This report outlines the key factors associated with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap targets on education, employment and housing. The report draws on the findings from a larger project which looked at the factors associated with 14 of the 17 socio-economic outcomes in the National Agreement and strategies for their improvement. 

This report focuses on five targets traditionally considered to be social determinants of health, including: housing; youth engagement in employment, education or training; year 12 completion; participation in tertiary education; and employment. It identifies common themes and strategies for improvement. 

Key findings

• The findings show the importance of the association of individual/household-level socioeconomic indicators with each of the target measures.
• Household income and related financial status indicators are ranked among the most important factors for housing, engagement in employment, education or training, year 12 attainment and tertiary education.
• The characteristics of the areas where people live matters.
• Remoteness was identified as an important factor for the housing, year 12 attainment, and tertiary education targets, and strategies to improve these outcomes will need to address the considerable challenges faced by people living in the more remote communities.
• Area-level socioeconomic status was also an important factor for engagement in employment, education or training, year 12 attainment and tertiary education.