The Australian Government have begun to address the inequities in health faced by the ATSI population by

implementing the ‘Close The Gap Campaign’. The campaign's aim is to ‘close the health and life expectancy
gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-indiginous Australians within a generation’.

The Close the Gap statement of intent is a fundamental feature of the campaign that committed the Australian
government to a evidence-based path to achieving equity of health. The statement includes a committee that
works to develop a comprehensive, long-term plan of action that is prioritised to needs and inequalities in health
services alongside ensuring the full participation of ATSI peoples and their representative bodies in all areas in
addressing their health needs.

CLOSE THE GAP STATS GENERAL INFO

CAMPAIGN - In 2007, COAG (Council of
Australian Governments) set
→ info to summarise targets to track and assess
developments in the health and
wellbeing of ATSI people. These
targets being closing the gap and
halving the mortality rate gap for
children under 5 within a decade
- In March of 2008, Kevin Rudd
and Brendan Nelson signed the
Close the Gap statement of
intent.
- Since the first meeting of the
committee in March 2006, almost
200,000 Australians have
formally pledged their support
Close the Gap campaign aims to close the health and life
expectancy gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and non-Indiginous Australians within a generation.
- The 10 year review of the campaign posted in February
2018 examines how Australian governments have not yet
succeeded in closing the gap and why continuing on the
current course of action will not achieve the Close the Gap
campaigns goal by 2030.
Their belief:
When ATSI people have a say in the design and delivery of policies,
programs and services that impact them, they achieve better life
outcomes.

From the video (Close the Gap 2017) THEIR OBJECTIVES

- There needs to be more
aboriginal and torres strait
islander health workers
- VAHS
- How: implementing a human rights based approach to
ATSI health
● Close the Gap statement of intent includes a committee to:
- Develop a comprehensive, long-term plan of
action, that is targeted to need, is evidence-based
and capable of addressing the existing
inequalities in health services, in order to achieve
equality of health status and life expectancy
between ATSI peoples and non- ATSI Australians
by 2030.
- Ensures the full participation of ATSI peoples and
their representative bodies in all aspects of
addressing their health needs.

- Statement of intent: A fundamental feature of the

campaign that when signed by the Australian government
they committed to a evidenced-based path to achieving
equity of health. This is a path supported by the entirety of
the ATSI health sector.

https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement
Read this ^^
Closing the gap in partnership:
- What's being done differently:
All Australian governments are working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their communities,
organisations and businesses to implement the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap at the national,
state and territory, and local levels.

This is an unprecedented shift in the way governments have previously worked to close the gap.
It acknowledges that to close the gap:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must determine, drive and own the desired outcomes,
alongside all governments.

This new way of working requires governments to build on the strong foundations Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people have, through their deep connection to family, community and culture.

Implementation Plans have been developed and delivered by each party to the National Agreement, in
partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partners. They set out how policies and programs are
aligned to the National Agreement and what actions will be taken to achieve the Priority Reforms and outcomes.

Outcomes and Targets:

Close the Gap campaign has implemented a new National agreement in regards to closing the gap, this
agreement allows Australian governments to work closely with ATSI people, their communities, organisations and
businesses at the national, state and territory, and local levels to effectively determine, drive and own the desired
outcomes. This is a shift in approach to closing the gap than what was previously being done by the
governments, and it requires governments to build on the foundations of the ATSI population's connection to
family, community and culture. Together they have developed targets and outcomes that work effectively to
reduce the gap between ATSI people and non-ATSI people.
The 17 targets include:
- Everyone enjoys long and health lives
- Children are born healthy and strong.
- Children are engaged in high quality, culturally appropriate early childhood education in their early years.
- Children thrive in their early years.
- Students achieve their full learning potential.
- Students reach their full potential through further education pathways
- Youth are engaged in employment or education
- Strong economic participation and development of people and their communities
- People cna secure appropriate, affordable housing that is aligned with their priorities and needs
- Adults are not over represented in the criminal justice system
- Young people are not over represented in the criminal justice system
- Children are not over represented in the criminal justice system
- Families and households are safe
- People enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing
- People maintain a distinctive cultural, spiritual, physical and economic relationship with their land and
waters
- Cultures and languages are strong, supported and flourished
- People have access to information and services enabling participation in informed decision making
regarding their own lives.

The National Agreement has 17 targets across the following outcome areas: education, employment, health and
wellbeing, justice, safety, housing, land and waters, and languages.

Outcomes are the desired result for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Targets are specific and measurable goals that will be monitored to show how progress is being made across
each of the outcome areas. Under each of the targets there are indicators that help to provide an understanding
of how progress will be tracked.

The National Agreement includes areas for data development actions. These are areas that are important for our
understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander outcomes but cannot be measured currently.
Implementation plans:
- Each party to the National Agreement has developed their own Implementation Plan and will report
annually on their actions to achieve the outcomes of the Agreement. Plans have been developed and
will be delivered in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partners.
- Each Implementation Plan sets out how policies and programs are aligned to the National Agreement
and what actions will be taken to achieve the Priority Reforms and outcomes, including information on
funding and timeframes for actions.
- You can read each Party’s Implementation Plan on their respective websites:

At A Glance:

The objective of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement) is to enable Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to overcome the inequality experienced by
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.

For the first time, the National Agreement has been developed in genuine partnership between Australian
governments and the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations (the Coalition of
Peaks).

The expertise and experience of the Coalition of Peaks and its membership have been central to the
commitments in this National Agreement. So too has the feedback from the extensive engagements in 2019 with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia. A summary of what was heard from the
engagements and how it was incorporated into the National Agreement is available.

The views and expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including Elders, Traditional Owners and
Native Title holders, communities and organisations will continue to provide central guidance to the Coalition of
Peaks and Australian governments as the National Agreement is implemented.

The Partnership is grateful for the assistance of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in developing the National Agreement. The AIHW led a number of
workshops to assist the Partnership Working Group to consider and develop the target framework, developed
trajectories to inform decisions about the level of ambition for different target areas, and provided technical
advice on the targets, indicators and data availability. The ABS provided data and technical advice for targets and
indicators.
All parties to the National Agreement acknowledged the need for it to be a flexible, “living” document, working
with the best evidence as it becomes available.

Priority Reforms:

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap has been built around four Priority Reforms that have been directly
informed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These reforms are central to the National Agreement
and will change the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

Each priority reform includes a target and an outcome. These focus on measuring the change governments are
making in the way they work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indicators have also been
developed to support reporting against the Priority Reforms, similar to that for the socio-economic targets.

1. Formal partnerships and shared decision making

2. Building the community-controlled sector
3. Transforming government organisations
4. Shared access to data and information at a regional level