In July 2020, the Prime Minister, Minister for Indigenous Australians, and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks Pat Turner announced
the signing of the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The new National Agreement on Closing the Gap is a commitment between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to achieve better life opportunities and physical, mental, cultural and spiritual wellbeing for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
It contains four priority reforms to change the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and 17 socio-economic outcome targets in areas such as education, employment, health and wellbeing, justice, safety, housing, land and waters, languages and digital inclusion.
NSW has also developed a fifth priority reform on employment, business growth and economic prosperity.
For the first time, all governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations share responsibility for achieving targets. Frequent and independent reporting will help to track progress and ensure accountability for delivering on our commitments.
Read the National Agreement, July 2020
The NSW Government is working in partnership with the NSW Coalition of Peak Organisations (NSW CAPO) and other Aboriginal organisations, including the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Regional Alliances (NCARA), to develop NSW’s approach to delivering against the commitments in the National Agreement.
Community engagements led by NSW CAPO have been key to informing NSW’s approach.
Our 2022-24 Implementation Plan identifies focus areas and work underway towards achieving the priority reform areas, while acknowledging there is a lot more to do. The NSW Government and NSW CAPO will be partnering with communities to design new policies and programs that will make a difference. We want to hear from you on what will make a difference in your community.
The NSW Government has also committed $716 million over four years as part of the 2022-23 Budget for programs, policies and initiatives to improve outcomes for Aboriginal people in New South Wales and help meaningfully shift the dial on Closing the Gap targets and other Aboriginal outcomes.