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| National Agreement on Closing the Gap | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Agreement on Closing the Gap |
| Date signed | 2019 |
| Parties | Council of Australian Governments; National Indigenous Australians Agency; Australian Government; State and territory governments; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (historical context) |
| Location signed | Canberra |
| Language | English |
National Agreement on Closing the Gap The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is a 2019 intergovernmental compact between the Australian Government, state and territory governments, and peak Indigenous organisations intended to address disparities affecting Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. It replaced earlier frameworks such as the 2008 Closing the Gap targets and reoriented commitments toward partnership with Indigenous institutions like the Coalition of Peaks and the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation. The accord foregrounds targets, shared decision-making, and culturally safe services across health, education, housing and justice sectors involving stakeholders including the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Productivity Commission (Australia), and Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Agreement emerged from decades of policy responses following the 1967 Australian referendum (1967), the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and the 2008 launch of the inaugural Closing the Gap framework under the Rudd Government. Influential inquiries and reports such as the Bringing Them Home report, the Little Children are Sacred report, and recommendations from the Uluru Statement from the Heart informed shifts toward self-determination and co-design. Key actors included the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (historical), the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, and Aboriginal peak bodies such as the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association and the Lowitja Institute.
The Agreement sets priority reform areas and measurable targets related to life expectancy, child wellbeing, education attainment, and economic participation, aligning with commitments from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Its guiding principles emphasize partnership with Indigenous organisations such as the Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (NSW) and national bodies like the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. It endorses rights-based approaches resonant with recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Council and draws on evidence from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Productivity Commission (Australia).
Governance mechanisms established include joint decision-making forums between the Australian Government and the Coalition of Peaks, data partnerships with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and monitoring by the Productivity Commission (Australia). Institutional actors implicated span the National Indigenous Australians Agency, state Indigenous policy units such as the NSW Aboriginal Affairs and the Victorian Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (Aboriginal Affairs) equivalents, as well as research bodies like the Australian National University and the Lowitja Institute. The arrangement also intersects with statutory frameworks including provisions influenced by the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and policy instruments used in programs by agencies such as Services Australia.
Implementation relies on co-designed action plans across sectors, developed by coalitions involving organisations like the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, SNAICC – National Voice for Our Children, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations such as the Aboriginal Medical Service}} network and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. Programs leverage evidence from longitudinal studies at institutions like the Menzies School of Health Research and incorporate strategies used in initiatives by Mission Australia, Centrelink service delivery reforms, and state pilots in Queensland and Western Australia. Funding mechanisms interface with budget processes of the Commonwealth of Australia and state treasuries, and use evaluation tools championed by the Productivity Commission (Australia).
Monitoring is structured through national scorecards, periodic reports by the Productivity Commission (Australia), and data provision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Accountability pathways include public reporting to parliaments such as the Parliament of Australia, review by independent bodies including the Australian National Audit Office, and oversight from Indigenous peak bodies like the Coalition of Peaks and the National Indigenous Australians Agency. International scrutiny has come from forums such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and shadow reporting by civil society organisations like Amnesty International (Australia).
Outcomes have been mixed: some improvements in areas tracked by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare contrast with persistent disparities highlighted by the Productivity Commission (Australia) and academic analyses from the Australian National University and Griffith University. Successes include strengthened institutional recognition of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and co-design models tested in jurisdictions such as Northern Territory pilots. Challenges remain in closing gaps in life expectancy and incarceration rates documented in reports by the Australian Institute of Criminology and health differentials recorded by the Menzies School of Health Research.
Critics from organisations such as the Aboriginal Legal Service and advocacy groups including Change the Record argue that targets lack resourcing and enforcement, echoing concerns raised by the Australian Council of Social Service and scholars at the University of Sydney. Other critiques point to data gaps flagged by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, jurisdictional fragmentation involving state and territory governments, and limited progress on structural reforms called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Category:Indigenous Australian politics