Queensland Government
Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs

Across Australia, there is a significant gap in the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous people.

Based on currently available data, the status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders in relation to the national targets is as follows.

Target 1: Close the gap in life expectancy within a generation
Life expectancy (2005-2007)Years
Indigenous males (Queensland) 68.3 years
Non-Indigenous males (Australia) 78.7 years
Indigenous females (Queensland) 73.6 years
Non-Indigenous females (Australia) 82.6 years

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Experimental Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2005–2007, cat. no. 3302.0.55.003. Note that the ABS has introduced a new method to produce the 2005-2007 life expectancy estimates. These estimates cannot be compared with estimates reported in the 2007/08 Queensland Closing the Gap Report.

Target 2: Halve the gap in mortality rates for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under 5 within a decade
Childhood mortality2004-20052006-20072008
Indigenous children 29.0 per 10,000 21.0 per 10,000 19.3 per 10,000
Non-Indigenous children 11.7 per 10,000 12.9 per 10,000 11.9 per 10,000

Source: Deaths: Child Death Register, 2009, Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian (Queensland); Estimated resident populations: Office of Economic and Statistical Research, 2009.

Target 3: Halve the gap in employment outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Queenslanders within a decade
Unemployment rate200520062007
Indigenous 14.6% 12.8% 9.8%
Total Queensland 4.8% 4.5% 3.7%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians 2007 and unpublished Labour Force data, ABS, 2007. Notes: (1) No statistically significant change in employment outcomes is detectable between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and the total Queensland population due to the small count of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons in the labour force survey. (2) Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) participants cannot be identified using these data and thus are included as employed (and not as unemployed) by default. The 2007/08 Queensland Closing the Gap Report used 2006 Census data which does allow CDEP participants to be identified and thereby included in a calculation of the unemployment rate. The rates presented here cannot be compared with rates presented in the 2007/08 Queensland Closing the Gap Report.

Target 4: Halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children within a decade
Indicator - Years 3,5,7 and 9 Reading, Writing, Numeracy (% of students meeting the standard) 
Reading (2009)
Category Year 3Year 5Year 7Year 9
Indigenous 77.1% 65.7% 74.0% 64.5%
Non-Indigenous 93.1% 90.6% 94.2% 91.7%
Writing (2009)
Category Year 3Year 5Year 7Year 9
Indigenous 80.2% 68.9% 71.8% 59.5%
Non-Indigenous 94.8% 91.5% 92.7% 87.1%
Numeracy (2009)
Category Year 3Year 5Year 7Year 9
Indigenous 74.0% 73.9% 78.5% 76.5%
Non-Indigenous 93.6% 94.0% 95.9% 95.7%

Source: Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2009, National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, National Report, Achievement in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy.

Target 5: Ensure all Queensland Indigenous 4-year-olds in remote communities have access to early childhood education within 5 years¹
Preschool enrolments (as a proportion of all enrolments)2006/072007/082008/09
Indigenous enrolment as a proportion of all enrolments 6.1% 7.7% 8.0%
Indigenous children as a proportion of total Queensland child population 7.0% 6.9% 6.8%

Source: Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision (SCRGSP), 2009, Report on Government Services 2009, Productivity Commission, Canberra; 2008/09 data: Office for Early Childhood Education and Care, Department of Education and Training, Queensland, sourced from the Early Childhood Education and Care Services Census. Also includes pre-prep enrolments for Bound for Success schools. Note: Data collected in 2008/09 relate to children attending in census week as reported by services that responded to the census (response rate of 93.6%). No attempt has been made to estimate data for services that did not respond to the census. This differs from previous years when enrolment data were available.

¹ The national Children's Services Working Group have agreed on a range of performance indicators for childrens's services. The performance indicators for 'Access' refer to Indigenous preschool enrolments as a broad indicator of access to preschool. The current indicator relates to all Indigenous 4 year olds in Queensland. Data specifically relating to Indigenous 4 year olds in remote communities will be available for future reports.

Target 6: Halve the gap for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in year 12 attainment or equivalent attainment rates by 2020
20-24-year-olds with a Year 12 certificate or equivalent 2006
Indigenous young people 57.9%
Non-Indigenous young people 84.1%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Census of Population and Housing, 2006.