Education
A person’s educational qualifications can influence their health status and health outcomes. Higher levels of education can lead to:
- greater health literacy (a person’s ability to find, understand, and apply health information), which can have a direct impact on a person’s health
- better prospects for employment and income, which can help people access good quality housing, healthy food, and health care services.
Health also influences education. Poor health through life, and health conditions such as vision and hearing impairment (especially in childhood) can disrupt a person’s schooling and affect their ability to learn (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet 2020).
The importance of education is also reflected in 4 Closing the Gap targets:
- Target 4: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all 5 domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55 per cent
- Target 5: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (age 20–24) attaining Year 12 or equivalent qualification to 96 per cent
- Target 6: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged 25–34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) to 70 per cent
- Target 7: By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth (15–24 years) who are in employment, education or training to 67 per cent.
See Targets 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the Closing the Gap Information Repository.
Over the decade from 2012 to 2021:
- The proportion of First Nations school students in Year 5 who were at or above the national minimum standards increased for numeracy (13%) and spelling (9.9%).
- The proportion of First Nations students achieving the national minimum standards increased for Year 7 in spelling (5.7%) and for Year 3 in reading (11%).
- The proportion of First Nations students staying in school from the first year of secondary school (Year 7 in most states and territories, and Year 8 in South Australia) to Year 12 increased by 7.9 percentage points to 59%.
Between 2011 and 2021, rates of highest education or training level completed have also improved significantly. The proportion of First Nations young adults aged 20–24:
- who had completed Year 12 qualification or equivalent, or attained a non-school qualification at Certificate III level or above, increased from 52% to 68%.
- who had completed a non-school qualification at Certificate III or above, and/or were currently studying for a non-school qualification at any level, increased from 35% to 48%. This was mainly due to increased attainment of certificate III or advanced diploma qualifications (Figure 5.3).
Figure 5.3: Attainment of post-school qualifications among Australians aged 20–64, as proportion of population, by Indigenous status, 2011 to 2021
Source: Measure 2.06, Table D2.06.13. AIHW analysis of ABS Census of Population and Housing 2021 (ABS 2022c).
Educational attainment among First Nations people was highest in Major cities. In 2021, the proportion of First Nations people aged 20–24:
- with a Year 12 or a non-school qualification (Certificate III level or above) was 76% (23,400 people) in Major cities, compared with 42% (2,500) in Very remote areas
- with a Certificate III to Advanced diploma was 37% (60,800 people) in Major cities, compared with 16% (6,100) in Very remote areas
- with a Bachelor Degree or above was 14% (22,800) in Major cities, compared with 2.2% (830) in Very remote areas.
Educational achievement for all students tends to decrease with increases in remoteness of usual residence, the disparity being more pronounced among First Nations students compared to non-Indigenous students.
For further information, see: