Socio-economic outcome area 6

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students reach their full potential through further education pathways

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Target 6

By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III and above) to 70 per cent.

Dashboard snapshot: The data below are the most recent at the time of preparing the July 2023 report. Please go to the dashboard to access the current data.

Nationally in 2021, 47.0 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–34 years had completed non-school qualifications of Certificate III or above (figure CtG6.1).

This is an increase from 42.3 per cent in 2016 (the baseline year).

Nationally, based on progress from the baseline, the target shows improvement but is not on track to be met. However, this assessment should be used with caution as it is based on a limited number of data points. Please see the How to interpret the data page for more information.

Figure CtG6.1 shows the completion of non-school qualifications of Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate level III or above, 25-34 years old. More details can be found within the text near this image.

The assessment below reflects progress from the baseline (improvement, worsening or no change). For the national assessment, the target outcome shows improvement but is not on track to be met.

NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT Aust
Assessment of progress 2016 to 2021ImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovementImprovement but target not on track to be met

right arrow improvement rectangle no change left arrow worsening not applicable as required data not available. tick good improvement and target on track to be met. circle improvement but target not on track to be met.

Note: These assessments of progress should be used with caution as they are based on a limited number of data points.

Disaggregations

By sex

Nationally in 2021, a higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females aged 25–34 years had obtained a non-school qualification at Certificate III or above (50.6 per cent) compared to males (43.3 per cent) (figure CtG6.2). The proportions increased by around 8 percentage points for females and 2 percentage points for males since the 2016 baseline year.

Figure CtG6.2 shows the completion of non-school qualifications of Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate level III or above, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 25-34 years old, Australia, by sex, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG6.2 (%)
Sex20162021
Males41.643.3
Females43.050.6

By remoteness area

Nationally in 2021, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–34 years who have obtained a non-school qualification at Certificate III or above was highest in major cities (56.6 per cent) (figure CtG6.3). The proportions declined as remoteness increased, down to 17.4 per cent for people living in very remote areas. The proportions have increased in all remoteness areas since the 2016 baseline year, other than for people living in very remote areas (where the proportion declined from 17.5 per cent in 2016 to 17.4 per cent in 2021).

Figure CtG6.3 shows the completion of non-school qualifications of Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate level III or above, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 25-34 years old, Australia, by remoteness area, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG6.3 (%)
Remoteness20162021
Major cities52.556.6
Inner regional45.649.1
Outer regional38.642.0
Remote27.629.1
Very remote17.517.4

By Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintile

Nationally in 2021, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–34 years who have obtained a non-school qualification at Certificate III or above was highest in the least disadvantaged socioeconomic areas of Australia (69.4 per cent) (figure CtG6.4). The proportions declined in more disadvantaged areas, down to 34.4 per cent for people living in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic areas of Australia. The proportions have increased in all socioeconomic areas since the 2016 baseline year.

Figure CtG6.4 shows the completion of non-school qualifications of Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate level III or above, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 25-34 years old, Australia, by Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage quintile, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG6.4 (%)
Description620162021
Most disadvantaged29.434.4
Second most disadvantaged46.651.9
Middle 20 per cent52.859.0
Second least disadvantaged59.664.3
Least disadvantaged65.369.4

By disability status

Nationally in 2021, a lower proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–34 years with a need for assistance with core activities had obtained a non-school qualification at Certificate III or above (28.5 per cent) compared to persons who do not have a need for assistance (49.8 per cent) (figure CtG6.5). The proportions increased by around 6 percentage points for both groups since the 2016 baseline year.

Figure CtG6.5 shows the completion of non-school qualifications of Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate level III or above, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 25-34 years old, Australia, by disability status, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG6.5 (%)
Description620162021
Has need for assistance with core activities22.728.5
Does not have need for assistance with core activities43.449.8
Need for assistance with core activities not stated32.69.6

By highest qualification achieved

Nationally in 2021, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–34 years who had completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate III or above) was mainly driven by people who had completed a Certificate III or IV qualification (29.5 per cent, an increase of around 2 percentage points since the 2016 baseline); compared to 7.4 per cent of people who had completed an Advanced Diploma and Diploma (an increase of around 1 percentage point since the 2016 baseline); and 7.8 per cent of people who had completed Bachelor degree (an increase of around 1 percentage point since the 2016 baseline). A little over one per cent had completed a Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate and 1.3 per cent had completed a Postgraduate degree (figure CtG6.6).

