HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Education is considered to be a key factor in improving a person's health and wellbeing. Higher levels of educational attainment may lead to better health-related knowledge and enable people to access and use available health services. Better education may also improve a person's employment prospects, which may, in turn, result in higher income and increased capacity to purchase health services. On the other hand, chronic ill-health and disability can reduce a person's chances of obtaining a good education and income.

RESULTS FROM 2012–13

Highest educational attainment data are a point in time measurement, and as such, include students who will ultimately attain qualifications beyond that which they had achieved in 2012–13. For this reason, analyses focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 years and over, as they are unlikely to have still been attending secondary school in 2012–13. Data for people who have completed Year 12 or have attained a Certificate III or above are combined to provide a broad measure of educational attainment that is generally associated with skilled employment.

In 2012–13, just under half (46%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 years and over had completed Year 12 or a Certificate III or above. Combined data for Year 12 and Certificate III or above show higher overall attainment rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women (47%) than men (44%). While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were more likely than men to have attained a Bachelor Degree or above (8% compared with 4%) or an Advanced Diploma or Diploma (8% compared with 6%), men were more likely than women to have attained a Certificate III or IV (24% compared with 20%).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were more likely than men to have completed Year 11 or 12, while men were more likely than women to have completed Year 10 or gained a qualification below Year 10 (which includes Certificates I and II). However, the differences between the overall rates for men and women were not statistically significant.

In 2012–13, attainment rates for Year 12 or Certificate III or above were around 50% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the 20–24, 25–34 and 35–44 year age groups. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 45–54 years (43%) or 55 years and over (29%) were less likely than their younger counterparts to have completed Year 12 or a Certificate III or above.

In the 45–54 year age group, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men were less likely than women to have completed Year 12 or a Certificate III or above, while for all other age groups, the differences between the rates for men and women were not statistically significant.



Significantly higher proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT and Victoria had completed Year 12 or a Certificate III or above (71% and 57%, respectively), while rates in the NT (31%) and WA (39%), were lower than the national average (46%).



A relatively small proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 years and over reported a Bachelor Degree or above (6%) or an Advanced Diploma or Diploma (7%) as their highest educational attainment in 2012–13. Significantly higher proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT and Victoria had attained a Bachelor Degree or above (24% and 10%, respectively). In contrast, the comparable rates in the NT (3%), Queensland (4%) and Western Australia (4%) were significantly lower than the national average. In the NT (3%) and Western Australia (4%), the proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who had attained an Advanced Diploma or Diploma were lower than the national average, while in all other jurisdictions, rates were similar to the national average.

Almost one-quarter (22%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 years and over reported a Certificate III or IV as their highest educational attainment in 2012–13. In Victoria (30%) and South Australia (28%), the proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who reported a Certificate III or IV as their highest educational attainment were significantly higher than the national average, while in the NT (12%), ACT (17%) and WA (18%), rates were significantly lower than the national average.

In 2012–13, one in nine (11%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 years and over reported Year 12 or equivalent as their highest educational attainment. Significantly higher proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT and Queensland reported Year 12 as their highest educational attainment (20% and 14%, respectively). In all other jurisdictions, apart from South Australia (8%), rates did not differ significantly from the national average.

HOW DO THESE RATES COMPARE WITH THE RATES FOR NON-INDIGENOUS PEOPLE?

After adjusting for differences in the age structure of the two populations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 20 years and over were significantly less likely than non-Indigenous people to have completed Year 12 or a Certificate III or above (rate ratio of 0.6). Conversely, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who reported educational attainment below Year 10 (including Certificates I and II) was almost three times as high as the comparable rate for non-Indigenous people (rate ratio of 2.7).