Closing the Gap report reinforces urgent need for First Nations-led education reform

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation (NATSIEC) has welcomed the latest Closing the Gap report as a clear reminder that while progress is possible, governments must move beyond piecemeal reform and invest in First Nations-led solutions across every stage of education. 

The Productivity Commission’s 2026 Annual Data Compilation Report shows that, of the 19 Closing the Gap targets, one has now been met and only three are on track. While the preschool enrolment target has been achieved nationally, the proportion of First Nations children assessed as developmentally on track when beginning school has declined. The rates of children in out-of-home care and adults in incarceration are increasing, while there has been no progress towards reducing the over-representation of young people in the justice system. 

NATSIEC Chief Executive Officer, Shas Jurud (Bardi Kija), said the preschool milestone belongs first to First Nations families and the people working directly with children in communities. 

“Meeting the preschool enrolment target is significant, and it deserves to be celebrated,” Jurud said. 

“The credit belongs first to our families, who continue to seek the best opportunities for their children, and to the First Nations early childhood educators, Aboriginal education workers, community-controlled organisations, community preschools, and local services that have built trust and kept children connected to learning. 

“First Nations practitioners are doing this work across community-controlled and mainstream services, often while carrying colonial load and cultural obligations that governments still fail to properly recognise, remunerate, or resource.” 

NATSIEC’s member organisations and Indigenous Education Consultative Bodies have worked with communities and education systems in their jurisdictions for decades, including across early childhood education and children’s transitions into school. 

Jurud said their jurisdictional knowledge is critical to understanding what sits behind the national figures. 

“A national enrolment figure cannot tell us whether children are attending consistently, whether their learning environment is culturally safe, whether their language and identity are being strengthened, or whether they are properly supported when they move into school,” Jurud said. 

“We have met a target concerned with children getting through the preschool door while falling backwards on whether they are thriving when they begin school. This tells us that improving access is only the beginning and must be matched by sustained, culturally safe support across the early years and into school.” 

In 2024, only 33.9 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commencing school were assessed as developmentally on track across all five Australian Early Development Census domains. 

The Productivity Commission found that high participation in early childhood education has not translated into equitable developmental outcomes and identified the need for holistic, culturally responsive, and community-led supports. 

Jurud said this reflects what communities have consistently shared through consultations for the First Nations Education Policy. 

“Communities have told us about persistent racism and cultural unsafety, culture and language being treated as add-ons, and decisions being made without genuine First Nations authority,” Jurud said. 

“These are not peripheral issues. They shape whether children feel safe, whether they belong, whether families trust education institutions, and whether children are able to learn and thrive.” 

NATSIEC is calling on governments to: 

• properly recognise, remunerate, and grow the First Nations early childhood and education workforce 

• deliver on their commitment to stand up Indigenous Education Consultative Bodies and fund these community-controlled education organisations to lead reform within every jurisdiction 

• embed culture, language, Country, anti-racism, and community authority throughout education policy and practice 

• establish transparent accountability for children’s experiences and outcomes, beyond enrolment numbers 

• ensure continuity of culturally safe support from early childhood through school, training, and higher education. 

“A strong start must be followed by an education system that is ready to receive our children, recognise their strengths, and support them throughout their learning journey,” Jurud said. 

“The First Nations Education Policy provides governments with the opportunity to build that system. Communities have told us what must change. Governments now need to listen, share power, and act.” 

ENDS 

Media contact: 
Bronte Charles 
Communications and Engagement Officer 
NATSIEC
0448 385 984
bronte.charles@natsiec.edu.au