ACT CLOSING THE GAP REPORT 2015 PROGRESS OUTCOMES FOR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE ACT CLOSING THE GAP REPORT 2015 PROGRESS OUTCOMES FOR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE Accessibility Statement The ACT Government is committed to making its Enquiries about this publication should be directed to: information, services, events and venues, as accessible as The Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander possible. If you have difficulty reading a standard printed Affairs document and would like to receive this publication in Community Services Directorate an alternative format, such as large print or audio, please GPO Box 158 telephone 13 22 81. Canberra City, ACT 2601 If English is not your first language and you require a Phone (02) 6207 9784 translating and interpreting service, please telephone Website: www.communityservices.act.gov.au Access Canberra on 13 22 81. 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Terminology The ACT Closing the Gap Report 2015 provides outcome reporting, and describes ACT Government funded initiatives, for people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in the ACT. The ACT Government generally describes Australia’s first peoples as ‘Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander’ and in this report describes Australians of other backgrounds as ‘non-Indigenous’. This report also uses the terms ‘Indigenous’ when discussing data in text or in tables, when quoting other sources, specific program or policy titles, or third party data. The term ‘Indigenous’ is understood to refer to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in the understanding that they are not a homogenous group. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY The ACT Government acknowledges the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians and custodians of the Canberra region and that the region is also an important meeting place and significant to other Aboriginal groups. The ACT Government respects the continuing culture and the contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make to the life of this city and surrounding region. CONTENTS Minister’s message .................................................................................................................................................iii Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body message ........................................................ v Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................1 PART ONE About this report ...............................................................................................................................................11 Demographic overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Canberrans .................15 The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Indigenous Reform Agreement ..............................................................................................19 The gap in the Australian Capital Territory ..........................................................................................23 ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2015–2018 .......................................27 PART TWO Key focus area: Cultural identity .................................................................................................................35 Key focus area: Healthy mind, healthy body ........................................................................................43 Health data summary ...............................................................................................................................51 Key focus area: Feeling safe ...........................................................................................................................53 Key focus area: Connecting the community ........................................................................................65 Key focus area: Employment and economic independence .......................................................73 Economic participation data summary ...........................................................................................79 Key focus area: Education ..............................................................................................................................81 Education data summary ........................................................................................................................89 Key focus area: Leadership ............................................................................................................................95 Appendix A References ..................................................................................................................................98 Appendix B Useful Resources.....................................................................................................................99 | i Figures and tables Figures Tables Figure 1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Table 1 Closing the Gap targets—ACT people and other population, comparative performance 23 distribution by age, ACT, 2011 16 Table 2 Closing the Gap performance Figure 2 Age profile, Aboriginal and Torres indicators—ACT comparative Strait Islander people, ACT, 2011 16 performance 24 Figure 3 Year 12 (or equivalent) completion rates, selected states, 2011 17 Table 5 2014–15 Galambany Court referrals 57 Figure 4 Tenure of occupied private dwelling Table 6 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander occupied by an Aboriginal or employees snapshot, June 2015 74 Torres Strait Islander person, ACT, 2011 17 Table 7 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Figure 5 Family composition (single people, diversity by directorate (%) 75 family households), ACT, 2011 18 Table 8 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Figure 6 Weekly household income public service employees 2011–2015 75 (proportion of households), ACT, 2011 18 Table 9 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by age, full time/part time Figure 7 Proportion of Indigenous students employment, salary and separation at or above NMS in reading, ACT rates, 2015 75 and Australia, 2014 89 Figure 8 Proportion of Indigenous students Table 10 ACT Public Service salary, Aboriginal at or above NMS in numeracy, and Torres Strait Islander, 2011–15 76 ACT and Australia, 2014 90 Table 11 Employment indicators 79 Table 12 Reading, writing and numeracy indicators 90 Table 13 Year 12 or equivalent attainment indicators 91 ii | ACT Closing the Gap Report 2015 MINISTER’S MESSAGE The ACT Government is committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to close the gap between life outcomes and opportunities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their non-Indigenous peers in Canberra and the surrounding region. As Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, I introduce the ACT Closing the Gap Report 2015, the third in a series of reports that provide the ACT context to the national Closing the Gap agenda agreed by all jurisdictions through the Council of Australian Governments. As in previous ACT Closing the Gap reports, this report highlights programs, initiatives and key performance data on the ACT’s progress on improving outcomes for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. While there is still much work to be done, in the pages of this report you will also find much to be proud of and to celebrate, from the record growth in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in the ACT public service; leading the country in closing the gap in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates; to the community bus which not only helps those most in need to reach essential services, but supports elders, young people and families to attend social, cultural and sporting events. The ACT government continues to work collaboratively with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to find solutions to problems which are a legacy of past policies and decisions. In April 2015, the Chief Minister, the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and the Chair of the Elected Body signed the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2015–2018. The Agreement is the result of extensive consultation with government and community stakeholders, led by the Elected Body. It recognises the unique context and aspirations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of the ACT and commits the ACT Government to working in partnership with the community to build strong foundations and resilient families, and to support them to achieve their goals. With the implementation of the Agreement,