Only four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track and four are moving backwards, with just five years remaining under the current agreement, the federal government says.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, marking the 18th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered the government's latest Closing the Gap report.
He said six targets are improving and that confirmation is expected by the end of the year that 95 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are enrolled in preschool.
However, several key measures continue to stall or deteriorate — including incarceration, out-of-home care (OOHC) and suicide rates — prompting the Prime Minister to acknowledge the scale of work still required.
"We are now five years away from most of the target deadlines," the PM said. "We are clear about where there is more to do. We must also guard against talk of failure."
Describing the effort as a failure dismisses the "aspirations and achievements of Indigenous Australians," he argued, which overlooks leaders and communities who are "changing lives".
"Failure is a word for those who have stopped trying — or given up listening," Mr Albanese said. "I make this clear today: I am not contemplating failure. Our Government is not contemplating failure."
He argued the challenges facing First Peoples are significant, complex and interconnected, with causes stretching back generations.
"But that does not render us powerless — it makes each act of change powerful," the PM said. "It means progress towards one target, will drive improvement in others."
Closing the Gap Targets going backwards:
Target 4 — Children thriving in their early years: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55 per cent.
Target 10 — Criminal Justice: By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent.
Target 12 — Child Protection: By 2031, reduce the rate of over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (0-17 years old) in out-of-home care by 45 per cent.
Target 14 — Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards zero.
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In response to target 14, the PM said: "Suicide shatters families, it tears apart communities."
"So often amidst the grief, loved ones return to the heartbreaking question: how did it come to this?
Across the country, Indigenous incarceration continues to rise nationwide under both Liberal- and Labor-led governments. Data released on Thursday by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows a record 4,452 Aboriginal adults are in the state's prisons, representing 33.9 per cent of the total adult prison population — the highest proportion on record.
The government's approach has drawn criticism from experts, who argue the Commonwealth has been too lenient on jurisdictions that disregard the agreement. Several have previously told National Indigenous Times the agreement is not worth the paper it is written on when jurisdictions continue to flaunt it, often openly.
"Thirty-five years after that historic Royal Commission, the hard truth is that no government from either side of politics has done enough," Mr Albanese said.
"No one should grow up imagining that prison is a rite of passage. And as a society, our definition of justice must be measured by more than the capacity of our jails."
However, he argued states and territories "have every right to put the safety of their communities first".
Closing the Gap Targets on Track
Target 3 — Children are engaged in high-quality, culturally appropriate early childhood education in their early years: By 2025, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in Year Before full-time Schooling (YBFS) early childhood education to 95 per cent.
Target 8 — Strong economic participation: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-64 who are employed to 62 per cent.
Target 15 — Land and Waters a) By 2030, a 15 per cent increase in Australia's landmass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's legal rights or interests.
b) By 2030, a 15 per cent increase in areas covered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's legal rights or interests in the sea.
In response to the improvements in access to land and waters," the PM said, "we want land to be a basis for prosperity and economic sovereignty, not a barrier to it".
On business participation, he argued: "In energy and construction, tourism and fashion, hospitality and technology, Indigenous Businesses are winning awards — and creating jobs.
"Indeed, they are between 40 and 100 times more likely to employ Indigenous Australians," he said. "We are boosting the financing capacity of Indigenous Business Australia — backing more entrepreneurs to get their great ideas off the ground."
Thursday's announcements focus heavily on employment and economic development. The Remote Jobs and Economic Development Program (RJED), which the government says has already created 1,500 jobs toward a target of 3,000 by 2027, will receive $299 million to expand to 6,000 jobs by 2030.
"Our Government values the security and opportunity that a good job provides - and we respect the dignity of work," Mr Albanese said. "That is why we promised to abolish the failed CDP — and we have."
Describing the program as "paying real wages and bringing new pride and purpose to people's lives," the PM said economic empowerment underpins the Closing the Gap strategy. He argued self-determination "flows from financial security " and from "having a stake in the economy".
A further $75 million will be directed toward reforming Prescribed Bodies Corporate Native Title Organisations to "empower them as economic decision-makers".
"Dealing direct with government investment vehicles like the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund," the PM said.
"And private capital — particularly in the resources and clean energy sector — securing new projects and creating new jobs."
