The Commission acknowledges the Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and live, and recognises their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
National Close the Gap Day (NCTGD) is held each year on the third Thursday in March. This year, NCTGD falls on 19 March. Once again, it invites us to reflect carefully on the importance of closing the gap through responses that lead to tangible outcomes in the lives of Western Australians whose experiences are shaped by inequality more than those of other Western Australians.
NCTGD highlights the need to close the gaps in life expectancy, health and education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and advocates for structural reform and Indigenous-led solutions. The fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are more likely to experience poorer outcomes in these areas than other Australians is a matter of grave concern to the Equal Opportunity Commission. This concern is heightened by the relevance these disparities may have to how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience the protections and provisions of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) (the Act).
The Commonwealth Closing the Gap 2025 Annual Report and 2026 Implementation Plan (the Report) was released on 12 February 2026. It reports that only four of the 19 targets are progressing according to plan. This demonstrates that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to face barriers to both equal access and equal outcomes in areas that are fundamental to living a life with dignity. The substance of the Report makes clear that, too often, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are denied the opportunity to aspire to a future in which all Australians can access the same opportunities, let alone achieve lasting outcomes.
While the Act provides protections for individuals who experience race discrimination in areas such as employment, education, accommodation, and the provision of goods and services, the Report highlights that many gaps in opportunity and outcomes arise from systemic, rather than individual, discrimination.
The existence of systemic inequality is why the Act operates alongside the the Policy Framework for Substantive Equality (the Policy Framework). Substantive equality seeks to address systemic discrimination, which occurs when everyone is treated the same despite having different circumstances, resulting in unequal outcomes for individuals and groups.
NCTGD 2026 invites all Australians to consider how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience systemic inequality disproportionately compared with other Australians. It also invites Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to reflect on the Government’s commitment, expressed in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (27 July 2020), to place genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities at the centre of its approach. This commitment underpins efforts to build a future in which all Australians have access to the same opportunities.
This principle, which sits at the heart of the National Agreement and each annual Closing the Gap report, was affirmed by the Coalition of Peaks and governments when they agreed that the National Agreement would be “built around what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been saying is needed to improve our lives”.
May NCTGD 2026 be a time for all of us to reflect on how this principle should shape our responses to systemic discrimination within our own spheres of influence.
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