Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Census: Education

	MEDIA RELEASE
23 October 2017		143/2017

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons who had completed Year 12 or its equivalent rose by more than ten per cent from 2006 to 2016, latest Census data shows.

Almost half (47 per cent) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons aged 20 to 24 years reported in the 2016 Census that they had completed Year 12 or its equivalent. This was an increase of 15 per cent between 2006 (when 32 per cent reported they’d completed) and 2016 (when 47 per cent reported they had).

There was further growth across different levels of education attainment. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons in the Census holding Certificate III and IV level qualifications rose from 28,200 in 2006 to 70,900 in 2016, an increase of more than 150 per cent.

Census Program Manager Bindi Kindermann said the latest Census data showed improvements in education outcomes across a range of measures.

“By looking at the data from the 2006 Census to 2016 we can see increases in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons across a range of levels of education,” Ms Kindermann said.

The Census results show that the highest Year 12 completion rates in 2016 were in the Australian Capital Territory (57 per cent) and Queensland (42 per cent) while the Northern Territory had the lowest proportion (22 per cent).

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons aged 15-64 attending university or another tertiary institution more than doubled from 7,000 in 2006 (2.6 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population) to 15,400 in 2016 (3.9 per cent).

Ms Kindermann encouraged all Australians to make the most of the new data source.

“The new Census data released today will prove to be an incredibly valuable resource for Australia moving forward over the next five years and beyond.

“The information gives further insight into how Australians’ are living, working, studying and where they’re coming from,” Ms Kindermann said.

Census data is available free online. Use one of our easy tools such as QuickStats or Community Profiles to access the latest data for your area or topic of interest.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER EDUCATION DATA

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons with non-school qualifications – by Level of Highest Educational Attainment

	2016	2011	Growth (%)
Postgraduate Degree Level	3,708	2,027	82.9%
Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate	3,136	1,799	74.3%
Bachelor Degree	18,072	12,144	48.8%
Advanced Diploma and Diploma Level	23,795	13,432	77.2%
Certificate III & IV Level	70,935	46,250	53.4%

*Applicable only to persons aged 15 years and over


Total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons with non-school qualifications – by Field of Study

	2016	2011	Growth (%)
Society and Culture	27,105	16,262	66.7%
Management and Commerce	26,807	17,640	52.0%
Engineering and Related Technologies	20,751	13,565	53.0%
Health	14,539	9,604	51.4%
Education	11,987	7,897	51.8%
Food, Hospitality and Personal Services	11,573	7,335	57.8%
Architecture and Building	11,071	7,502	47.6%
Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies	5,642	4,208	34.1%
Creative Arts	4,546	3,191	42.5%
Information Technology	1,881	1,323	42.2%
Natural and Physical Sciences	1,415	821	72.4%

*Non-school qualifications can be gained without necessarily completing Year 12. Counts are only applicable to persons aged 15 years and over