Chapter 1: Introduction

Table 1: Progress against the targets

Table 1 shows a summary of current progress against the seven Closing the Gap targets at a national level, as well as for each state and territory. It shows that:

• Australia is not on track to reach the target to halve the gap in child mortality by 2018. State and territory level data are not available for this measure.
• Australia is on track for 95% of all Indigenous four-year-olds to be enrolled in early childhood education by 2025. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory are also on track to meet this target.
• Australia is not on track to close the gap in school attendance by 2018, and no state or territory is on track for this target.
• Australia is not on track to meet the target to close the gap in life expectancy by 2031. Using annual mortality data as a proxy indicator, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory are not on track to meet this target. There is no agreed trajectory for Western Australia. Data are not available for this measure for Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
• Australia is on track to halve the gap in Year 12 attainment by 2020. Of the states and territories, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are all on track to meet this target.
• Australia is not on track to halve the gap in reading and numeracy by 2018. Of the states and territories, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are the only jurisdictions on track to meet this target.
• Australia is not on track to halve the gap in employment by 2018. Of the states and territories, only New South Wales is on track to meet this target.

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Chapter 2: Infancy and early childhood

Figure 2.1: Child mortality rates

Figure 2.1 shows child mortality rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians between 1998 and 2017. Data shown are for the combined total of the five jurisdictions with sufficient quality data to publish (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory). An indicative trajectory band required to halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five is also provided through to 2018, the target end year.

The graph shows a declining trend for child mortality for both populations from 1998 to 2017, and that Indigenous child mortality rates are higher than non-Indigenous rates. 2017 data for Indigenous child mortality is outside the Indigenous trajectory band, indicating that this target is not on track.

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Figure 2.2: Child mortality rates by jurisdiction, 2013–17

Figure 2.2 is a bar chart that shows child mortality rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children for the jurisdictions with sufficient data quality to publish and a combined total (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory) for the five year period 2013 to 2017 combined. It shows higher child mortality rates for Indigenous Australians than for non-Indigenous Australians across the five jurisdictions and the combined total, and the Northern Territory had the highest Indigenous child mortality rate.

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Figure 2.3: Antenatal care use by Indigenous mothers

Figure 2.3 is a line chart that shows the proportion of Indigenous mothers that had at least one antenatal visit in the first trimester and the proportion that visited five or more times over the duration of their pregnancy. It shows that the proportion of Indigenous mothers who visited in the first trimester increased substantially from 2010 to 2016 while the increase in those who visited five or more times was modest.

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Figure 2.4: Maternal smoking trends

Figure 2.4 is a line chart that shows the proportion of Indigenous mothers that smoked during pregnancy over the period 2005 to 2016.

It shows that there has been a significant reduction in the proportion of Indigenous mothers who smoked during pregnancy, declining from 54% in 2005 to 43% in 2016.

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Figure 2.5: Pre-existing maternal health conditions

Figure 2.5 is a bar chart that shows the rates of Indigenous and non-Indigenous mothers with pre ‑existing health conditions. While the rate of Indigenous mothers with pre-existing hypertension decreased slightly from 2011 to 2016, the rate with pre-existing diabetes remained similar over the same period.  

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Figure 2.6: Pre-term babies

Figure 2.6 is a bar chart that shows that the proportion of pre-term babies born to Indigenous mothers (born between 20 and 36 weeks of pregnancy) has declined slightly from 2010 to 2016.

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Figure 2.7: Low birthweight singleton babies

Figure 2.7 is a line chart that shows that the proportion of low birthweight singleton babies with Indigenous mothers over the period 2005 to 2016 has declined slightly from 12.0% to 10.2%.

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Figure 2.8: Immunisation rates

Figure 2.8 is a line chart that shows immunisation coverage rates for Indigenous children and all children between 2007 and 2018 for three separate age cohorts: 1 year-olds, 2 year-olds, and 5 year‑olds.

It shows that over the past 10 years Australia has continued to improve immunisation rates, but most notably for Indigenous children aged five. In 2018, immunisation rates for this group have continued to rise and remain above the rates for all children.

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Figure 2.9: Preschool enrolments by jurisdiction, 2017

Figure 2.9 is a bar chart that shows the proportion of enrolments in early childhood education in the year before full-time school for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, nationally and for each state and territory in 2017. It also shows the agreed trajectory in 2017 for each jurisdiction to reach its target in 2025.

In 2017, most states and territories, except Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, had Indigenous early childhood enrolment rates above their trajectory points. At the national level, Indigenous enrolment was 95%, the benchmark level for this target.

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Figure 2.10: Preschool attendance by jurisdiction, 2017

Figure 2.10 is a bar chart that shows the proportions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children enrolled in early childhood education who had attended a preschool program for at least one hour in the reference week, nationally and for each state and territory in 2017.

