Closing the Gap Report results disappointing as benchmarks continue to fall short

1 December 2022

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is disappointed in the results of the 2022 Closing the Gap Report, which indicates several key targets for Indigenous wellbeing are not on track.

We are pleased to see the improvements in healthy birthweight and rates of preschool enrolment. These are critical determinants of health. They show the value of Indigenous leadership and proper resourcing.

We are also pleased that the Federal Government is working in partnership with the Coalition of Peaks to make progress on closing the gap. We acknowledge that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to experience poorer health outcomes compared with non-Indigenous Australians as a result of the ongoing experience of discrimination. Without self-determination, it is not possible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to fully overcome the legacy of colonisation and dispossession and its ongoing impacts on health.

The RACP says a key policy initiative that could be implemented quickly to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians would be to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years old, in line with the latest medical and criminal justice evidence.

RACP President and paediatrician Dr Jacqueline Small said: “Physicians acknowledge that there are areas in which key metrics have improved, however, there are heartbreakingly poor outcomes for children that must be addressed urgently to decrease incarceration rates and suicide rates.

“Recently, the Northern Territory introduced legislation to raise the age from 10 to 12, but according to medical advice and evidence, it is not enough.

We have repeatedly called on all Attorneys General to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years. There is substantial evidence showing the detrimental and long term effects youth incarceration has on physical and psychological health and wellbeing.

“More must be done to ensure children are not incarcerated for behaviours that are a direct consequence of their young age, their disability or their earlier trauma and provide these children with the care, support and treatment that they need and that preserves their dignity and human rights.” Dedicated investment is needed for wrap-around support and treatment programs.

“It is time for us to look at the evidence and make decisions that have long-term positive effects.

“The report shows us that the status quo is simply not enough to improve the outcomes of Indigenous Australians.

The RACP and other medical colleges penned an open letter calling for Attorneys General to raise the age of criminal responsibility to fourteen – no exceptions, no carve-outs.

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