August 1, 2024
Only five of the 19 “Closing The Gap” targets are on track to be met, according to the latest assessment of government data.
Five targets show improvement but are not on track to be met, while progress towards four targets is worsening.
The life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men is 71.9 years and is 75.6 years for women, but the gap with non-Indigenous people is not on track to close by the target year of 2031.
However, the target for the proportion of babies born at a healthy birthweight is on track; 89.6 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies were born with a healthy birthweight in 2021 (the last year for which data is available).
Tragically, the rate of suicide has actually risen since the baseline year.
The most recent data shows suicide was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–39 in 2022.
The fourth Annual Data Compilation Report – which tracks progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap – was released by the Productivity Commission on Wednesday.
- External link: Closing The Gap Annual Data Report
