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In 2012–13, 30% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 2–
14 were overweight or obese, compared with 25% of their non-Indigenous
counterparts.54
The likelihood of probable serious mental illness has been found to be
consistently higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
compared to their non-Indigenous peers.55
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4–17 accounted for
19.2% of all child deaths due to suicide between 2007–15. 56
The levels of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in children, especially
those from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, are
concerning.
Numerous studies confirm the negative impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples’ experiences of racial discrimination, including institutional
racism.57 Settings that were identified as places of concern include employment,
education, shops, public spaces and sport, health and justice. 58
Data on hospitalised injury among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
between 2011–12 and 2015–16 show the most commonly reported perpetrator
of assaults on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was a family
member.59
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be significantly
overrepresented in Australia’s child protection systems.60 Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander children are subject to care and protection orders at ten times the
rate of non-Indigenous children.61 The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children who were subject to care and protection orders has steadily
risen from 15,500 in 2014 to 20,500 in 2018.62
School attendance, literacy and numeracy outcomes did not meet the Closing
the Gap targets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children set by the
Australian Government for 2018.63 However, targets to halve the gap in Year 12
attainment or equivalent by 2020 and to have 95% of Indigenous four-year-olds
enrolled in early childhood education by 2025 are on track.64
One in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported speaking an
Australian Indigenous language at home in the 2016 Census.65 While the
National Curriculum for schools includes a framework for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander languages, there is no national approach and the programs
implemented in schools vary greatly across jurisdictions.
Current issues in the area of youth justice include:
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