Education

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are diverse and intrinsically linked by centuries of cultural knowledge. Education is an opportunity for our mobs to support and promote families to participate in life autonomy, take control of their opportunities and create a platform for the next generation to enhance their wellbeing." - University of Sydney academic, Dr Vanessa Lee

​

Students engaged in learning at high school in Albany, Western Australia.

Laying the foundations for success

A good quality education lays the foundation for success in life. Individuals who successfully complete Year 12 studies are more likely to find employment when they leave school.

Employment opportunities are further increased for students who go on to obtain tertiary qualifications.

The Australian Government is working with state and territory governments, education authorities, schools and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to get the best outcomes for students.

Over the past 10 years, we have made inroads to better support young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to attain a Year 12 qualification and enrol in higher education, with the greatest increases seen for young women.

School attendance Target

Close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
school attendance within five years (by 2018)

• Attendance rates for Indigenous students have been stable between 2014 (83.5 per cent) and 2017 (83.2 per cent). However, the target is not on track to be met.
• In 2017, the overall attendance rate for Indigenous students nationally was 83.2 per cent, compared with 93.0 per cent for non-Indigenous students.
• There has been no meaningful improvement in any of the states and territories. In the Northern Territory the Indigenous attendance rate fell from 2014 (70.2 per cent) to 2017 (66.2 per cent).
• Indigenous attendance is lower in remote areas than non-remote areas, and the attendance gap remains larger in remote areas. In 2017, Indigenous attendance rates ranged from 86.8 per cent in Inner Regional areas to 64.6 per cent in Very Remote areas.
• School attendance rates have improved in almost half of RSAS schools since RSAS began.

What the data tells us

National

Progress against this target is assessed using data on Semester 1 school attendance for Years 1 to 10, reported by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

In 2017, the national school attendance rate was 83.2 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (Figure 9). For context, there were about 140,000 Indigenous students attending school on a given day in Semester 1 2017. [17] This compares to an attendance rate for non-Indigenous students of 93.0 per cent, resulting in a gap of almost 10 percentage points.

Nationally, the attendance rate for Indigenous students has been stable since 2014. The national Indigenous attendance rate was 83.5 per cent in 2014, and 83.2 per cent in 2017. As there has also been no change in the attendance rate of non-Indigenous students, there has been no meaningful change in the gap. The target to close the gap for Indigenous children in school attendance within five years (by 2018) is not on track. [18]

Figure 9: Student attendance rates

Source: ACARA, 2017

Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendance rates both fall in secondary grades, declining with increasing year level – the decline for Indigenous students is more rapid, so the attendance gap increases throughout secondary school (Box 1: Attendance by year level). Attendance can also be considered using a second measure – the proportion of students who attended school 90 per cent or more of the time. This proportion is also lower for Indigenous students than non-Indigenous students (Box 2: Level of consistent attendance).

Attendance rates are also slightly higher for girls than boys, with a larger difference for Indigenous students. In 2017, the attendance rate for all girls was 0.2 percentage points above that for boys, while the rate for Indigenous girls was 1.1 percentage points above Indigenous boys. The differences by gender have not changed since 2014.

States and territories

There has been no meaningful improvement in Indigenous attendance rates across any of the states and territories. The largest change has been in the Northern Territory, where the attendance rate fell by 4 percentage points from 2014 to 2017 (Figure 10). Changes in all other jurisdictions have been by less than one percentage point.

Figure 10: Indigenous student attendance rates, by state and territory

Source: ACARA, 2017

Remoteness

Indigenous school attendance rates are higher in metropolitan areas, and lower in more remote areas. In 2017 the attendance rate for Indigenous students ranged from 86.8 per cent in Inner Regional areas to 64.6 per cent in Very Remote areas. As non-Indigenous attendance varies less with remoteness, the gap in attendance rates increases with remoteness (Figure 11). In Very Remote areas, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendance rates was 26.3 percentage points in 2017.

Figure 11: Student attendance rates, by remoteness, Semester 1 2017

Source: ACARA, 2017

Attendance rates fall throughout the secondary grades, declining with increasing year level. The decline for Indigenous students is more rapid, and so the attendance gap increases throughout secondary school (Figure 12). Attendance rates were lower for Indigenous students than for non‑Indigenous students for all year levels. Indigenous attendance rates in the secondary grades have declined slightly (by less than two percentage points) from 2014 to 2017, without an equivalent fall in non-Indigenous attendance.

