New data released by the Productivity Commission shows there is still a long way to go to Close the Gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia.
The results include updates on four of the fifteen Closing the Gap targets, showing two targets as 'on track' and two 'not on track'.
Encouragingly, there has been some progress made in the number of First Nations children enrolled in preschool and fewer First Nations youth in detention.
However, overall it remains just four of the nineteen Closing the Gap targets are "on track".
11 targets are "not on track", and four targets can’t assess a trend.
We continue to see poor results in the number of First Nations children in out-of-home care and First Nations adults in prison.
The gap is not closing fast enough.
This is why we need a Voice to Parliament, so that the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are heard on the matters that affect their communities.
For too long governments have made policies for Indigenous Australians, not with Indigenous Australians.
The Voice will create structural change that will ensure that grassroots voices are heard in Canberra.
The Australian Government is focussed on a range of new measures, including the recently announced support for community-led, place-based approaches to justice reinvestment, and initiatives announced as part of the "Safe and Supported" framework.
This data release provides more detail than previous releases, with new disaggregations for six targets including remoteness, relative socio-economic disadvantage or state and territory.
We can now see that poorer outcomes regarding targets are still occurring in poorer communities and in those more distant from urban and regional locations.
This additional information is extremely valuable in better informing our planning efforts and drive targeted solutions going forward.
The Australian Government is committed to keep our promise to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and close the gap which is only possible through strong partnerships with the Coalition of Peaks, state and territory governments and eventually a Voice to Parliament.
The 2023-24 Budget invested $1.9 billion in initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, building on the $1.2 billion invested in the October 2022 Budget.
Four targets have new data updated June 2023: targets on track
- Target 3 - By 2025, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in Year Before Full time Schooling (BFS) early childhood education to 95 per cent, is improving and on track.
- Target 11 - By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people (10-17 years) in detention by at least 30 per cent, is improving and on track.
Targets not on track
- Target 10 - By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent, is not on track and worsening.
- Target 12 - By 2031, reduce the rate of overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (0-17 years old) in out-of-home care by 45 per cent, is not on track and worsening.
Six targets have new disaggregations updated June 2023: targets with new disagreggations by remoteness, relative socioeconomic disadvantage or state and territory
- Target 5 - Indigenous children attaining year 12 or equivalent qualification. New year of data for remoteness and relative socio-economic disadvantage.
- Target 6 - Indigenous people aged 25-34 years completing a tertiary qualification. New year of data for remoteness and relative socio-economic disadvantage.
- Target 7 - Indigenous youth aged 15-24 are in employment, education or training. New year of data for remoteness and relative socio-economic disadvantage.
- Target 8 - Indigenous employment. New year of data for remoteness and relative socio-economic disadvantage.
- Target 9A - Indigenous people living in appropriately sized housing. New year of data for remoteness and relative socio-economic disadvantage.
- Target 16 - Indigenous cultures and languages are strong, supported and flourishing. New disaggregation of baseline year data for the target by state and territory.
Quotes attributable to Minister Burney:
"The latest Closing the Gap data shows once again that the status quo is not working.
"More of the same isn’t good enough, we have to do things differently.
"An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament can help us close the gap, because it’s only by listening to communities that we can make better policies that lead to better outcomes."
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister McCarthy:
"We are all frustrated by the lack of progress on some Closing the Gap targets and it's only through monitoring the data we can move in the right direction.
"Significant investment has been made in initiatives for Indigenous Australians in our first year of Government including in health, housing and education. But there is still a long road ahead to Closing the Gap in true partnership with Indigenous communities to improve outcomes today and for future generations."
"These are clear signs of the layers of disadvantage that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face and reiterates the importance of working closely with communities and state and territory governments to close the gap."