CANBERRA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The majority of Australian targets to reduce Indigenous disadvantage in areas including imprisonment and life expectancy are not on track, according to a government report.
The Productivity Commission (PC), the federal government's top advisory body on economic and social issues, on Wednesday night released its annual update tracking the performance of the Closing the Gap strategy.
Established in 2008 and overhauled in 2020, the framework consists of 19 targets to reduce the disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in health, education and economic outcomes.
The PC found that of the 19 targets, most of which have a 2031 deadline, one has been met, three are on track to be met, five are improving but not on track, two have not changed from their baseline years, and four are worsening. Progress on the remaining four could not be assessed.
"The deadline for meeting most of the targets is 2031, so we are already past the halfway point," Commissioner Selwyn Button said in a statement.
"Governments will need to redouble their efforts for the promise of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap to become a reality."
Increasing the pre-school enrollment rate among Indigenous children from 61.3 percent in 2016 to 95 percent in 2025 is the sole target that has been met, the report said, while targets concerning employment and land and sea rights are on track to be achieved by 2031.
It said that targets regarding Indigenous imprisonment, suicide, childhood development and children in out-of-home care are worsening.
The suicide rate among Indigenous Australians rose from 23.6 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 33.9 per 100,000 in 2024, while the Indigenous imprisonment rate increased in seven of Australia's eight states and territories between 2019 and 2025.
The report found that the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is improving, but the target of closing the life expectancy gap between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population is not on track to be met by 2031.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy described achieving the pre-school enrollment target as a significant milestone, but said that it is "very concerning" that outcomes are still worsening.
She said in a statement on Thursday that the government remains committed to closing the gap and will continue to invest in areas that can make the greatest difference to generational change. ■
