National Agreement on Closing the Gap

The Closing the Gap framework is an Australian government strategy that aims to reduce disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The objective of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement) is to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to overcome the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.

The over-representation of Aboriginal Australians in the Criminal Justice System is a matter of long-standing and justified public concern. Latest figures indicate that the Aboriginal imprisonment rate in NSW is nearly 10 times the non-Aboriginal imprisonment rate (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020). The National Agreement has 17 national socio-economic targets across areas that have an impact on life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Three of the targets relate to crime and justice.

• Target 10: Adults are not over-represented in the criminal justice system
• Target 11: Young people are not over-represented in the criminal justice system
• Target 13: Aboriginal female and young victims of violence

Statistics representing the progress towards each of these targets can be explored in the sections below with interactive dashboards:

Aboriginal over-representation