Figure 12: Student attendance rates, by year level, Semester 1 2017

Source: ACARA, 2017

In addition to attendance rates, the other attendance measure published is the attendance level – the proportion of students who attended school 90 per cent or more of the time. These are available for Year 1 to 10 students in Semester 1, with data from 2015 onwards. [19] Although not used to measure the target, attendance levels are useful for identifying the degree of consistent attendance.

In Semester 1 2017, 77.1 per cent of all students attended school 90 per cent or more of the time. This means that close to a quarter of Australian children are not attending school consistently. Among Indigenous students, only about half (48.8 per cent) attended school 90 per cent or more of the time. These proportions have not shown meaningful change since 2015 (less than a percentage point of difference).

The attendance level has the same pattern by remoteness as the attendance rate. The highest Indigenous attendance level is in Inner Regional areas (58.5 per cent) and it falls off sharply in remote areas (to 21.2 per cent in Very Remote areas). Again, this relationship is weaker for non-Indigenous attendance levels, and so the gap is widest in remote areas (Figure 13).

Figure 13: Proportion of students attending 90 per cent or more of the time by remoteness, Semester 1 2017*

* Students attending school 90 per cent or more of the time; Year 1 to 10 combined; excludes NSW government schools.

Source: ACARA, 2017

Translating policy into action

A framework to improve educational outcomes

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP) outlines 21 goals to improve the system of education that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and communities.

These goals are aligned to four broad categories for reform, including the involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in educational decision making; equality of access to educational services; equity of educational participation; and equitable and appropriate educational outcomes.

The AEP was developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and adopted by governments in 1989. It remains the foundation of subsequent national reform efforts.

Under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS) established in July 2014, the Australian Government has provided more than $1.3 billion to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from their early childhood years, through primary and secondary education, to post-school qualifications and into the workforce.

In May 2014, the Government committed to closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous school attendance by 2018. Evidence shows that around 20 per cent of the gap in school performance between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous 15 year-old students is explained by lower school attendance (Biddle 2014). There is a range of factors that affect school attendance, including overcrowded housing, student health, schools’ cultural engagement and teacher quality. Acknowledging this, the Government is working with schools, communities and state and territory governments to ensure children attend school every day.

From 2018, the Government will be introducing new arrangements for funding schools which will be fair and transparent, moving all schools and states to truly needs-based funding in just 10 years. Record levels of funding will be invested to help improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, with growing investment to be tied to the implementation of evidence-backed quality reforms proven to lift student achievement. Funding is made up of a Schooling Resource Standard, which is an estimate of how much total public funding a school needs to meet the educational needs of its students, along with six loadings to provide extra funding for disadvantaged students and schools, of which there is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander loading.

Over the past 10 years, there has been progress in education across a range of indicators. The data shows the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attend school and are achieving national minimum standards for literacy and numeracy. More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are progressing through schooling, completing Year 12 and enrolling in university. The focus of national education policy to date has been facilitating access to education. The next phase will focus on attainment, outcomes and engagement with parents to be a part of the solution. Although all the social indicators are important, it is education that is the catalyst in the long term for closing the other ‘gaps’.

Remote School Attendance Strategy

Evidence shows student attendance declines the further students are from metropolitan or inner regional hubs. This can be attributed to a range of factors including the availability of schooling and teachers, access to schools (due to transport difficulty and climatic conditions), poor housing and poor health.

The Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS) established in 2014 aims to enhance attendance in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Since the introduction of RSAS, attendance rates have improved in 48 per cent of RSAS schools.

RSAS supports school attendance officers to work with schools, families, parents and community organisations to ensure all children go to school every day. This involves working with communities to develop a local plan to get students to school. RSAS support can include working with families, to offer support, strategies to support enrolment, assistance to travelling and mobile families, nutrition programs, rewards and incentives programs for students with improved attendance or behaviour, a daily bus run, having additional workers in the school to help teachers in the classroom, or a combination of some or all of these activities. Strategies are locally tailored to meet individual community needs.

RSAS currently operates in 78 sites in the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. The program employs 470 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff (out of 506 total staff) and supports around 14,500 students to get to school every day. With a 93 per cent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment rate, RSAS is an effective stepping stone for locally engaged staff to enter the workforce and transition to other types of employment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff hold around half of the 60 RSAS coordinator or mentor positions. Working with schools and communities, RSAS has achieved increased attendance rates in some of the lowest performing schools in the country.

