Closing the Gap: Prime Minister's report 2017

This is the ninth 'Closing the Gap' report. It reports on the progress made against the targets set by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in the areas of health, education and employment. The targets include: closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance by 2018; halving the gap for Indigenous children in reading, writing and numeracy by 2018; halving the gap for Indigenous Australians aged 20-24 in Year 12 attainment or equivalent attainment rates by 2020; and halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2018. Key findings in relation to education and employment indicate: there has been no meaningful change in the national Indigenous school attendance rate from 2014 (83.5 per cent) to 2016 (83.4 per cent); literacy and numeracy gaps remain with boys trailing behind girls in performance at school; the target to halve the gap in Year 12 attainment by 2020 is on track; and the target to halve the gap in employment outcomes is not on track, although Indigenous employment rates are much higher now than they were in the early 1990s. Show less