The Australian Capital Territory's Public Sector (Closing the Gap) Legislation Amendment Act 2025 comes into effect Wednesday, July 1, after a Private Member's Bill introduced by the independent Member for Kurrajong, Thomas Emerson, was passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly late last year.

The reform makes the ACT the first state or territory in Australia to legislate its commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.

The legislation requires all senior ACT public servants to play their part in implementing the provisions of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and all ACT Government agencies to report annually on the steps they've taken to follow through on those commitments.

Legislation 'embeds the National Agreement on Closing the Gap within the core duties of all senior government officials'

Mr Emerson said the new laws would drive the systemic reform that had been committed to through multiple agreements, reviews and inquiries.

"For too long, governments have treated their commitments to improve life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people like optional extras," Mr Emerson said on Wednesday.

"That changes today, with the ACT's Closing the Gap commitments becoming law.

"This legislation embeds the National Agreement on Closing the Gap within the core duties of all senior government officials, and within the reporting obligations of all government agencies."

Mr Emerson said accountability was needed after years of inaction, pointing to the damning report from the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body released in the same month the Closing the Gap Bill passed, which found "outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT have not only failed to improve, but in many areas, have gone backwards," and that the Territory "is now in a worse position" than it was the year before the National Agreement on Closing the Gap was signed.

Earlier this year, the former head of the ACT Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Brendan Moyle, alleged senior officials within the ACT Public Service had intentionally blocked work to progress the ACT Government's Closing the Gap commitments, and ignored concerns he repeatedly raised about the damaging psychosocial impact this was having on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff in his team.

"Today, systemic accountability to the Closing the Gap commitments becomes part of the very laws that dictate how the government must operate," Mr Emerson said.

'We finally have an accountability framework'

Former Deputy Chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, Paula McGrady, described the legislation as "momentous".

"What it can do to improve outcomes for First Nations people is exciting and gives us hope," the Kamilaroi woman said.

"I believe these laws will change the trajectory of people's lives. This legislation tells decision-makers that our people deserve care, attention, and accountability. That takes the weight away from all of us on the frontlines of our community.

"We finally have an accountability framework that will make Closing the Gap a real priority and force the Government to take our issues seriously. That's the least we deserve, after so many years of talk without action."

'The best solutions are designed and led by our people'

Bundjalung man and community advocate, Joe Hedger, noted: "The best solutions are designed and led by our people, and delivered by our people as well as with our people through genuine partnerships with the Government."

"This legislation gives us an opportunity to reset that relationship. It challenges all of us to move beyond measuring disadvantage and instead invest in Aboriginal community leadership, back what works and build genuine partnerships based on trust, shared decision-making and accountability," he said.

"If we get this right, we'll see stronger families, healthier communities, better educational outcomes, greater economic opportunity and fewer of our people caught up in the justice system. That's what Closing the Gap has always been about and that's the opportunity this legislation presents from 1 July."

'Closing the gap principle' embedded in key laws

The reforms passed by parliament in December inserted into the Public Sector Management Act 1994 a new 'closing the gap principle' that all Senior Executive Service (SES) members and statutory office holders will be bound by.

The principle requires them to implement the provisions of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap that relate to transformation or governance of government agencies through a series of measures: Continually developing and demonstrating their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural capability and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural capability of their administrative unit; promoting cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and working to eliminate institutional racism in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The principle also requires that, with regards to other provisions of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap that relate to the individual's role, they implement those provisions of the agreement, or provide advice to their Minister about implementing those provisions of the agreement.

The bill also amended the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Act 2004 to require all government agencies to include in their annual reports the measures that they have taken to implement the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, including the priority reforms it contains and what they have done in response to any recommendations from reviews of the National Agreement.

The reporting format must be developed in consultation with the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body.

'This needs to be a turning point'

Mr Emerson said one of his priorities at the impending Budget Estimates hearings was to ensure the new legislation delivers on its aims.

"I'll be questioning government agencies and Ministers about how they're implementing the requirements imposed by these new laws," he said.

Mr Emerson said he believed that if this legislation was used to leverage sustained action on the ground, the ACT could become the first jurisdiction in the country to deliver on its promise to close the gap in life outcomes for First Nations people - two decades after it was first made.

"This needs to be a turning point for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans," he said.

"They've waited far too long to see words being met with action. It's time for change."