50th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum Education Package

In May 2017, the Australian Government announced the release of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum Education Package. The Education Package is providing $138 million to inspire, assist and provide access to education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. This includes a $25 million fund to prepare students for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers, including $15 million towards a girls’ STEM Academy, and $60 million for mentoring and support services, including scholarships to support students in secondary and tertiary studies. From this package, $41 million will go to activities specific to women and girls, while $40 million will go to the Clontarf Foundation to support young men in secondary school academies.

The Education Package includes funding for Beyond the Broncos Girls Academy to expand its intake to 1,300 places by December 2019 and Deadly Sista Girlz to provide support to an additional 600 girls through mentoring and education on personal health, wellbeing and positive lifestyles. The Government aims to provide young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with positive role models through activities such as the Stars Programme and Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience.

The Education Package is also supporting the development of the new Centre for Aboriginal Excellence and Leadership at the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

With the support of the BHP Billiton Foundation, CSIRO has implemented an important education project aimed at increasing participation and achievement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in STEM. In Australia, a key focus area for the Foundation is fostering innovative thinking and problem-solving abilities that will help to address sustainable development challenges by improving educational opportunities and outcomes in STEM for underrepresented groups.

Improving teacher quality

The quality of teaching is recognised as the largest ‘in-school’ influence on student achievement. Well trained, skilled and knowledgeable teachers who are able to engage with their students and the community are essential to lifting student outcomes.

The Australian Government is committed to improving the quality of the teaching workforce in Australia, from initial teachers to experienced teachers and school leaders. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to be successful, a culture of high expectations in schools, strong student‑teacher and community relationships and support for culture are important.

At Radiant Life College, the school and teachers engage with the local community and parents to develop individual learning plans for all students. This strategy has seen successful engagement of students and an increase in attendance from 54 per cent in 2014 to 98 per cent in 2017.

Australian Curriculum and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages

In December 2015, the Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages Framework was added to the Australian Curriculum. The framework is the first national curriculum document for students from foundation to Year 10 to provide a way forward for all schools in Australia to support the teaching and learning of the languages indigenous to this country. The prime purpose of the framework is to guide the development of teaching and learning for particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. It is intended that the framework be used by state and territory education jurisdictions, schools and communities to develop language-specific curricula and programs.

Research indicates that classroom teachers devote less than five minutes per week to teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum, languages, literature and cultures, with many not engaged in these activities at all (Luke et al. 2013).

More needs to be done to ensure that all Australian students engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures. We need to educate all students to be truly respectful and value our nation’s heritage. For all students, learning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages provides a distinctive means of understanding the country in which they live, including the relationship between land, the environment and people. The ongoing and necessary reclamation and revitalisation of these languages also contribute to reconciliation.

The University of Melbourne, under the lead of prominent academic and historian Professor Marcia Langton, has been engaged to strengthen Australian school student’s knowledge about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civilisations across Australia and how they operate. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Curricula Project will include an analysis of how the current curriculum is applied and aims to develop resources for teachers to effectively embed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority in other core curriculum areas.

Questacon

Over the past 10 years, Questacon has successfully engaged remote Indigenous communities through interactive public exhibitions, school workshops, educator professional development and special programs. This includes the Garma Youth Forum – STEM workshops, the Questacon Smart Skills Initiative, STEM X Alice Springs, and the Shell Questacon Science Circus.

Literacy and Numeracy Target

Halve the gap for Indigenous children in reading,
writing and numeracy within a decade (by 2018)

• While the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students has narrowed since 2008 across all areas, the target is not on track.
• The proportion of Indigenous students achieving national minimum standards in NAPLAN is on track in only one (Year 9 numeracy) of the eight areas (reading and numeracy for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9).
• Outcomes vary by state and territory, and only Year 9 numeracy is on track in all the states and territories.
• Outcomes also vary significantly across regions, with outcomes for Indigenous students substantially worse in remote areas, with a larger gap compared to non Indigenous students.

What the data tells us

National

Progress against this target is assessed using data on the proportion of students at or above the national minimum standards as measured through NAPLAN. Progress is tracked for eight areas – both reading and numeracy for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 against agreed trajectory points. [20]

The target to halve the gap for Indigenous children in reading and numeracy within a decade (by 2018), is not on track.

