The National Agreement on Closing the Gap (National Agreement) is approaching four years of implementation. All Parties to the National Agreement are continuing to embed transformative ways of working together in formal partnership to improve the lives of First Nations people.

This is the second Commonwealth Annual Report under the National Agreement and the third Commonwealth Implementation Plan. For the first time, the Commonwealth is releasing the Annual Report and Implementation Plan together as a single report. The Annual Report assesses the delivery of the 2023 Commonwealth Implementation Plan, whilst the 2024 Implementation Plan is forward looking. It outlines the Commonwealth’s strategic priorities for Closing the Gap over the next year.

The report summarises key areas of progress made in the Commonwealth’s contribution against the socio-economic targets during 2023. It also shows the sustained uplift in effort to address the Closing the Gap Priority Reforms in the development of policies and programs addressing gaps in life outcomes experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It demonstrates effort across a broad range of mainstream agencies, truly embedding First Nations issues across the government agenda.

New policy and place-based partnerships will be identified and progressed in partnership with the Coalition of Peaks. The effectiveness of partnerships will be tested through a critical value assessment of the jurisdictional partnership stocktakes and development of a Policy Partnerships Evaluation Methodology.