It shows nationally, 93% of Indigenous children enrolled had attended in the year before full‑time school compared to 96% of non-Indigenous children. All jurisdictions, except the Northern Territory, had Indigenous early childhood education attendance rates of those enrolled close to the national average of 93% - ranging from 90% in Western Australia to the highest rate of 99% in Tasmania. The Northern Territory had the lowest attendance rate (75%). The non-Indigenous attendance rates were relatively similar across jurisdictions (ranging from 95% in Victoria and the Northern Territory to 99% in Tasmania).

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Figure 2.11: Preschool attendance by remoteness, 2017

Figure 2.11 is a bar chart that shows the proportions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children enrolled in early childhood education who had attended for at least one hour during the reference week in 2017 by remoteness.

It shows that the proportion of children attending early childhood education programs was generally lower in Very Remote areas particularly for Indigenous children. The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children attending early childhood education programs was largest in Remote (8 percentage points) and Very Remote (17 percentage points) areas.

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Figure 2.12: Attendance rates and National Quality Standard (NQS) ratings by jurisdictions

Figure 2.12 is a bar chart that shows proportions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children attending preschool programs for 600 hours or more in a year for all jurisdictions in 2017. It shows that proportions of Indigenous children attending a preschool program for 600 hours or more were lower than that of non-Indigenous children in all jurisdictions, the largest gap was in the Northern Territory and South Australia.

The chart also shows the percentage of services receiving a National Quality Standard rating of ‘meeting NQF’ or above by 30 September 2018 in each jurisdiction. It shows that jurisdictions with a higher percentage of services meeting NQS or above tended to have higher percentages of children attending for 600 hours or more.

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Figure 2.13: Attendance rates (600 hours or more) and NQS ratings by SEIFA

Figure 2.13 is a bar chart showing the proportions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children attending preschool programs for 600 hours in 2018 by socio-economic index for areas (SEIFA) quintile. The five SEIFA quintiles are least disadvantaged, second least disadvantaged, middle quintile, second most disadvantaged and most disadvantaged. The figure also shows the percentage of services with a rating of meeting NQs or above across the SEIFA quintiles.

Attendance rates for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children were lower for children living in areas of higher levels of disadvantage, with Indigenous attendance rates being particularly lower in most disadvantaged areas. The figure also shows that the percentage of services meeting NQS or above also tended to decline slightly with increasing socio-economic disadvantage.

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Figure 2.14: Attendance rates (600 hours or more) and NQS ratings by remoteness

Figure 2.14 is a bar chart showing the proportions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children attending preschool programs for 600 hours or more in 2017 by remoteness areas. The attendance rates of Indigenous children tended to decline with increasing remoteness, with the attendance rate being lowest in Very Remote areas.

The proportion of services meeting the NQS or above was also lowest in Very Remote areas (59%) while being similar across other remoteness areas (around 80%).

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Figure 2.15: Share of children starting school developmentally on track on all five domains

Figure 2.15 is a bar chart showing the share of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in their first year of full-time school who were on-track on all five AEDC domains. Data are presented for 2009, 2012, and 2015.

In 2015, 34% of Indigenous children in their first year of full-time schooling were assessed as being on track across all five domains. This was an eight percentage point improvement on the share of Indigenous children on track in 2009.

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Chapter 3: Education

Figure 3.1: Student attendance rates

Figure 3.1 is a bar chart showing school attendance rates for Indigenous and non‑Indigenous students in Years 1 to 10 from 2014 to 2018. The trajectory for the Indigenous school attendance target is also presented.

The Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendance rates both decreased by about one percentage point between 2014 and 2018.

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Figure 3.2: Indigenous student attendance rates by jurisdiction

Figure 3.2 is a bar chart showing the change in Indigenous school attendance rates for students in Years 1 to 10 by jurisdiction. Data are presented for 2014 and 2018 for all states and territories, including Australia.

School attendance rates in the Northern Territory fell by five percentage points between 2014 and 2018. Declines of two percentage points or less have been observed in the attendance rate for Indigenous students in all other jurisdictions.

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Figure 3.3: Student attendance rates by remoteness, Semester 1 2018

Figure 3.3 is a bar chart showing school attendance rates for Indigenous and non‑Indigenous students in Years 1 to 10 in Semester 1 2018 by remoteness. Remoteness categories presented are: Major cities; Inner regional areas; Outer regional areas; Remote areas; and Very remote areas.

While Indigenous attendance rates were lower in remote areas, non‑Indigenous attendance rates did not vary substantially by remoteness. As a result, the gap was wider in Remote and Very Remote Australia compared with other areas.

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Figure 3.4: Student attendance rates by year level, Semester 1 2018

Figure 3.4 is a bar chart showing school attendance rates for students in Years 1 to 10 in Semester 1 2018, by Indigenous status and year level.

