The Girls Academy Program aims to overcome the barriers that prevent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls from completing their education, entering the workforce, reaching their full potential and positively contributing to their communities. 

The evaluation examined the program’s relevance, effectiveness, impact, efficiency, sustainability, barriers and enablers and governance and management to inform the program’s ongoing development and implementation.

The evaluation methodology used mixed methods, including surveys of Girls Academy staff and key school contacts, targeted interviews, conversation circles, focus groups, observations, and a desktop review of program and management documentation.

The evaluation identified that the program was considered culturally appropriate and accessible and responsive to local needs with strong collaboration with Aboriginal Australians. 12 recommendations were made to improve the program. 

Some of the findings included the program:

• was effective in engaging Aboriginal girls in school and has a moderate impact on their attendance in the Northern Territory and Queensland compared to Aboriginal students not engaged in the program
• may have had an impact on improving academic achievement leading to year 12 completion, according to stakeholder perceptions, but no quantitative data was available to support this
• created a positive impact for students through fostering strong relationships between Academy and school staff and relationships with other Academy girls at broader Academy events
• requires substantial expenditure due to two main factors: the staffing model, and travel costs connected with the widely dispersed and sometimes remote sites
• has more challenges for remote Academies in terms of overall resources available to support the Community.