The audit report, Education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2016-17 examines whether Queensland is ‘closing the gap’ in education and employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in accordance with the 2007 government reform program Closing the Gap. The audit found the greatest reduction in the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous state school students occurred in Year 12 attainment rates. However, the audit found state schools are struggling to sustain the individual case management approach that currently supports higher attainment rates. Disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are still leaving school before the end of Year 12, with state schools three to four times more likely to cancel the enrolment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students due to non-engagement with the curriculum. Upon completing Year 12, a third of Indigenous students also reported they were not working or studying, a rate that has remained stable over the past four years. The gap in overall employment rates between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people continues to increase, which the report asserts requires greater collaboration to support the transition from education to employment. Read the report here.