Attendance rates decline throughout the secondary grades (Years 7 to 10). The decline in attendance rates is larger for Indigenous than non‑Indigenous secondary students. As a result, the attendance gap was wider for secondary than for primary school children.

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Figure 3.5: Proportion of students who attended school 90% or more of the time, Semester 1 2018

Figure 3.5 is a bar chart showing school attendance levels for Indigenous and non‑Indigenous students in Years 1 to 10 in Semester 1 2018. The attendance level is the proportion of students attending school 90% or more of the time. Data are presented separately for the 10 year levels from Year 1 to Year 10.

Attendance levels decline throughout the secondary grades (Years 7 to 10). The decline in attendance levels is larger for Indigenous than non‑Indigenous secondary students. As a result, the gap in consistent attendance was wider for secondary than for primary school students.

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Figure 3.6: Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards for reading

Figure 3.6 is a bar chart showing the share of Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards in reading, between 2008 and 2017, by year level. For each year level, the figure also shows the trajectory for the Indigenous reading target; and the 2017 proportion of non‑Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards in reading. The four year levels presented are Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9.

Between 2008 and 2017, there was a statistically significant increase in the share of Indigenous students at or above the minimum standards in reading for Years 3 and 5.

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Figure 3.7: Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards for numeracy

Figure 3.7 is a bar chart showing the share of Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards in numeracy, between 2008 and 2017, by year level. For each year level, the figure also shows the trajectory for the Indigenous numeracy target; and the 2017 proportion of non‑Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards in numeracy. The four year levels presented are Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9.

Between 2008 and 2017, there was a statistically significant increase in the share of Indigenous students at or above the minimum standards in numeracy for Years 5 and 9.

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Figure 3.8: The gap in meeting national minimum standards

Figure 3.8 is a bar chart showing the gap in the share of Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards in reading and numeracy, between 2008 and 2017, by year level. The gap is the percentage point difference between the proportion of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at or above national minimum standards. The four year levels presented are Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9. 

The gaps in reading and numeracy outcomes have decreased at least slightly across all year levels between 2008 and 2017. The decrease in the gap ranged from around 11 percentage points for Year 3 reading outcomes, to around 1 percentage point for Year 9 reading and Year 7 numeracy outcomes.

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Table 3.1: Reading and numeracy areas on track by jurisdictions, 2017

Table 3.1 shows whether reading and numeracy outcomes for Indigenous students were on track to meet the target in 2017, by jurisdiction and year level. Data are presented for all states and territories, and Australia. The four year levels presented are Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9.

Nationally, Year 9 numeracy was on track and the other seven areas were not. At the jurisdiction level, 29 of the 64 result areas were on track, including Year 9 numeracy in all states and territories.

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Figure 3.9: Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate, Indigenous 20–24 year olds

Figure 3.9 is a bar chart that shows the national level Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate and trajectories for 20-24 year olds, by Indigenous status. The Indigenous Year 12 attainment rate is presented for the Census years 2006, 2011 and 2016. It has improved considerably between each Census and has been on track for each Census year. The non-Indigenous Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate is presented for the Census years 2006, 2011 and 2016 and has improved but less markedly so.

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Figure 3.10: Year 12 attainment rate in 2016, by 5-year age range

Figure 3.10 is a bar chart that shows the rate of Year 12 attainment or equivalent by five year age range for Indigenous and non-Indigenous women with and without children in 2016. Five age ranges are shown: 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 years old. In 2016, the rate of Year 12 attainment or equivalent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 20-24 year old women without children is around 33 percentage points higher than the rate of attainment for their counterparts with children. However, the difference in Year 12 or equivalent attainment between mothers and women without children is smaller in the older age groups for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous women.  

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Figure 3.11: Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate, by remoteness, 20–24 year olds

Figure 3.11 is a bar chart that shows the rate of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Year 12 attainment or equivalent by remoteness in 2006, 2011 and 2016. The attainment rate for Indigenous 20-24 year olds was lowest in remote areas and highest in Major Cities. The attainment rate for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people improved from 2006 to 2016 in all remoteness categories. The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous 20-24 year olds was smallest in Major Cities and Inner Regional areas and most pronounced in Very Remote areas.

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Chapter 4: Employment

Figure 4.1: Employment to population rate, 15-64 years

Figure 4.1 is a stacked bar chart that shows Indigenous and non-Indigenous national employment rates for 2006, 2011 and 2016. For 2006 and 2011, participation in the CDEP program is identified as a separate component of the total Indigenous employment rate.

While the Indigenous employment rate declined by 1.3 percentage points to 46.6% in 2016, the non-Indigenous rate remained stable at around 72%. After adjusting for the impact of the CDEP, the Indigenous non-CDEP Indigenous employment rate increased from 42.4% in 2006 to 46.6% in 2016.

