Close The Gap is a campaign that aims to bring people together to encourage real, meaningful action to achieve health equality for Indigenous Australians by 2030.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders don't benefit in the same way that non-Indigenous Australians do.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience:
- significantly lower life expectancy
- much higher rates of suicide, with suicide being one of the leading causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged between five to 17 years and among those aged between 15 to 34 years.
Psychological distress remains high among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with limited mental health support services in rural and regional areas and a lack of culturally relevant early intervention programs both contributing to higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide.
Beyond Blue calls on all Australians to make a commitment to improving health standards for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.