29 April, 2025

EDUCATION – Collaboration with Aboriginal Communities to maintain educational engagement and attainment

Thank you, Madam/Mister Chairperson,

We pay our respects to Elders and Ancestors, past and present, and thank the Indigenous experts and participants here today.

I speak on behalf of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, the peak body for Aboriginal land rights in our state.

Education is a basic human right. Yet in Australia, Aboriginal students continue to face entrenched barriers to equitable education. This reality stands in direct violation of Article 14 of UNDRIP and undermines Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

To address this, governments must stop sidelining Aboriginal voices and instead invest in Indigenous-led solutions.

We call on all Member States—and Australia in particular—to:

1st. Embed Aboriginal leadership in all levels of education policy and program design.
2nd. Expand culturally responsive programs and remove systemic barriers that limit Aboriginal student participation.
3rd. Commit to long-term, secure funding for Indigenous-led education initiatives—not short-term pilot projects.

The Australian Government has failed to deliver on international commitments. Aboriginal youth remain overrepresented in school suspensions and are underrepresented in school completion. The system continues to marginalise, rather than empower, our young people.

A positive example of collaboration is by NSW Coalition of Peak Aboriginal Organisations in Australia (NSW CAPO), which includes NSWALC, alongside the NSW Department of Education. Aboriginal staff are employed as cultural navigators—ensuring schools work with, not against, our communities. The results are clear: improved attendance, higher retention, and stronger cultural safety in schools. But isolated programs are not enough. This must become the standard, not the exception.

The Australian Government must move beyond tokenistic consultations and provide real, sustained investment in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations driving this work.

Further, Australian curricula must reflect Indigenous knowledge systems and histories to ensure all students are learning in environments that respect Aboriginal identities and cultures.

Education is a key to closing the gap—but only if Aboriginal peoples lead the solutions.

We urge the Australian Government to act now, in genuine partnership with Aboriginal organisations, to deliver the systemic change our children deserve.

Always Was, Always Will Be.