Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community wellbeing: identified needs for statistical capacity

The ability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations to inform and influence policy, program decisions and outcomes is heavily reliant on there being appropriate data to inform results and therefore direction. The cost to our nations, and to Australia broadly, of unreliable or inappropriate data in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing means that, at best, we progress little because of uncertainty about the direction in which to proceed. At worst, unreliable or inappropriate data lead to the perpetuation of ineffective policies and programs because our ability to assess their outcomes and effectiveness is limited.