National Agreement on Closing the Gap
The National Agreement
The Coalition of Peaks, together with all Australian governments and the Australian Local Government Association, signed the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (National Agreement) on 27 July 2020.
The National Agreement has been built around what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people said is important to improve our lives. It includes four Priority Reforms to change the way governments work with our people, new government accountability measures, and shared monitoring and implementation arrangements.
Under the Partnership Agreement, the Coalition of Peaks sat down with Australian governments and looked at what had and hadn’t been working on Closing the Gap over the last ten years, what things could be strengthened, and what needed to be changed.
The Coalition of Peaks and governments agreed that the National Indigenous Reform Agreement – an Agreement signed by Australian governments in 2008 that set out the original Closing the Gap strategy – needed to be replaced by a new National Agreement built around what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been saying is needed to improve our lives; and to be signed off by the Coalition of Peaks and Australian governments.
On 3 July 2020, the Joint Council met to discuss the final draft of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. It is the first National Agreement of its kind and has been developed in genuine partnership between the Coalition of Peaks and Australian Governments.
The National Agreement was informed by a comprehensive engagement process, led by the Coalition of Peaks, in late 2019. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the country were consulted about what should be included.
The National Agreement sets out a strategy to close the gap that is strongly based on, and underpinned by, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ priorities. It is built around four Priority Reforms about transforming the way governments work with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to improve outcomes. The Priority Reforms were overwhelmingly supported during the engagements.
The priority reforms
The National Agreement on Closing the Gap aims to accelerate improvements by changing how governments work with Indigenous communities. The Priority Reforms address the need for government action and a new approach based on the input of our people.
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Priority Reform One
Formal partnerships and shared decision-making
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Priority Reform Two
Building the community-controlled sector
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Priority Reform Three
Transforming government organisations
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Priority Reform Four
Shared access to data and information at a regional level
Socio-economic targets
The National Agreement includes commitments to tangible actions from all governments to change the way they work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and give effect to the four Priority Reforms.
The National Agreement also establishes 17 national socio-economic targets in areas such as education, employment, health and wellbeing, justice, safety, housing, land and waters, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
The targets will help to monitor progress in improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. New engagement and accountability mechanisms are included in the draft National Agreement that mean jurisdictions will work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to implement the Agreement, and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will have an ongoing say in how the National Agreement is working for us.
