Chapter 2Closing the Gap
Introduction
3.1This chapter outlines developments leading to the signing of the historic National Agreement on Closing the Gap in 2020. It also sets out the priority reforms and socio-economic targets agreed to by the Parties to the National Agreement, noting the continued regression of four of these targets, including the rates of suicide, the number of children in out-of-home care, adult incarceration and the number of children commencing school who are developmentally on track.
Development of Closing the Gap
3.2In 1993, the Aboriginal andTorres StraitIslander Social Justice Commissioner (commissioner) role was first established within the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission with the following functions:
report annually on the enjoyment and exercise of human rights by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recommend, where necessary, what actions should be taken to ensure these rights are observed;
promote awareness and discussion of human rights in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
undertake research and education programs;
examine and report on legislation to ascertain whether it recognises and protects the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and
report annually on the operation of the Native Title Act 1993.
3.3In 2005, the commissioner, Professor Tom Calma AO, published the Social Justice Report 2005, which urged Australian governments to commit to achieving equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in health and life expectancy within twenty-five years.
3.4Following this report, in 2007, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) pledgedto close key gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in life expectancy, mortality rates for children and reading, writing and numeracy achievements within a decade.
3.5In November 2008, COAG approved the National Indigenous Reform Agreement which sets out six Closing the Gap targets:
to close the life expectancy gap within a generation;
to halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade;
to ensure access to early childhood education for all Indigenous four year olds in remote communities within five years;
to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for children within a decade;
to halve the gap for Indigenous students in year 12 attainment rates by 2020; and
to halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians within a decade.
3.6From 2009 to 2014, a Closing the Gap report was tabled each year in the Australian Parliament, providing an update on the nation's progress against the above targets. In 2014, COAG agreed to an additional target on school attendance and, in 2015, an additional target on early childhood.
3.7In 2016, COAG agreed to 'refresh' the Closing the Gap framework and to work on it with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In February 2018, a Special Gathering of prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians presented COAG with a statement setting out their priorities for a new Closing the Gap agenda. This followed the acknowledgement by the then Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, that six of the seven targets for Closing the Gap were not on track. The Special Gathering sought for this next phase of Closing the Gap to be guided by the principles of empowerment and self-determination and to deliver a community-led, strengths-based strategy.
3.8In December 2018, COAG committed to a formal partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to finalise the Closing the Gap Refresh. COAG also issued a draft Closing the Gap framework as a basis for further discussion with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In 2019, the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations (Coalition of Peaks), a representative body of over 80 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community‑controlled peak organisations and members, was formed to enter this formal partnership with governments.
3.9In March 2019, the Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap 2019–2029 between all Australian Governments, the Coalition of Peaks and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) was signed. This partnership is known as the Joint Council on Closing the Gap (the Joint Council).
3.10On 27 July 2020, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement) came into effect. The agreement is a historic commitment from the Commonwealth government, all state and territory governments, ALGA and the Coalition of Peaks to work in partnership towards Closing the Gap, in a way that 'takes full account of, promotes, and does not diminish in any way, the cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people'.Collectively, these bodies are recognised as the Parties to the National Agreement.
National Agreement on Closing the Gap
3.11The objective of the National Agreement is to overcome the entrenched inequality faced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people so that their life outcomes are equal to those of all Australians. It is the first such agreement to include non-government parties, through the Coalition of Peaks, and calls for fundamental change from all levels of government and in every state and territory.
3.12The National Agreement acknowledges that:
The extensive expertise and experience of the Coalition of Peaks and its membership have been central to the commitments in this Agreement. So too has the feedback from the extensive engagements in 2019 with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia, led by the Coalition of Peaks, on what should be included in this Agreement.
3.13The agreement arises from a commitment from all Australian governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives to a fundamentally new way of developing and implementing policies and programs that impact the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This was recognised as an unprecedented shift in the way governments work, by encompassing shared decision-making in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs to improve life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3.14The diagram below, published by the Coalition of Peaks, shows the Parties to the National Agreement as well as the respective partnerships and working groups and how they work together.
3.15The National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) explained that the Joint Council on Closing the Gap is the primary decision-making body of the National Agreement. It is co-chaired by the Minister for Indigenous Australians and the Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks and includes Indigenous Affairs Ministers from all Australian governments, 13 members of the Coalition of Peaks and the President of the ALGA. Its role is to monitor the performance and implementation of actions under the National Agreement.
3.16The Joint Council is supported by the Partnership Working Group (PWG), which is responsible for driving the implementation of the Partnership Agreement and the National Agreement. The PWG is co-chaired by the NIAA Chief Executive Officer and the Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks and is attended by senior officials from all Australian governments and representatives of the Coalition of Peaks.
3.17The National Agreement itself is centred around four priority reforms and 17socio-economic outcomes which are discussed below.
Priority reform areas
3.18The priority reforms underpin the National Agreement and the success of the socio-economic outcomes. The agreement details the expectations in relation to each priority reform area and stipulates the jurisdictional and partnership actions required to implement each reform. The four reforms agreed to are as follows:
Priority Reform 1 – Formal partnerships and shared decision-making
3.19This priority reform is to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are empowered to share decision-making authority with governments to accelerate progress on Closing the Gap through formal partnership arrangements.
