At its inception, the National Indigenous Reform Agreement contained six Closing the Gap targets. In 2014 a school attendance target was added to the list, followed by an expanded early childhood target in 2015 to replace the remote early childhood education target which was unmet when it expired in 2013.
According to the recent Closing the Gap Report, only two of the seven Closing the Gap targets are likely to be achieved. The early childhood education target to have 95% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander four year olds enrolled in early childhood education by 2025 is on track, as is the target to halve the gap in Year 12 attainment or equivalent by 2020.
The remaining five targets that are not on track are:
- To halve the gap in child mortality rates by 2018;
- To close the gap in school attendance by 2018;
- To close the gap in life expectancy by 2031;
- To halve the gap in reading numeracy by 2018; and
- To halve the gap in employment by 2018.
In December 2018, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) committed to refreshing the Closing the Gap agenda. COAG issued a statement outlining a draft strengths based framework aimed at prioritising intergenerational change and the aspirations of Indigenous people in Australia. The updated framework is to occur through partnership between governments and Indigenous Australians.
For more information about current progress and future framework, read the Closing the Gap 2019 Report here.