Overview of Australian Government Indigenous Education Programmes

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP) is Australia’s national policy on Indigenous education. The policy contains 21 national goals for which there is support from all Australian governments. Its primary objective is to bring about equity in education for Indigenous Australians. The Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 provides for the appropriation of funding for the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Programme (IESIP), which is administered on a quadrennial basis. The Act also provides for the continuation over the 2001-2004 Quadrennium of IESIP Away-From-Base (formerly ABSTUDY) for eligible education institutions conducting approved courses through ‘mixed-mode’ delivery.

The MCEETYA Taskforce on Indigenous and Targeted Initiatives is to report to each meeting of the Council on approaches to enhancing outcomes for young Indigenous people and other student groups including educationally disadvantaged young people assisted by targeted initiatives that will ensure the achievement of the agreed National Goals for Schooling. Specifically, the Taskforce will provide detailed advice on:

The achievement of educational equality and equitable outcomes for Australia's Indigenous people
The development of a framework in collaboration with other MINCOs to advance reconciliation
Collaborative strategies to improve education, training, employment services including links between these areas for young people in rural and remote Australia to ensure equitable opportunities and outcomes
Approaches and opportunities designed to improve the performance of students underachieving in schools, with particular emphasis on Indigenous students, students with disabilities, students from rural and remote areas, students developing proficiency in the English language and students from low socio economic backgrounds

In March 2000, a National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (NIELNS) was launched. The Strategy’s objective is to ensure that Indigenous students reach levels of literacy and numeracy comparable to other Australians. NIELNS is a blueprint to lift school attendance rates, address health problems that undermine learning, attract and retain good teachers and use the most effective teaching methods to obtain successful results for Indigenous students.

Through the implementation of the national goals agreed to by all the Australian Government, State and Territory Education Ministers regarding literacy and schooling, the Strategy will aim to ensure that all children leaving primary school are numerate and are able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. The key aim is to ensure that every child commencing school will achieve a minimum acceptable literacy and numeracy standard within four years of commencing schooling.

The Strategy’s objectives will be achieved by:

lifting school attendance rates of Indigenous students to national levels;
effectively addressing hearing, health and nutrition problems that undermine learning for a large proportion of Indigenous students;
providing preschool opportunities wherever possible;
training sufficient numbers of teachers to be effective in Indigenous communities and schools and encouraging them to remain for reasonable periods of time;
using teaching methods that are known to be the most effective; and
establishing transparent measures of success as a basis for accountability for schools and teachers.

NIELNS objectives will be achieved through Implementation Plans established in each State and Territory. Indigenous Education Agreements (IEAs) will identify the specific sets of initiatives to be supported and the agencies involved. The contractual arrangements also identify the additional Australian Government funding to be provided.

National Goals for Indigenous Education

The Australian Government, along with all State and Territory governments, endorses and promotes the 21 common and agreed National Goals of the AEP. In the context of those Goals, the Australian Government aims to improve the quality of education in Australia leading to improvement in the learning outcomes of Indigenous students. To this end the Australian Government addresses nationally significant issues and problems through policy development, research and analysis. It also supports emerging and ongoing national initiatives in relation to the teaching profession and professional development, curriculum, assessment and student welfare.

Return the Top of the Page

<<Back to the Indigenous Education Index>>>