Aboriginal-led Review of the National Agreement calls for urgent action on closing the gap – SNAICC in the News

The first-ever Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, released this week, has delivered a clear and urgent message; governments are failing to meet their commitments on closing the gap, leaving under-resourced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to shoulder the burden.

Commissioned by the Coalition of Peaks and conducted by the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, the Review of the National Agreement reveals that while the National Agreement on Closing the Gap remains a sound and principled framework, its transformative potential is being systematically undermined by government inaction, unbalanced partnerships, and entrenched structural barriers. Without genuine power-sharing, sustained investment and urgent dismantling of systemic racism, the National Agreement risks becoming a missed opportunity.

The landmark review is the first time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have led a national assessment of the National Agreement—placing community perspectives, lived experience and solutions at its centre. Through surveys, submissions, forums and direct conversations with communities across the country, one message appeared loud and clear: governments are falling short. There is a significant gap between what was promised and what is actually being delivered.

The Review of the National Agreement sets out 17 clear and practical recommendations for real reform. It calls on governments to recommit to the existing National Agreement and, central to this, is transforming government systems, embedding shared decision-making, and establishing independent accountability mechanisms to track progress. The recommendations also demand long-term, community-led investment, the dismantling of systemic racism, and greater support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector.

Professor Lindon Coombes, a descendant of the Yuallaraay people of north-west New South Wales and Director of the Jumbunna Institute, said the Review should be understood as an opportunity for change, not seen solely as criticism. As reported by The Guardian, he said that the intent was to provide constructive feedback to all parties and ensure community voices are truly heard. Additionally, as reported by NITV, he encouraged governments to reflect deeply on how they engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, noting that the communities remain committed to the Agreement. But to unlock its full potential, he said, governments must change the way they work.

Aunty Pat Turner AM, of Gudanji and Arrernte heritage and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have upheld their side of the Agreement, while governments have been slow to shift power, share control, or reform systems that entrench disadvantage. She described the Review as both a mirror and a mandate, making clear that while the framework is in place, governments must now act. Gooniyandi and Gajerrong man and Acting Lead Convenor Scott Wilson said that real change happens only when governments genuinely engage. Communities are already leading the way, he said, but they cannot carry the burden alone. For the National Agreement to succeed, governments at all levels—Commonwealth, state, territory and local—must honour the partnership, share decision-making power, and properly support and resource Aboriginal-led efforts.

Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Arrernte and Luritja woman and SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle said the Review’s findings come as no surprise to those working on the ground. These concerns, she said, have been raised time and again across every part of the sector that governments are not moving fast enough—nor are they engaging meaningfully with communities. Catherine stressed the urgency of addressing the areas where Closing the Gap targets are failing—particularly those relating to children.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Child Protection 2023-24 Report

The findings from the Review of the National Agreement are reinforced by new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Child Protection Australia 2023-24 Report, which reveals that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be vastly over-represented in child protection and out-of-home care, with no meaningful improvement over the past year. The report finds that, as at 30 June 2024, 25,000 of the 59,900 children on care and protection orders nationally were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. That’s a rate of 63 per 1,000—nearly ten times higher than that of non-Indigenous children.

Catherine Liddle called this a critical, overlooked crisis. The growing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care and the youth justice system, she said, is a direct consequence of governments failing to act on well-established evidence and uphold their commitment to closing the gap. She pointed towards the inquiry underway in Queensland and recent findings from the NSW Ombudsman as examples that show that systems designed to protect children are, in many cases, causing harm—and it is long past time to do better. The data renews longstanding calls for the transfer of child protection responsibilities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations. Catherine said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations are far more effective at supporting families and reuniting children with kin. She called for the immediate transfer of delegated authority, backed by genuine investment in self-determination.

As reported by National Indigenous Times, in Victoria, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are being removed at the highest rate in the country—exceeding 90 per 1,000. In response, the Victorian Government has committed $191 million under the Wungurilwil Gapgapduir Aboriginal Children and Families Agreement, alongside Aboriginal-led health pilot programs. Encouragingly, 82% of Aboriginal children in Victoria are now placed in kinship care—well above the national average.

In New South Wales, AbSec—the peak body for Aboriginal child and family services in New South Wales—has launched a new initiative to support community-controlled organisations in accessing a share of the state’s $350 million Family Preservation funding, part of a broader $900 million reform of the child protection system. Birri Gubba, Wakka Wakka and Tongan man and AbSec CEO John Leha said many organisations lack the resources to navigate complex procurement processes. This support, he said, is more than a funding opportunity—it is a restorative act of justice, empowering communities to care for their children in culturally safe ways.

Reintegration Puzzle Conference

Earlier this week, justice leaders, experts and community advocates gathered in Mparntwe/Alice Springs for the two-day Reintegration Puzzle Conference, led by the Justice Reform Initiative, calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to urgently address systemic incarceration and the ongoing crisis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody. In her keynote, Catherine Liddle described the situation as ‘an incredible storm’ with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children at its centre. She condemned the alarming rise in children being held in adult watch houses and prisons, saying it reflects a deep failure of policy. Catherine called for urgent, coordinated federal action—including the creation of a National Children’s Minister, a Human Rights Act, and tying state and territory funding to Closing the Gap outcomes. She urged governments to shift investment away from punitive measures and toward early intervention, prevention and diversion programs that are proven to break cycles of incarceration. Speakers across the conference spoke on culturally safe, community-led alternatives as practical, evidence-based solutions.

For full coverage, find the relevant news stories linked below.