Education

Education is a foundation for hope and success and can help people overcome other disadvantages. At higher levels of education there is virtually no employment gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. In contrast, those with low educational attainment tend to have poorer health outcomes, lower incomes and reduced employment prospects. Unfortunately, on average Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students achieve lower educational outcomes than their non-Indigenous peers. This disparity in educational outcomes can be observed through measures of attendance, retention, achievement, and transition to other pathways post schooling.

We are working with a wide range of stakeholders to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from early childhood and schooling, to higher education.

Getting children to school, improving their results and supporting families to give their children the best start in life will help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people close the educational gap. A good education also helps keep culture strong and lets future generations share stories about their community, culture and kinship.

We provide expert policy leadership and advice on issues, initiatives and programmes with the aim of improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education outcomes.

The Department influences other areas of Government to ensure mainstream funding efforts benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, particularly in the areas of early childhood education, school education, student engagement, training, higher education access and outcomes, and building teacher capacity.

Through the Children and Schooling Program (Outcome 2.2) of the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) the Department provides over $220 million each year to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Children and Schooling Program supports activities across the areas outlined below.