Individual Report: Australian Social Policies and Their Development

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Australian social policies, with a specific focus on the development and implementation of education policies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The paper explores the historical context of educational disparities, the evolution of government initiatives, and the impact of funding models on educational outcomes. It critically examines the challenges faced by indigenous communities, including the lack of early education opportunities and the importance of improving literacy and numeracy skills. The report also investigates the role of government funding, policy reforms, and the involvement of various stakeholders in addressing educational gaps and promoting social development. The paper references several scholarly articles, highlighting the complexities and achievements of the social policies. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of continued efforts to ensure equitable educational opportunities for all Australians and contribute to the growth and development of the country.

Running head: AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL POLICIES
Australian Social Policies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Abstract
The purpose of the following report is to analyze one of the social policies of Australia. The
social policy that has been chosen in this paper is the education policies for the growth and
development of the aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people. The new things that have been
involved to improve the system have been analyzed. The funding systems for the implementation
of the policies have been highlighted as well. The purpose of the Government and the ways to
improve the system has been discussed in a certain ways indeed.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
The aboriginal education policy......................................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
The purpose of the following paper is to discuss and critically analyze the Australian
social policies. The Federal Government of Australia has planned several things for the different
spheres of life to develop the lifestyle and living standards of all the people. The social policy
that will be chosen in this paper is the aboriginal education policy for the indigenous people of
Australia or Torres-Strait islanders (Kinnane et al., 2014). It is indeed a very important social
policy since the Torres Strait islanders have been deprived of several facilities in the previous
year’s especially in health and education. The education policy is indeed a very important social
policy for the aboriginal children.
The aboriginal education policy
According to the Bodkin-Andrews and Carlson (2016), the education facilities have not
been proper in the earlier years. The aboriginal people had been deprived of their education
facilities as there were no schools where the children of the indigenous people could go. This is
why it had been very much important to think about the gaps that had been created in the
education of the aboriginal people. Earlier, the indigenous children did not have much
opportunity to participate in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). On the contrary
Singh (2012) has said that it is quite important to achieve the better results in educating the
children of the indigenous communities. The Federal Government of Australia is working with
the several states and national territories to improve the condition of the education system. They
are on the way to implement some policy and programs that will be helpful for the best outcomes
(Singh, 2012). The children of the indigenous communities should get the opportunities to study
in the several mainstream schools as well. They will focus on improving the reading, writing and

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numeracy skills of the children in the best manner. The school attendance of the indigenous
children should improve as well (Singh, 2012).
In the words of Dudgeon et al. (2014), the primary education and secondary education
would be given the utmost importance and the Federal Government would like to provide all
sorts of facilities to the aboriginal and Torres-Strait islander people. According to some of the
senior officials of the education department of the Australian Government, it is extremely
necessary to make every student participate in the early childhood education. The education
department should also set up some awareness campaigns among the aboriginal parents
(Holland, 2014). The teachers will focus on making the children learn about the numeracy skills
in their skills. This would surely strengthen their skills and lead them to learn the new things.
Singh (2012) has said that the aboriginal parents should also be convinced that they would send
their children to school at least till the end of their secondary education. If they complete their
secondary education successfully it would surely cater for their development and growth in their
professional career (Leggett & Ford, 2013).
According Leggett and Ford (2013), some improvements have been seen among the
aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people regarding the growth of their educational careers
(Price, 2015). The levels of Year 12 attainment has been improved to a new level in these years.
This can be seen as a successful achievement for the teachers indeed (Holland, 2014). However
the experts have suggested that the gaps have been there in the other educational outcomes as
well. On the other hand, Leggett and Ford (2013) have said that some gaps have been identified
as the main target for the educational development of the Torres Strait islanders (Leggett & Ford,
2013). They will look forward to discuss on the Closing the Gap agenda and a special committee

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will have to be constituted concerning the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)
(Education.gov.au, 2018).
In the words of Nakata et al. (2012), they have suggested to find out the basic strengths
and weaknesses regarding these educational policies. The importance of the needs-based funding
has been very important in this section as well (Behrendt et al., 2012). The school funding
reform policies will be much vital in this scenario as well. Leggett and Ford (2013) have pointed
out that the opportunities for the funding will be very much important in the overall success of
this social policy (Leggett & Ford, 2013). Some amendments will have to be done in this context
to make improvements. Some steps will be taken in this scenario as follows:-
 The Australian Federal Government will increase its recurrent funding for the schooling
programs from the amount of $17.5 billion in the year 2017 to $30.6 billion in the year
2027 (Education.gov.au, 2018).
 The Government will look to make investments of around $247.2 billion for the recurrent
funding of the schools (Leggett & Ford, 2013)
 The Australian Government should go on to rise in the coming years. The funding rates
provided through the loading had been around $962.6 million between the years 2014 and
2017. However these rates will rise from 2018 to 2021 and the gross amount will be
around $1.4 billion. This rise of funding can be estimated around 48.5%
(Education.gov.au, 2018).
 The additional funding will be very significant for the benefits from the Aboriginals or
the Torres Strait islander students (Behrendt et al., 2012).

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According to Vas (2012), the means for the development of this social policy of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children the Australian Government will make the
significant changes as well. The social development will be delivered. Apart from the growth in
the education, the Australian Government will provide the job opportunities for the aboriginal
children in the public sector. A certain percentage of jobs should be reserved for the Aboriginal
people where these people live in great many numbers. This will cater to the increase of the
country’s GDP as well.
Conclusion
As per the above discussion, it can be stated that the education for the aboriginal and
Torres Strait islanders has been a very important social policy for the Australian Government.
The Federal Government will surely look to increase the chances that all the children from the
aboriginal communities will go on to learn so many new things and contribute to the overall
growth of the country from all the perspectives.

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References
Behrendt, L. Y., Larkin, S., Griew, R., & Kelly, P. (2012). Review of higher education access
and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Bodkin-Andrews, G., & Carlson, B. (2016). The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian
identity within education. Race Ethnicity and Education, 19(4), 784-807.
Dudgeon, W., Wright, M., Paradies, Y., Garvey, D., & Walker, I. (2014). Aboriginal social,
cultural and historical contexts. In Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (pp. 3-24). Commonwealth
Department of Health.
Education.gov.au (2018). Indigenous Education | Department of Education and Training.
[online] Education.gov.au. Available at: https://www.education.gov.au/indigenous-
schooling [Accessed 27 Oct. 2018].
Holland, C. (2014). Close the Gap: progress and priorities report 2014.
Kinnane, S., Wilks, J., Wilson, K., Hughes, T., & Thomas, S. (2014). “Can’t be what you can’t
see”: the transition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to higher education.
Leggett, N., & Ford, M. (2013). A fine balance: Understanding the roles educators and children
play as intentional teachers and intentional learners within the'Early Years Learning
Framework'. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(4), 42.
Nakata, M., Nakata, V., Keech, S., & Bolt, R. (2012). Decolonial goals and pedagogies for
Indigenous studies. Decolonization: Indigeneity, education & society, 1(1).

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Price, K. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the
teaching profession. Cambridge University Press.
Singh, D. (2012). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. International Journal of
Critical Indigenous Studies, 5(2), 50-52.
Vass, G. (2012). ‘So, what is wrong with Indigenous education?’Perspective, position and power
beyond a deficit discourse. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 41(2), 85-
96.