A new report from the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body has revealed that only four of the 22 targets under the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019 - 2028 are on track.

The new study from the Elected Body - the 2025 August Hearings Report, Truth through Transparency: A Turning Point Report - found four targets are not on track, eight are worsening and six have no published data for assessment.

The scathing report makes 56 recommendations, concluding that "the ACT is now in a worse position than when the ACT Agreement was signed".

The Elected Body said the report was "different from previous hearings reports" in that for the first time, the Body has "done its own full, evidence-based assessment" of how the ACT Government is tracking against the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019-2028.

Report is 'an honest assessment and an invitation to reset'

The Elected Body looked closely at data, tested evidence and asked a key question: are government commitments creating real change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT?

Elected Body Chairperson Maurice Walker said the report is about telling the truth clearly and openly.

"Transparency gives truth, and truth gives us another beginning," Mr Walker said.

"We need shared data, real accountability and genuine partnership; not more plans, but action alongside community."

The Elected Body described the report as "both an honest assessment and an invitation to reset".

"With truth, accountability and partnership, there is still time to deliver what was promised under the ACT Agreement," the Body said in a statement.

"Community voices were central to this process. Many community members helped shape the hearings by contributing questions, ensuring the Elected Body represents the broad interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

"The findings are deeply concerning... in many areas, outcomes are going backwards."

A 'repeated failure' by the ACT Government

Independent Member for Kurrajong Thomas Emerson MLA said the report was another in a "long string of reports exposing the ACT Government's repeated failure to follow through on its commitments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people".

"This is a brutal report card from the Elected Body. When the Government doesn't mark its own homework on First Nations issues, its grades are disastrous," Mr Emerson said.

He called on the ACT Government to respond promptly to the Elected Body's recommendations, and to prioritise increased resourcing for the Elected Body in alignment with its self-stated commitment to shared decision-making.

"Shared decision-making cannot be a tokenistic afterthought," Mr Emerson said.

"We need to empower the Elected Body to operate as an equal partner with the ACT Government.

"While the Victorian Government has allocated $82 million to support their First Peoples' Assembly in its work on historic Treaty negotiations, the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body remains hugely under-resourced. Insufficient, part-time remuneration of Elected Body Members is disrespectful and not conducive to improved outcomes for our First Nations community."

On Tuesday, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed Mr Emerson's Closing the Gap Bill, which legislates clear accountability standards for senior public servants and government agencies in relation to the ACT Government's Closing the Gap commitments.

"This report shows that accountability has been lacking, action has been limited, and change has been slow," Mr Emerson said.

"The ACT Government cannot keep disregarding its promises to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans while their life outcomes continue to worsen. It's time to turn things around."

The Government also tabled its Phase Three Implementation Plan for the ACT Agreement on Thursday, which was originally scheduled to commence in January 2024.

Mr Emerson said he had asked government officials during multiple Estimates and Annual Reports hearings when the plan would be ready, and that deadlines for finalising the report had been repeatedly missed.

An ACT government spokesperson told the National Indigenous Times the government acknowledges "the extensive work undertaken by the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body in the preparation of this report and, respects and values the role of the Elected Body in working in partnership with the ACT government".

"An important part of this role is holding the government to account for commitments under the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019 - 2028. The detailed level of analysis in the report helps to better understand the action and information community is seeking from government and the ways this can be progressed," they said.

"The government is renewing its efforts to work in partnership with the Elected Body and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to enact the transformational changes necessary to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans.

"Recently, Cabinet established a Closing the Gap Subcommittee where the Elected Body along with all Cabinet Ministers and Directors-General are permanent members. This new subcommittee held its first meeting last month and has an ambitious workplan ahead."

The spokesperson said all ACT Government directorates are "focused on Closing the Gap and improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and communities, including the recently completed agreement of implementation actions under Phase III of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement".

"The ACT Public Service Head of Service and Director-Generals are also meeting this month to discuss closing the gap and future planning, with members of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body participating in this planning work," they said.