Nearly two decades after Australia first committed to “closing the gap” between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians, the results are frustrating - at best.
Of the 19 targets set out in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, only four are on track. After years of policy commitments, funding announcements and national reporting cycles, we still see little sign of meaningful and sustained progress.
For many Indigenous leaders and researchers, the data reinforces a growing consensus: The current approach is not delivering the transformative change it promised.
National Close the Gap Day, marked this week across Australia, has become a moment not just for reflection but for reassessment. Communities, organisations and policymakers are increasingly questioning whether the framework and the way success is measured needs to change.
From deficit to strength-based approaches
This year’s theme, “Community Voices: The Pathway to Justice, Equality and Healing,” reflects that shift in thinking.
The theme emphasises the importance of listening to Indigenous communities and placing their leadership at the centre of policy design and delivery.
For many advocates, the challenge lies in how the ‘problem’ has been framed.
Much of the national conversation around Closing the Gap has been shaped by deficit thinking, a long-debunked model, which measures Indigenous lives against Western benchmarks and implies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must “catch up” to non-Indigenous standards of success.
This approach overlooks the strengths and resilience of cultures that have existed on the continent for more than 65,000 years. It overlooks the structural barriers that continue to influence outcomes, including the lasting impacts of colonisation, displacement and policies historically developed without meaningful Indigenous participation.
“Closing the gap” has become a familiar phrase in Australian public life, but Indigenous scholars argue it risks reinforcing the very narratives it seeks to address.
When success is defined primarily through economic indicators or service delivery metrics, key aspects of Indigenous wellbeing are overlooked, including connection to Country, cultural continuity, community strength and self-determination.
Indigenous leadership the key to better outcomes
Increasingly, Indigenous leaders are calling for a broader understanding of progress, one that recognises these foundations as essential to long-term health, education and economic outcomes.
Indigenous leadership is essential if we are to move forward.
Evidence from across the community-controlled sector shows that programs designed and led by Indigenous organisations tend to deliver stronger outcomes because they are grounded in cultural knowledge, cultural authority and community priorities.
Conversely, initiatives developed without genuine partnership continue to struggle to meet objectives.
The National Agreement on Closing the Gap, signed in 2020, sought to address this by committing governments to shared decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. While the agreement marked a significant shift in policy intent, many observers say implementation has been uneven.
Universities supporting Indigenous-led change
As the national conversation continues to evolve, universities play a critical role in supporting Indigenous-led change.
Institutions have influence and impact not only through research but also through education, workforce development and partnerships with communities.
At Monash University, we are proud of the many initiatives that demonstrate such positive impacts.
One example is the work led by Aboriginal Community Engagement Lead David Byrne through Monash Rural Health.
Byrne’s programs focus on strengthening relationships between health services and Indigenous communities across the lands of the Latji Latji and Ngintait peoples.
By prioritising trust, cultural understanding and community partnership, the programs are improving community health engagement while also supporting pathways for Indigenous participation in the health workforce.
Another initiative addressing workforce development is the Gukwonderuk Indigenous Health Workforces Centre, led by Professor Karen Adams.
The centre was established to help address a longstanding challenge in Australia’s health system: the need for more culturally engaged and community-connected health professionals working with Indigenous communities.
Through education, research and engagement with communities, Gukwonderuk seeks to build a workforce capable of responding to the health and wellbeing priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Guided by Indigenous knowledge systems and community partnerships, its work is ensuring programs reflect the needs and aspirations of those they are designed to support.
Universities are also reshaping how Indigenous perspectives are embedded in teaching.
At Monash, the Faculty of Arts unit Global Encounters: Indigenous Knowledges, Entrepreneurship and Cultural Exchange provides students with an opportunity to engage directly with Indigenous worldviews and community-led models of innovation.
The program encourages students to consider how Indigenous knowledge systems intersect with entrepreneurship, cultural exchange and community development, while also building the capability of non-Indigenous graduates to work respectfully with Indigenous communities.
These initiatives reflect a broader commitment by the university to recognise and celebrate Indigenous peoples, cultures and knowledges across research, education and engagement.
Through its strategic plan, Impact 2030, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Framework 2019–2030, Monash has outlined a long-term approach to strengthening Indigenous leadership and participation within the institution.
For us, National Close the Gap Day is an opportunity to elevate the voices of Indigenous leaders working at the forefront of these conversations.
When communities lead, outcomes follow
This year, Monash hosted a keynote address from Sheree Lowe, Executive Director of Social and Emotional Wellbeing at the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO).
A Djab Wurrung and Gunditjmara woman, Lowe has spent more than two decades advocating for improved health and wellbeing outcomes in Victoria’s Aboriginal community. Her work focuses on cultural safety, organisational transformation and the structural reforms needed to support Indigenous health.
“We must recognise that when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are in the driver's seat, when they’re making the decisions about their own lives, we get better outcomes,” she said.
“We see this in the work of the community-controlled sector every single day. We see it in the work of our ACCHOs (Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations), our family led services, and our housing providers.
“These organisations are led by the community, for the community, and they are delivering results that mainstream services simply cannot match."
“The national agreement provides us with a clear roadmap for change. It provides us with a set of targets and outcomes that we are all accountable for achieving. And it provides us with a mechanism for monitoring and reporting on our progress.”
“But as I said at the start, the agreement itself is not the end point. The end point is when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country are living lives that are healthy, that are safe, and that are full of opportunity.”
“We have a long way to go to achieve that goal. We know that the gaps are still far too wide. We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still face significant barriers to accessing the services and the opportunities that many of us take for granted.”
“But I am also incredibly hopeful. I am hopeful because I see the incredible work that is happening in communities every single day. I see the strength, the resilience, and the leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. And I see a growing commitment from governments and from the broader Australian community to work together to close the gap."
Sheree reminds us of the growing consensus across the sector: Sustainable change will only be seen when Indigenous communities have genuine ownership over the policies and programs that shape their lives.
That means embedding Indigenous governance in decision-making, investing in Indigenous-led organisations and ensuring partnerships are built on long-term trust rather than short-term policy cycles.
National Close the Gap Day, then, demands more than a passing acknowledgement.
The statistics paint a stark picture. That progress depends not just on measuring inequality, but on empowering communities to define and lead the solutions.
If justice, equality and healing are our goals, the path forward must see Indigenous voices centred in this important conversation.