In 2017, only one of the eight areas (Year 9 numeracy) was on track at the national level – with around 10,000 Year 9 Indigenous students attaining the national minimum standard in numeracy. In the other seven areas, outcomes were below the trajectory and as such, progress will need to accelerate for this target to be met (Figure 14 and Figure 15). Outcomes on track in 2017 are consistent with 2016, where Year 9 numeracy was also the only area on track.

Figure 14: Indigenous students meeting National Minimum Standards for reading

Source: ACARA, 2017

Figure 15: Indigenous students meeting National Minimum Standards for numeracy

Source: ACARA, 2017

The proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students achieving at or above the national minimum standard were significantly higher than the proportions in 2008 (the baseline), for reading in Years 3 and 5 and for numeracy in Years 5 and 9 (Table 2). These four areas have shown the largest reduction in the gap from 2008 to 2017 (by about 10 percentage points). However, the gap in outcomes between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students has narrowed at least slightly for all eight areas from 2008 to 2017.

Table 2: Proportion of students meeting National Minimum Standards

* A statistically significant increase in the proportion of students meeting the National Minimum Standards between 2008 and 2017. The change in the gap is not tested for whether change is statistically significant.

Source: ACARA, 2017

Although the target is measured by the proportion of students at or above national minimum standards, NAPLAN results are also reported in average test scores (Box 1: Progress in mean scale scores). Reported results are sensitive to participation rates, which are typically lower for Indigenous students (Box 2: Participation rates).

States and territories

Outcomes vary by state and territory (Table 3). Only Year 9 numeracy was on track in all the states and territories, and the Australian Capital Territory was the only jurisdiction on track across all eight areas. [21] Tasmania was on track in all but two areas (Years 7 and 9 reading), while Victoria was on track in half of the areas. New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia each had three areas on track. Both Queensland and the Northern Territory were only on track in Year 9 numeracy. The Northern Territory has consistently had the lowest proportion of Indigenous students at or above the national minimum standards (for each of the eight areas).

Table 3: NAPLAN measures on track by jurisdiction, 2017*

* Tick indicates measure is on track with the target. Remaining measures are not on track with the target.

Source: Analysis of data from ACARA, 2017

There has been significant improvement in results for Indigenous students in 19 of the 64 state-level areas (numeracy and reading across four year levels in eight jurisdictions). Queensland had the most areas showing significant improvement from 2008 to 2017 (five areas), followed by Western Australia and New South Wales (four areas). Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory showed significant improvement in two areas. Neither the Australian Capital Territory nor Tasmania showed significant improvement, while Tasmania had the only significant decline (in Year 9 reading).

The gap in outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and non-Indigenous students has narrowed at least slightly in 45 of the 64 state level areas. The gap in Year 9 numeracy results has narrowed across all jurisdictions.

Remoteness

Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students vary substantially by remoteness area. For example, in Major City areas in 2017, 88 per cent of Indigenous Year 3 students met or exceeded the national minimum standard for reading, almost double the 46 per cent of students in Very Remote areas (Figure 16). Outcomes for non-Indigenous students show less variation by remoteness area, and as such, the gap is much wider in Very Remote areas than it is in metropolitan areas.

Figure 16: Indigenous students meeting National Minimum Standards for Year 3 reading, 2017

Source: ACARA, 2017

The target is measured in terms of the proportion of students whose NAPLAN test scores were at or above the national minimum standard. However, the mean scale scores achieved by Indigenous students in the NAPLAN tests over time can also be used as a measure.

In 2017, mean scores show the same pattern of change from the baseline as the target measure – four of the eight areas had improved significantly from 2008 to 2017 (Years 3 and 5 reading, and Years 5 and 9 numeracy), while the other four showed no significant change.

Mean scale scores can also be used to examine how a cohort of students have improved as they move through the school system, by looking at growth over time. For example, the average numeracy score of the cohort of students who were in Year 9 in 2017 was almost 200 points higher than when they were Year 3 students in 2011.

For the four cohorts so far that have taken the NAPLAN in Year 3 and then gone on to take it in Year 9 (that is, cohorts of students who were in Year 3 between 2008 and 2011), growth in their average scores from Year 3 to Year 9 was larger for Indigenous students than non-Indigenous students (albeit from a lower base). This means that although average scores for Indigenous students are still lower than for non-Indigenous students, scores for Indigenous cohorts showed a slightly larger increase over the six years between Year 3 and Year 9 – therefore the gap reduced (Figure 17).

