As the cost of living rises, disadvantaged children are more likely to miss school or even leave altogether, exacerbating the gap between the affluent and the less fortunate.

With family financial pressures and inadequate youth allowances, children can find themselves under pressure to go out to work early, or even work casually and therefore miss school.

Professor Margaret Vickers from the University of Western Sydney says, “Children are gold for some employers because they cost half of what people over the age of 18 cost.”