Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney will present the findings of the 2022 Closing the Gap report to parliament on Wednesday.

It will be the first report since the national agreement on Closing the Gap took effect and shows many of the targets are not on track.

In 2020, an agreement between the federal government, the Coalition of Peaks, all state and territory governments and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) was struck and aimed to renew ways of working together to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

The groups agreed to improving 18 socio-economic outcomes across health, education, employment, housing, justice, safety, land and waters, culture, language and connectivity.

But two years later only four of the targets are currently on track, while four are getting worse and others have insufficient data to assess their progress.

Worsening targets include the number of children who are school-ready, adult incarcerations, children in out-of-home care and deaths by suicide.

Targets currently on track are the number of babies born at a healthy weight and children enrolled in pre-school.

Ms Burney said the latest annual report told a story of mixed progress, and that is was disappointing to see a lack of progress in a number of areas.

“The Closing the Gap architecture can only work when all parties are invested and there is a coordinated effort from all jurisdictions in partnership with First Nations peoples,” she said.

“We have to work more closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make real and much needed progress.”

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, assistant minister for Indigenous Australians and Indigenous Health, said slow progress on the targets was “understandably frustrating” to so many First Nations communities and organisations.

“Any single person taking their life is a tragedy, but the rates of suicide in First Nations communities are alarming and a serious indication of the amount of work that needs to be done to support people and their wellbeing,” she said.

“Giving children the best start in life is critical if we want to see more First Nations people achieve their full potential and live longer, healthier and happier lives.”

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