Figure 17: Reading results over time for the Year 9 2017 cohort

Source: ACARA, 2017

Participation rates are a measure of how valid a result is. Low participation can skew the results. For example, if the students who would have tested poorly are more likely to be absent or withdrawn from the NAPLAN, then results will be artificially high.

Indigenous students have lower NAPLAN participation rates than non-Indigenous students. Indigenous participation is worse in secondary grades and remote areas (Figure 18).

Figure 18: Indigenous participation rates in the numeracy test by remoteness, 2017

Source: ACARA unpublished data, 2017

In 2017 across all eight areas nationally, less than 90 per cent of Indigenous students participated, while participation was over 90 per cent for non-Indigenous students. For example, Indigenous participation in the reading test ranged from 89 per cent in Year 3 to 75 per cent in Year 9 – in other words, a quarter of Indigenous Year 9 students were not counted in the 2017 reading results.

Participation rates have decreased slightly over time. Participation decreased from 2008 to 2017 in all eight areas, with the largest decreases in secondary grades. The largest fall was 6 percentage points in Year 9 numeracy.

Translating policy into action

Sustained effort required to close the gap

Despite the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students meeting national minimum standards, the target to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements by 2018 is not on track. Students in many remote and regional locations do not have the necessary foundation skills to satisfactorily progress through schooling, indicating that more work needs to be done.

For both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, girls out-perform boys in reading literacy. Results from 2015 showed Indigenous 15 year-old girls were around a year of schooling ahead of Indigenous male peers in reading. However, despite this, on the same measure, Indigenous females are almost two-and-a-half years of schooling behind non-Indigenous girls the same age (Thomson et al. 2017).

The Flexible Literacy for Remote Primary Schools Programme aims to increase teacher skills in teaching literacy, in particular through the use of Direct Instruction or Explicit Direct Instruction. The program has been piloted in 38 remote and very remote schools in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland over three school years from 2015 to 2017. More than 75 per cent of students in these schools are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

An independent evaluation of the program conducted by the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Program Evaluation found that Direct Instruction and Explicit Direct Instruction teaching approaches are delivering promising improvements in literacy outcomes in most schools.

Year 12 attainment Target

Halve the gap for Indigenous Australians aged 20-24 in
Year 12 attainment ​or equivalent attainment rates (by 2020)

• The target to halve the gap in Year 12 attainment by 2020 is on track, and the gap has narrowed by 12.6 percentage points over the past decade (from 36.4 percentage points in 2006 to 23.8 percentage points in 2016).
• Nationally, the proportion of Indigenous 20-24 year-olds who had achieved Year 12 or equivalent has increased from 47.4 per cent in 2006 to 65.3 per cent in 2016.
• The greatest increases over the past decade occurred in South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory, with attainment rates rising by more than 20 percentage points in each jurisdiction.

What the data tells us

National

The target to halve the gap in Year 12 attainment by 2020 is on track, even with improvements in non-Indigenous attainment rates over the past decade. Progress against this target is measured using data on the proportion of 20 to 24 year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have completed Year 12, or obtained a Certificate level II or above qualification. [22]

Year 12 or equivalent attainment for Indigenous 20 to 24 year-olds increased significantly from 47.4 per cent in 2006 to 65.3 per cent in 2016 (an improvement of 17.9 percentage points, Figure 19). By comparison, over the same period the Year 12 attainment rate for non-Indigenous Australians improved from 83.8 per cent to 89.1 per cent (an improvement of 5.3 percentage points).

As a result of these improvements, the gap in Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates has narrowed by 12.6 percentage points over the past decade (from 36.4 percentage points to 23.8 percentage points). This is noteworthy, given that the increase in Year 12 attainment rates for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has accelerated over the past five years. Furthermore, there are signs that Year 12 attainment rates will continue to improve over the next five years (Box 1: Future directions in attainment rates).

Figure 19: Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate, 20–24 year-olds

Sources: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2006, 2011 and 2016

States and Territories

Indigenous Year 12 or equivalent attainment rates have improved across all the states and territories over the past decade. The largest increases have been in South Australia (42.7 per cent in 2006 to 64.3 per cent in 2016), the Northern Territory (18.3 per cent to 39.1 per cent) and Western Australia (39.6 per cent to 59.9 per cent) (Figure 20).

