Higher Education Review Process

Achieving Equitable and Appropriate Outcomes: Indigenous Australians in Higher Education

executive summary

Indigenous Australians experience profound disadvantage in many elements of their lives. Health is poorer, life expectancy lower and incarceration and unemployment rates higher than for other Australians. Too many find themselves dependent on welfare support, with reduced self-esteem and feelings of hopelessness. 

It is unacceptable for Australian society to tolerate such conditions. Such inequities confront Australian values of a fair go and equal opportunity. The Government is committed to a practical reconciliation which will, through strategic programme interventions across the whole-of-government, progressively overcome barriers to full Indigenous participation in Australian society and remove the disadvantages that Indigenous people face. Education is a key factor in this.

However, in considering the participation of Indigenous Australians in higher education, it is important to acknowledge that mainstream educational provision in Australia does not naturally support traditional Indigenous approaches to learning. For most non-Indigenous Australians, entry into primary school, progression through secondary school and perhaps through tertiary education or training before workforce entry is quite the norm. This has not been the case for many Indigenous Australians and any policy development or policy evaluation needs to take this into account.

Improved participation of Indigenous Australians in higher education is highly dependent on improvements in participation in education from early childhood through to secondary education and vocational education and training.

In addition to mainstream educational programmes, the Commonwealth Government supports increased access to higher education for Indigenous people through a number of targeted initiatives, including the:

• Indigenous Support Funding programme (ISF) with $23.7 million in 2002;

• Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ATAS) with $8.7 million through institutions in 2001;

• introduction of ‘enabling’ courses for university;

• Away-from-base (AFB) funding via the Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Programme (IESIP) with $8.1 million in 2001;

• Indigenous Research Development (IRD) grants, with $225 000 in 2002 and Research Cadetships—Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (RC-ATSI) offered via the Australian Research Council;

• establishment of six Indigenous Higher Education Centres with $11.8 million between 1996 and 2001;

• support for the development of the Indigenous On-Line Network with $1.75 million in 1996;

• Aboriginal Study Assistance Scheme (ABSTUDY) including the Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) with $81.6 million in 2000–2001; and

• National Indigenous Cadetships for Indigenous undergraduates offered via the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) with $2.83 million in 2001–2002.

Together these initiatives have had a positive effect. There has been significant improvement in educational outcomes for Indigenous Australians over the past decade. The number of Indigenous students commencing higher education doubled between 1989 and 2001. In the five years from 1996 to 2001 the number of Indigenous students in undergraduate education has risen by 15.8 per cent (from 4 919 to 5 697) and in postgraduate education by 12.2 per cent (from 638 to 716). The most recent statistics indicate that the number of Indigenous students participating in publicly funded vocational education and training has also increased by 82.1 per cent (from 31 880 in 1996 to 58 046 in 2001).

Overall this represents a welcome achievement. Indigenous Australians, who comprise 1.9 per cent of the Australian population, now represent 1.5 per cent of commencing university students and 3.3 per cent of all students in vocational education and training. The number of Indigenous academics employed within higher education has risen by 83.1 per cent over the last five years, although they remain under-represented comprising only 0.7 per cent of all staff.

However, these achievements are no reason for complacency. Educational outcomes are of profound importance to the future of Indigenous Australians. The good news is that Indigenous students who graduate experience employment rates comparable with those for all graduates. The bad news is that the rising numbers of Indigenous Australians who gain access to higher education experience lower progress and completion rates than their non-Indigenous peers. Improving access of Indigenous students to higher education is important but providing support at university to increase retention rates is even more vital.

There are many barriers that need to be overcome in order to achieve equitable outcomes for Indigenous Australians in higher education. These include educational disadvantage at school, geographical isolation, socio-economic disadvantage, poor health, language and cultural factors. Government intervention and support will play a crucial role in helping Indigenous people help themselves to overcome these challenges.

The paper discusses a wide range of initiatives that may further improve the outcomes of Indigenous people in higher education including:

• further engaging Indigenous educators in the development of initiatives to combat disadvantage;

• incorporating Indigenous knowledge and practice into mainstream education;

• increasing support for campus-based Indigenous units;

• improving Indigenous students’ awareness of financial support available to them;

• enhancing the Indigenous Support Funding programme;

• ensuring enabling courses are appropriately funded to achieve desired outcomes;

• improving access and providing additional support to talented Indigenous students through scholarships, mentoring programmes and international exchange programmes;

• increasing collaborative arrangements between institutions, governments, communities, business and professional organisations 

  • to encourage Indigenous participation in professional-based courses and 

  • to improve access to private sector employment opportunities;

• reviewing course structures, course content and attendance options; and

• creating more opportunities for Indigenous researchers.

Higher education is crucial to ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can access improved employment opportunities and avoid welfare dependence. Of equal significance is the role universities can play in the development of Indigenous community leaders. The Government welcomes views on how the achievement of these important objectives can be further improved. 

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This page was last updated on Monday, 04 August 2008

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