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Figure 4.2: Employment to population rate by remoteness for Indigenous Australians, 15-64 years

Figure 4.2 is a stacked bar chart that show the Indigenous employment rate by remoteness for 2006, 2011 and 2016. For 2006 and 2011, participation in the CDEP program is identified as a separate component of the total Indigenous employment rate.

Between 2006 and 2016, the Indigenous employment rate increased in Major Cities and Inner Regional areas, but decreased in other remoteness categories. After adjusting for the impact of CDEP, the non-CDEP Indigenous employment rate increased over the decade across all remoteness categories, including: by 3 percentage points in Remote areas; and 11 percentage points in Very Remote areas.

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Figure 4.3: Routine and non-routine work for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, 15-64 years in 2016

Figure 4.3 is a bar chart that shows the share of routine and non-routine work in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous working age population in 2016. Routine and non-routine work is then further broken down by cognitive or manual employment types.

The share of the Indigenous workforce employed in routine work was higher than that of non‑Indigenous workforce (around 61% and 53% respectively). However, the share of Indigenous workforce employed in non-routine work was lower than that for non-Indigenous workforce (39% and 47% respectively). Indigenous employment was also relatively concentrated in manual employment types (across routine and non-routine work) and comparatively lower in cognitive employment types.

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Chapter 6: Healthy lives

Table 6.1: Life expectancy at birth, by Indigenous status, 2005–07 to 2015–17

Table 6.1 shows the life expectancy at birth for Indigenous and non-Indigenous males and females, as well as the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males and females, for the periods 2005-2007, 2010-2012 and 2015-2017.

It shows that over the last ten years (between the periods of 2005-2007 and 2015-2017) the estimated life expectancy at birth for Indigenous males increased from 67.5 years to 71.6 years and from 73.1 years to 75.6 years for Indigenous females – this led to a reduction in the gap of 2.8 years for males and 1.8 years for females.

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Figure 6.1: Life expectancy at birth estimates

Figure 6.1 is a line chart showing the life expectancy results for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in three time periods, 2005-2007, 2010-2012 and 2015-2017 and the trajectories to meet the target by 2031. For each of the three available estimates, life expectancy of non-Indigenous Australians was higher than that of Indigenous Australians. Current life expectancy figures are below those required to close the gap by 2031.

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Figure 6.2: Life expectancy at birth by Indigenous status, by jurisdiction, 2015-2017

Figure 6.2 is a bar chart showing the life expectancy of Indigenous and non-Indigenous males and females in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory in 2015-2017. The life expectancy of Indigenous males and females was highest in Queensland and lowest in the Northern Territory.

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Figure 6.3: Life expectancy at birth – Indigenous males

Figure 6.3 is a bar chart showing the life expectancy at birth and trajectory of Indigenous males in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory in three time periods, 2005-2007, 2010-2012 and 2015-2017. While the life expectancy estimate in all three jurisdictions improved between each time period, no jurisdiction had life expectancy estimates on track to meet the target.

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Figure 6.4: Life expectancy at birth – Indigenous females

Figure 6.4 is a bar chart showing the life expectancy at birth and trajectory of Indigenous females in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory in three time periods, 2005-2007, 2010-2012 and 2015-2017. While the life expectancy estimate in New South Wales and Queensland improved period on period, this was not the case in the Northern Territory.

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Figure 6.5: Life expectancy at birth by remoteness

Figure 6.5 is a bar chart showing the life expectancy of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by three remoteness categories – Major Cities, Inner and Outer Regional, and Remote and Very Remote areas. Life expectancy of both Indigenous males and females declined with increasing remoteness while that of non-Indigenous males and females was fairly similar across the remoteness areas.

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Figure 6.6: Life expectancy at birth by SEIFA

Figure 6.6 is a bar chart showing the life expectancy of Indigenous and non-Indigenous males and females by four Socio-economic Index for Area (SEIFA) quintiles: most disadvantaged, second most disadvantaged, middle quintile and the least disadvantaged (two upper most quintiles combined). Life expectancy estimates for Indigenous males and females were lower than the estimates for non-Indigenous males and females across all SEIFA areas.

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Figure 6.7: Trends in Indigenous mortality rates of leading chronic diseases

Figure 6.7 is a line chart showing trends in annual mortality rates of Indigenous Australians from chronic diseases from 1998 to 2017 for the five jurisdictions combined with adequate quality data (NSW, QLD, SA, WA, and the NT).Trends are presented for four leading causes of death; circulatory diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases and diabetes, with mortality rates for circulatory diseases showing the largest decline since 1998. However, cancer mortality rates are rising for Indigenous Australians.

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