3.20The formal partnerships envisioned by this reform are policy and place-based partnerships. The partnerships should define who the parties are, what their roles are, what the purpose and objectives of the partnership are, what is in scope of shared decision-making, the reporting timeframes and arrangements, and the monitoring, review and dispute mechanisms.
3.21Importantly, decision-making under these partnerships should be shared between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This means the decisions should be consensus based, where the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parties hold as much weight as those of governments.
3.22The National Agreement also requires all governments to commit to establishing policy and place-based partnerships within their jurisdictions to respond to local priorities. Additionally, governments need to undertake a 'stocktake' of partnership arrangements already in place in their jurisdiction and provide a report to Joint Council and work to strengthen these existing partnerships. Further, it was expected that by 2024, six new place-based partnerships should be established across Australia under Jurisdictional Implementation Plans, with the locations to be considered by Joint Council.
3.23The target set for this reform is the creation of formal partnership arrangements to support Closing the Gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments in each state and territory. These partnerships should enshrine joint decision-making responsibilities.
Priority Reform 2 – Building the community-controlled sector
3.24This reform reflects the commitment of Parties to the National Agreement to build up Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sectors to support Closing the Gap. This supports the right to self-determination by First Nations communities and the idea that community control, as an example of self-determination, can lead to decisions and service designs that are better informed and involve the people who use those services.
3.25This reform also acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) employ more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, have greater cultural expertise, skills and knowledges, and have stronger ties to the community, which can lead to better service outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3.26The objective of this reform is to ensure there is a 'strong and sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector delivering high quality services to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country'.
3.27Agreement in support of this reform includes, among other things:
to identify sectors for joint national strengthening efforts every three years through Sector Strengthening Plans, which all parties have agreed to undertake; and
to implement measures to increase the proportion of services delivered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, by way of funding priorities, policies and other funding initiatives, which all government parties have agreed to undertake.
3.28The target set for this reform is an increase in the amount of government funding provided to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations.
Priority Reform 3 – Transforming government organisations
3.29The objective of this reform is to ensure that governments are held accountable for Closing the Gap, and are culturally safe and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including through the services they fund. It calls for the 'systemic and structural transformation of mainstream government organisations to improve accountability and respond to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people'.
3.30Under this reform, government parties commit to the following within their institutions and agencies:
identify and eliminate racism;
embed and practice meaningful cultural safety;
deliver services in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, communities and people;
increase accountability through transparent funding allocations;
support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and
improve engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3.31Each government party has also committed to identify, develop or strengthen an independent mechanism, or mechanisms, that will support, monitor, and report on the transformation of mainstream agencies and institutions.
3.32The target set for this reform is a decrease in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have experiences of racism.
Priority Reform 4 – Shared access to data and information at a regional level
3.33This objective of this reform is to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have access to, and the capability to use, locally-relevant data and information to set and monitor the implementation of efforts to close the gap, their priorities and drive their own development.
3.34Under the National Agreement, government parties agreed to implement a number of data and information elements. including data sharing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities. Parties also agreed that by 2023, data projects will be established in up to six locations across Australia to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and organisations to access and use location-specific data on Closing the Gap outcome areas.
3.35The target set for this reform is that there will be an increase in the number of regional data projects to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to make decisions about Closing the Gap and their development.
Socio-economic outcomes
3.36There are 17 socio-economic outcomes (SEOs) in the National Agreement. A table of all the SEOs and their relevant targets and indicators is at Appendix 3 of this report. In summary, the outcomes are:
SEO 1: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enjoy long and healthy lives;
SEO 2: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are born healthy and strong;
SEO 3: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are engaged in high‑quality, culturally appropriate early childhood education in their early years;
SEO 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children thrive in their early years;
SEO 5: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students achieve their full learning potential;
SEO 6: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students reach their full potential through further education pathways;
SEO 7: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth are engaged in employment or education;
SEO 8: Strong economic participation and development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities;
SEO 9: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people secure appropriate, affordable housing that is aligned with their priorities and need;
SEO 10: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system;
SEO 11: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system;
SEO 12: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are not overrepresented in the child protection system;
SEO 13: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and households are safe;
SEO 14: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing;
SEO 15: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people maintain a distinctive cultural, spiritual, physical and economic relationship with their land and waters;
SEO 16: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and languages are strong, supported and flourishing; and
SEO 17: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision‑making regarding their own lives.
3.37It is noted that the several new Closing the Gap outcomes areas, targets and indicators were included for the first time in the National Agreement to support the cultural wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These outcomes relate to languages, cultural practices, land and waters and access to culturally relevant communications.
3.38Figures 2.1 and 2.2 below show the most recent data on Closing the Gap targets and indicators in relation to the priority reforms and SEOs. Concerningly, in addition to the regression of four SEOs, which was the impetus for this inquiry, there is no data available to assess progress of the four priority reforms. Additionally, assessments could not be made in relation to several SEOs, including the targets relating to family safety, culture and languages, and access to information. These issues will be considered further in this report.
Figure 2.1Priority Reforms and socio-economic outcomes – progress assessment
Source: Productivity Commission, Closing the Gap Annual Data Compilation Report, July 2024, p. 5
Figure 2.2Priority Reforms and socio-economic outcomes – progress assessment
Source: Productivity Commission, Closing the Gap Annual Data Compilation Report, July 2024, p. 6.
3.39The following chapter of this report will discuss the responsibilities of the Parties under the National Agreement and consider relevent accountability mechanisms.