriginal children to be developmentally vulnerable — defined as an Australian Early Development
Census (AEDC) score below the 10th centile — on one or more domains.14 The Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children reported similar disparities for cognitive outcomes among Aboriginal children aged 4 — 5 years, although the number of Aboriginal children was very small and not representative of the Aboriginal population.15 There is
currently a dearth of empirical research that identifies the drivers of positive early childhood health and development in Aboriginal children, or characterises vulnerable developmental trajectories.