Data on how Australia is faring in attempts to tackle Indigenous disadvantage reveals stark failures.
A Productivity Commission analysis released on Thursday shows efforts to close the life expectancy gap within the decade are failing.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and girls born between 2015 and 2017 are expected to live 8.6 and 7.8 fewer years, respectively, than non-Indigenous children.
While the gap has lessened compared to a decade prior, Australia is not on track to close it by 2031.
Another aim to achieve a significant and sustained reduction in Indigenous suicide rates is also off track.
The suicide rate across all states and territories except Tasmania and the ACT rose from 24.9 to 27.1 per 100,000 people between 2018 and 2019.
A new report by Closing The Gap highlights an urgent need for change.
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Incarceration, child removals, life expectancy, and death by suicide rates continue to climb within First Nations communities, according to the Federal Productivity Commission. Content Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide.
The Closing The Gap agreement was signed in July 2020, and it set up targets based on a wide variety of socio-economic concerns that were identified by Indigenous advocates. The Commission released their first annual compilation report on Thursday, one year on.
The Murri Court in Brisbane, in partnership with Carers Queensland, is helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander defendants access the support they need to stop re-offending, including from the NDIS - and it's working.