Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Australia (Ratification: 1973)

Articles 1 to 3 of the Convention. National policy for equality of opportunity and treatment. Race, colour, social origin and national extraction. Indigenous peoples. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report that, following the failure of the 2024 referendum on constitutional recognition of the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, there is renewed national awareness of the need to close the gap in indigenous health, education, employment, housing and justice, as well as the information provided on related efforts. The Committee welcomes the Government’s assurance that the referendum outcome does not alter its commitment to reconciliation or its ongoing work to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Concerning indigenous peoples’ access to land and resources, the Government’s report that as of 25 January 2025: (1) approximately 57 per cent of Australia’s landmass is covered by a recognized First Nations legal rights and interests. This includes about 16 per cent of land subject to an interest granted under a state, territory and Commonwealth land rights regimes and 46 per cent of land subject to a native title interest; (2) native title has been recognized over 113,529 square kilometres of Australia’s seas; (3) there are 130 active native title claims, covering 10.4 per cent of Australia’s land mass and 643 determined native title claims. It also notes that the Government refers to an ongoing review of the “future acts” regime of the Native Title Act 1993 (NTA) by the Australian Law Reform Commission, which, among its objectives, includes considering: the 30-year operation of the NTA and options to rectify any inequality, unfairness or weakness in how the future acts regime currently works, as well as ways to make it more efficient; options to support native title groups, project proponents and governments to share the benefits of development on native title land; and the rights and obligations recognized in the international instruments to which Australia is a party or which it has pledged to support. The Committee further notes that, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s submission to the UN Human Rights Committee, significant concerns remain about the incompatibility of the Native Title Act 1993 with Australia’s human rights obligations, including the Act’s evidentiary requirements for proving indigenous peoples’ connection to country. It also notes that the “Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024” recommends, among other things, the establishment of a First Nations Native Title Reform Council (FNNTRC) to drive a comprehensive reform process in relation to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) and all related legislation and policy with a view to creating a system for land justice that is coherent, consistent, just, sustainable and gender-responsive.

As regards the Indigenous Rangers Programme (IRP) and the Indigenous Protected Areas (IPA) Programme, the Government informs that: (1) it is funding over $1.3 billion in Indigenous rangers’ programmes and initiatives through the National Indigenous Australians Agency from 2021 to 2028; and (2) there are a total of 121 IPA projects across Australia. The Committee also notes from the Commonwealth Closing the Gap 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Implementation Plan, that in 2024 12 new IPAs were created and the IRP was expanded, prioritizing new ranger roles for First Nations women, while the implementation plan for 2025 envisaged transitioning the management of eight IPAs to communitycontrolled organizations. The Committee furthermore notes the information provided by the Government about a range of programmes and measures adopted with a view to promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ access to employment and vocational training, including the Indigenous Skills and Employment Programme and the Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL) Programme.

The Committee notes, with regret, the information from the Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap by the Productivity Commission that: (1) despite some pockets of good practice, progress in implementing the Agreement’s Priority Reforms has, for the most part, been weak; (2) disparate actions and ad hoc changes have not led to improvements that are noticeable and meaningful; (3) there has been no systematic approach to determining what strategies need to be implemented to disrupt business-as-usual of governments; and (4) persistent barriers to progressing the Agreement’s Priority Reforms are the lack of power-sharing needed for joint decision-making, and the failure of governments to acknowledge and act on the reality that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know what is best for their communities. The Committee also notes from the 2025 AHRC’s submission to the UN Human Rights Committee that: (1) there remains an unacceptable level of disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; (2) limited progress was made in the past five years to improve the recognition of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; (3) and representation, truth-telling and agreement-making remain critical to addressing the concerns experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

State and territory levels. The Committee notes the range of initiatives that continue to be taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment of indigenous peoples and to address discrimination. In particular, it notes with interest: (1) the adoption of the First Nations Voice Act 2023 in South Australia, which established a representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with advisory functions and ability to make representations to State Parliament about matters that impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in South Australia, including employment; and (2) the signing of the first Australia’s treaty with First Nations in the State of Victoria in November 2025.

The Committee requests the Government to continue pursuing its efforts to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for indigenous peoples in respect of employment, education, vocational training and occupation, including access to land and resources and secure land tenure, and to provide information on the steps taken to assess the impact of the measures adopted, and any adjustments and reforms consequently undertaken, in collaboration with the groups concerned, including information on: (i) progress made in meeting the Closing the Gap targets, in particular concerning employment, education and vocational training, land and resources; (ii) implementation of the recommendations formulated by the Productivity Commission as well as those made by the AHRC in the Native Title Report 2024, including the establishment of a First Nations Native Title Reform Council; and (iii) the results of the review of the “future acts” regime of the Native Title Act 1993.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.