QAIHC calls for urgent action and partnership as independent review finds Closing the Gap still off track
A new independent review into the National Agreement on Closing the Gap has confirmed what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been saying for years: despite bold promises, governments are failing to deliver the transformational change required to close the gap.
“Closing the Gap isn’t just about policy, it’s about improving the health outcomes of our people,” said Paula Arnol, Chief Executive of the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC).
“Without real change on the ground, the unacceptable gap in health outcomes will continue.”
The findings of the Independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap reinforce what previous reviews, including the Productivity Commission’s, have already shown: the Priority Reforms under the Agreement are not being delivered in full, and progress remains slow and inconsistent across Australia.
The review found “limited evidence” that governments were making systemic changes to meet their commitments.
It also identified a lack of understanding about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of working and noted that opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to shape systems, policies, and programs remained limited.
The priority reforms need to be implemented as a ‘coherent, interdependent framework’, not as standalone initiatives, as each reform reinforces the others.
“We are not seeing the change on the ground that was promised,” Ms Arnol said.
“Until we see genuine action in the priority reform areas, the way governments engage with our communities will not improve and the gap will not close,” she said.
She reiterated that the four Priority Reforms are essential to real progress:
“Too many government bodies are still paying lip service to these commitments, without changing how they operate,” Ms Arnol said.
“There is an urgent need to shift from a narrow focus on reporting frameworks and bureaucratic processes to practical reform that communities can see and feel.”
In this context, QAIHC, working in partnership with Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP), is calling for a reset in Queensland’s approach to Closing the Gap.
“There is a real opportunity for Queensland to show leadership by working in genuine partnership with our organisations,” Ms Arnol said.
“Both QAIHC and QATSICPP are ready to work with government to refresh the way Closing the Gap is implemented in Queensland.
“We need to move beyond consultation and into shared decision-making, especially in areas like governance reform, investment priorities, and community control.”
This proposed reset includes co-designing new mechanisms that embed shared authority and decision-making, as well as ensuring investment in regional and remote communities is linked to sustainable, community-led models of care and service delivery.
Ms Arnol also reinforced the critical role of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health sector in delivering practical outcomes:
“Governments must work in genuine partnership with the ACCHO sector,” she said.
“We understand our communities, we are trusted by our people, and we deliver comprehensive, culturally safe, high-quality care every day.
“This means giving the sector real decision-making power and resourcing us properly to do the job.
“We cannot keep being expected to do more with less.
“It’s time to stop talking about transformational change — and start delivering it.”
The Independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap was commissioned by the Coalition of Peaks.
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