Productivity Commission report: Australia making 'mixed' progress on closing the gap

Responding to the data, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said "we have to do better", with an advisory Voice to Parliament needed to help close the gap.

The annual report, released on Wednesday, has found Australia is on track to meet just four of the 19 targets.

These include early childhood education enrolment, youth detention rates, land mass subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's legal rights and employment.

But there was also backsliding on four targets, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult incarceration rates, which have grown from 2142.9 per 100,000 people in 2019 to 2151.7 per 100,000 people as of June 2022.

Suicide rates have also been getting worse, increasing from 25 per 100,000 people in 2018 to 27.1 per 100,000 people in 2021 across five states and territories.

Ms Burney said this was "not acceptable".

She said the government was committed to closing the gap but that would only be possible "through strong partnerships with the Coalition of Peaks, state and territory governments and ultimately a Voice to Parliament."

"A Voice to Parliament will help to close the gap, because we know that listening to communities leads to better outcomes that improve people's lives," she said.

Data shows the country was moving in the right direction on seven targets, including life expectancy and high school completion rates, but not fast enough to meet national targets.

Commissioner Romlie Mokak, in a statement, said that while it was encouraging to see some progress in areas including education and training, it "needs to accelerate if the targets are to be met in these areas".

Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said these weren't "just statistics".

"Every single number is a human being," she said.

"We can only turn the tide on closing the gap if we give communities a genuine say in developing solutions now and into the future."

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Four targets, including family violence rates and access to information, had gaps in data, meaning it is not possible to determine the progress.

The report also found some states and territories were lagging.

Commissioner Natalie Siegel-Brown, in a statement, said: "The worsening of outcomes in the NT, and in out-of-home care rates in Victoria and SA is particularly concerning ... and where states and territories are making progress toward better outcomes, without clear jurisdictional targets we cannot know whether this progress is enough."