About Closing the Gap
Closing the Gap acknowledges the ongoing strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in sustaining the world’s oldest living cultures.
All Australian governments are working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their communities, organisations and businesses to implement the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (National Agreement).
The National Agreement has been developed in genuine partnership between Australian governments and the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations (CAPO).
The Agreement includes key reform areas to change the way the government works with Aboriginal peoples as well as targeted outcomes including for land and waters.
About Closing the Gap in NSW
Delivery of Closing the Gap in NSW is guided and supported by:
- implementation planning
- a Change and Transformation Strategy
- Partnership Agreement with the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations, the NSW Government and Local Government New South Wales.
Closing the Gap is a key priority of the department's Strategic Plan with the intention to work in genuine partnership with the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations under the Closing the Gap framework, to deliver outcomes for Aboriginal communities.
Defining a new NSW Closing the Gap Inland Waters Target
One of the outcomes sought by the Closing the Gap Agreement is that:
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people maintain a distinctive cultural, spiritual, physical and economic relationship with their land and waters."
A tri-partnership between the department, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) on behalf of the NSW CAPO, and the Native Title Service Provider for Aboriginal Traditional Owners in NSW and ACT (NTSCORP) - is identifying ways to improve Aboriginal peoples’ rights, value, access to and ownership of water.
This includes establishing a new Closing the Gap Inland Waters Target for NSW.
Development of the target and actions to achieve it will be informed by community engagement.