Figure CtG6.6 shows the completion of non-school qualifications of Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate level III or above, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 25-34 years old, Australia, by level of highest educational attainment, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.
Data in figure CtG6.6 (%)
Description620162021
Postgraduate Degree level0.91.3
Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate0.81.1
Bachelor Degree level6.57.8
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level6.97.4
Certificate III and IV level27.229.5

Target data specifications

Target 6: Increase the proportion of people who have completed a tertiary qualification

Outcome:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students reach their full potential through further education pathways.

Target:

By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate level III and above) to 70 per cent.

Indicator:

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 years old who have completed qualifications at Certificate level III or above.

Measure:

The measure is defined as:

Numerator — number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25-34 years old who have completed non-school qualifications at Certificate level III or above based on the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Denominator — total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the population aged 25-34 years old.

and is presented as a percentage.

Target established:

National Agreement on Closing the Gap July 2020

Latest dashboard update:

15 June 2023

Indicator type:

Target

Interpretation of change:

A high or increasing proportion is desirable. An increase from the previous year or the baseline year is an improvement.

Data source:

Name: ABS Census of Population and Housing

Frequency: Five-yearly

Documentation (links): www.abs.gov.au/census

Data provider:

Provider name: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Provider area: Census

Baseline year:

2016

Latest reporting period

2021

Target year:

2031

Disaggregations:

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by sex

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by remoteness areas

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintile

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by disability status

State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by highest qualification achieved.

Computation:

Numerator divided by Denominator multiplied by 100

Counting rules

Data are for all Australian residents enumerated in the Census that reported having a usual residence in Australia.

Geographical variables are based on a person's place of usual residence (on Census night).

Includes (numerator)

  • people who have attained Certificate Level III or IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma, Bachelor Degree, Graduate Diploma/Certificate or a Postgraduate Degree.

Includes (numerator and denominator)

  • Australian totals include all states and territories (including Other Territories).

Excludes (both numerator and denominator)

  • people whose non-school qualifications were recorded as ‘not stated’ or ‘inadequately described’
  • overseas visitors
  • people for whom Indigenous status was not stated. (Data on the number of people whose Indigenous status was not stated is provided for context).

Disaggregations:

Sex refers to a person’s biological characteristics. The 2021 Census allowed all respondents to select from three response options for the sex question: male, female and non-binary sex. Where a respondent has provided a male or female response and a non-binary sex response, the male or female response was used to determine a binary sex variable. Otherwise, sex was derived by a statistical process using random allocation.).

Remoteness area is classified according to the ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) using SA1 as the building block. For people with incomplete/invalid or missing address information, the ABS imputes the place of usual residence (The non-response rate at the SA1 level was 4.4 per cent in 2021.) Remoteness area disaggregations exclude ‘Migratory – Offshore – Shipping’ and ‘No usual address’. Please see the How to interpret the data page for more information.

Socioeconomic status of the locality is classified according to the ABS Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA): Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD), using SA1 as the building block. For people with incomplete/invalid or missing address information, the ABS will impute the place of usual residence. Data are reported by IRSD quintile that are determined at the Australian level and exclude persons with unknown or unavailable SEIFA score. Some individual geographic areas were excluded from SEIFA for various reasons, such as low population or high non-response to certain Census questions. Please see the How to interpret the data page for more information.

Disability is classified according to core activity need for assistance. Data are only available for people with a profound or severe core activity limitation. Disability data sourced from the Census are based on four questions to identify need for assistance and may not be fully comparable with data from other sources. See www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4431.0.55.002 for more information. (Data for people whose ‘need for assistance with core activities’ was not stated is provided for context.)

Highest qualification achieved describes the level of a person’s highest completed non-school qualification and is categorised according to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

Extraction

Census Table Builder (Basic) – Employment, Income and Education: INGP X AGEP X HEAP (QALLP X HSCP prior to 2016) X Main ASGS (UR)

[Disaggregations: X SEX, X REMOTE (UR), X IRSD, X ASSNP, X HEAP]

Data quality considerations:

All data values have been randomly adjusted using perturbation to avoid the release of confidential data. Proportions/rates calculated for small populations should be used with caution.

Supporting indicators

Driver

Contextual information

  • Field of Education for higher education and VET
  • Higher education students’ views on outcomes, behaviours and satisfaction
  • Destinations and satisfaction of higher education graduates
  • VET graduate outcomes and satisfaction levels
  • Progress towards parity

Material for download

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