Leaving study

leaving study In Victoria, you have to stay in school until you’re 16. After that it’s up to you if you want to continue studying or training.

Leaving school early is a big decision. Family or friends might be putting pressure on you to make the choice they think is best. It’s a good idea to talk to someone – maybe a school counsellor or youth worker – before you make up your mind.

People have different reasons for leaving school early. Sometimes it’s your choice and other times it’s because of a personal or family situation that’s out of your control.

Maybe you don’t like school or feel that it’s not worthwhile
Some of your friends could be leaving school early
You might want to start an apprenticeship or traineeship
You might want to start full-time work and earn your own money
Maybe you have to care for a family member or friend

What you need to think about

If you’re thinking about leaving school early there a few things you should consider before you make the move.

Do you have a plan for what you want to do next?
Will you still have a chance at getting the job you want? Early school leavers can find full-time work but might find it harder to get jobs in some industries or professions.
Can you start your apprenticeship or traineeship without completing Year 11 or Year 12? Some employers only take you on if you’ve finished all of secondary school.
Will you have enough money to support yourself?

The Leaving School (new window) page on the Young Adult Health website has some info you might find helpful. It’s a South Australian website but most of the content is relevant for people living anywhere in Australia.

Finding a job

If you’ve left school and are looking for work the first place you should check out is our Jobs & careers section. It's got heaps of information about what jobs are out there and how to get them, including:

Support while you're looking for a job

While you're looking for work, you can apply for a government allowance to help out financially until you get a job.

Youth Allowance (new window) is a fortnightly Centrelink payment you can receive if you’re between 16 and 20 and looking for full-time work
The Newstart allowance (new window) offers a similar deal if you’re over 21

There are certain requirements you have to meet such as attending job interviews or doing community work.

Centrelink also has services and programs for job seekers like Job Placement, Employment and Training (JPET), which provides support and advice for people aged 15 - 21.

Find out how Centrelink (new window) can help you.

Returning to study

Early school leavers and mature age students can return to study or training at any time.

If you haven’t completed Year 12 you can study for your VCE or VCAL at a TAFE institute or Adult Community Education provider. The Department of Education’s Beyond School page (new window) has lots of info on the career and study options available to you (new window). There’s also a guide to VCE, VCAL and VET for adults (new window) available for download from the VCAA website.

You can also enrol in an online course through Open Universities Australia (OUA) (new window). OUA does not have any entry requirements - this means you don’t have to have finished Year 12 to study one of their courses.

Getting advice

If you’d like to get some advice on how leaving school early could affect your career, you can make an appointment with your school career counsellor to talk things through.

For more ideas on where to get advice check out our Counselling page and Finding a mentor page.