Figure 20: Year 12 or equivalent attainment rate by jurisdiction, 20-24 year-olds

* Trajectories are only a visual guide for a possible pathway from baseline to the target. As such, they are indicative only and are not intended to be forecasts or predictions.

Sources: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2006, 2011 and 2016

These three jurisdictions, along with the Australian Capital Territory, are currently above their trajectory points for this target. In addition, New South Wales and Tasmania are only marginally below their trajectory points, indicating that their targets remain achievable. While Victoria and Queensland are currently below their trajectory points, their attainment rates are still among the highest of all the jurisdictions.

There are strong indications that Indigenous Year 12 attainment rates will continue to increase by the 2021 Census (when data will next be available). For example, Year 12 attainment rates of 18 and 19 year-olds in 2016 (who will be the 23 and 24 year-olds in the next Census) were 10.9 percentage points higher than their counterparts in the 2011 Census (up from 49.9 per cent in 2011 to 60.8 per cent in 2016).

In addition, for Indigenous 15-19 year-olds (who will be 20 to 24 years old by the next Census), participation in education has also increased, with 65.7 per cent engaged in some form of study in 2016 (Figure 21). This is up from 59.8 per cent in 2011, with the gains primarily a result of increased secondary school participation.

Figure 21: Indigenous attendance in education and Year 12 attainment rates by cohort

Sources: ABS Census of Population and Housing 2006, 2011 and 2016

In addition, there has also been an increase in the proportion of Indigenous students staying at school to Year 12, known as the Year 12 apparent retention rate. [23] In 2016, the Year 12 apparent retention rate was 59.8 per cent, up from 48.7 per cent in 2011 (Figure 22).

Figure 22: Year 12 apparent retention rate

Source: ABS Schools Australia 2016

Translating policy into action

Big gains in Year 12 attainment

Attainment of Year 12 or an equivalent qualification is a key building block in making the transition into further education, employment or training. More students are graduating and moving into employment or further studies. Nearly twice as many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are entering university compared to men.

Nationally, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 20 to 24-year-olds who had achieved Year 12 or equivalent increased from 32 per cent in the late 1990s to 65.3 per cent in 2016. Of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women aged 20 to 24, 66.8 per cent had completed a Year 12 or equivalent qualification. This was slightly more than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men (63.7 per cent).

Although we are on track to meet the Year 12 attainment target, a significant number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students continue to face barriers to Year 12 completion. A key priority for the Government is to support more young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to improve their low Year 12 retention rates, particularly in remote areas. Although 2016 Census data are not yet available by remoteness, in 2014-15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Year 12 attainment rates in Remote and Very Remote regions (both 41.7 per cent) were one-third lower than in Major Cities (63.1 per cent; Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision 2016a)

Acknowledging the lack of access to secondary schooling in remote communities, the Australian Government has undertaken a cross-portfolio review into support arrangements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary students who study away from home. The Study Away Review identified issues faced by those studying away from home and based on its findings, the Government is working to:

• build the evidence base on what works;
• strengthen family and community capacity;
• improve service coordination both at home and in boarding; and
• streamline funding arrangements, making processes less complex.

Support for Indigenous students

To assist students living in remote and regional Australia, the Government provides financial support through ABSTUDY which aims to increase access and participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in schooling, higher education and vocational education and training. ABSTUDY works to improve educational outcomes by providing a living allowance and other supplementary assistance for secondary students in remote locations, providing support for school and boarding fees, giving students access to options for finishing Year 12.

From 28 November 2016, the Department of Human Services replaced the requirement for a paper-based signed declaration form for ABSTUDY with a verbal declaration taken over the phone. This streamlined-process nearly halved claim processing times, with most claims now able to be completed over the phone. This was supported by a targeted communication campaign encouraging families to submit their ABSTUDY claims early to ensure support is was in place for the beginning of the year.

From 1 January 2017, the ABSTUDY Group 2 School Fees Allowance, income tested component increased by 50 per cent from $1,533 to $2,322 per year. This significant increase is helping families to pay for school fees and boarding/hostel costs when Indigenous students are required to move away from home to study.

The Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways Project (IYMP) is helping young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from regional and remote communities to move to a host location and participate in further education such as vocational education and training or an Australian apprenticeship. These skills will then help them get jobs in particular areas of community need, such as, trade, nursing, accountancy, business management and teaching. In 2017, IYMP helped at least 246 students continue their education.

