Thursday marked National Close the Gap day, but the latest data revealed little to celebrate, especially regarding incarceration rates.
Of 19 identified socio-economic outcome areas, only four were on track to meet the government's 2031 Closing the Gap targets and four were worsening, according to data updates released by the Productivity Commission on Wednesday.
Targets including improving child education development rates, life expectancy, infant health and housing, as well as social and emotional wellbeing and family safety, had either stalled or were progressing below expectations.
A key aim of Closing the Gap is to reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent in the next five years.
However, as of June 2025, the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners had increased to just over 2500 people per 100,000 adults, or about 2.5 per cent of the population over 18 years old.
It is an increase from 1925.4 per 100,000 adults - or 1.9 per cent - in the baseline year of 2019.
With 17,432 Indigenous Australians behind bars, the group made up more than 35 per cent of the overall adult prison population as of June 2025, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Youth detention rates are considered unchanged from a baseline of almost a decade ago, with 25.7 per 10,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 10 toâ� 17 years behind bars on an average day.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are being locked up at the highest rate on record," acting chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services Nerita Waight said.
"National progress on reducing the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in detention is unchanging."
The majority of young people held in detention on any given day were on remand, having not been found guilty of any crime, with the ratio sometimes as high as more than 90 per cent, Ms Waight said.
"This is absolutely unacceptable," she said.
Ms Waight stressed levers were available to the federal government, in the form of funding agreements with states and territories, that would drive real policy change and improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
On other measures, child development rates had also fallen, with just 33.9 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commencing school being assessed as developmentally on track.
Close the Gap co-chair Karl Briscoe highlighted the role of Indigenous communities in driving change and the need to translate that into government policy.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities continue to show remarkable leadership," he said.
"Despite facing numerous challenges, these communities demonstrate resilience, innovation and a commitment to building a better future for generations to come.
"Now it's time for governments to back this with action."
Ros Moriarty, executive director of the Indigenous-operated Moriarty Foundation, said getting the early education years right was key to unlocking a future in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children thrived.
In an address to parliament in February, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was "not contemplating failure" and remained determined to address the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
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