Higher education

• The $68 million Indigenous Student Success Programme is shifting focus from getting Indigenous students to university to supporting them to graduate.
• Indigenous university enrolments have more than doubled over the past decade, although Indigenous students are still underrepresented in domestic enrolments and their completion rates are lower.
• 56 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students undertaking vocational education and training courses are enrolled in Certificate III and above courses.

What the data tells us

There have been very strong improvements in Indigenous university enrolment numbers over the past decade in the wake of higher Year 12 completion rates. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education award courses has more than doubled over the past decade (from 8,803 in 2006 to 17,728 in 2016). In comparison, domestic award student enrolments increased by 46.2 per cent over the same period (Department of Education and Training 2016a). Females make up 65.7 per cent of the Indigenous cohort, compared with 58.0 per cent of the total domestic student population.

Nonetheless, Indigenous students remain underrepresented in universities, with Indigenous people comprising only 1.7 per cent of the domestic student population (compared with 3.1 per cent of the Australian working age population).

In addition, Indigenous undergraduates continue to have much lower completion rates. Only 40.5 per cent of Indigenous students who commenced university studies in 2010 had completed a degree by 2015, compared with 66.4 per cent of non-Indigenous students (Department of Education and Training 2016b).

Translating policy into action

Surge in higher education enrolment

In the past decade, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university enrolments have more than doubled and we need to continue to ensure effective support for retention to ensure these students complete their studies. The dropout rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students within the first year of university is twice that of non-Indigenous students.

To support the increasing number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students entering university, the Government introduced the Indigenous Student Success Programme (ISSP), which commenced on 1 January 2017, replacing the Indigenous Commonwealth Scholarship Programme and the Indigenous Support Programme. ISSP provides supplementary funding to universities to help students take on the demands of university and succeed. ISSP offers scholarships, tutorial and other assistance to Australia’s 18,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students attending 40 universities across Australia. The ISSP is shifting the focus from simply getting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the door, to also helping students succeed and graduate.

The National Agreement for Skills and Workforce Development underpins the commitment of the Commonwealth, states and territories to addressing support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people undertaking vocational education and training.

In 2016, approximately 14,000 (National Centre for Vocational Education and Research 2017) 15 to 19-year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary students participated in a Vocational Education and Training course. Of these, 10 per cent (1,428) were undertaking a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship.

More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are now enrolling in higher-level vocational education and training courses, with 56 per cent of students enrolled in Certificate III and above. Completion of higher course levels improves employment outcomes.

The Government is supporting more remote and regional students to continue their education in their local community with Away from Base (AFB) assistance. Away From Base Mixed Mode delivery payments assist students living in regional and remote locations to study by distance, helping to cover the cost of travel, accommodation and meals when they have to travel away from their permanent home to attend campus for short blocks of study. In 2017, AFB is expected to assist around 6,500 students.

The Government is investing in our next generation of Australia’s leaders by facilitating access and providing support to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to dream, aspire and succeed in education.

Local solutions

Emily's a leader of the future

​

High School student, Emily Backhouse, after winning her second Nanga Mai Award for Outstanding Leadership with NSW Department of Education's Robyn Bale.

More local solutions are available on the resources page.

[17] Numbers for 2017 are estimated using 2016 enrolment numbers. The 2017 enrolment numbers were not available in time to publish. Numbers for a given day are estimated using the assumption that all students had the same number of days counted towards their attendance rate.

[18] Trajectories have been developed to assess whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school attendance rates are rising fast enough to close the gap from the 2014 baseline to the end point for the target (Semester 1, 2019). These trajectories have been agreed by states and territories. The Indigenous attendance rate was counted as being on track if the attendance rate (rounded to a whole number) was equal or greater than the agreed trajectory point.

[19] NSW Government data are not available for this measure. Australian totals do not include NSW Government schools.

[20] The target as originally agreed also included writing results. However, writing results from 2011 onwards cannot be directly compared to the writing results from previous years, and so have been excluded.

[21] Note that results are found to be on track using ranges of confidence around the results. The NT and the ACT have the largest confidence ranges. For example, in the ACT in 2017, the results for seven of the eight areas were under the trajectory points, but were still consistent with the trajectories due to their large confidence ranges.

[22] The main data source used to assess progress against this target is the ABS Census, with new 2016 data released in October 2017.

[23] The apparent retention rate estimates the proportion of all Year 7/8 students who progress to Year 12, not just those who complete Year 12.