First Nations scholars call below for equitable access to education to be prioritised as a core social determinant of health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“We call on health and education policymakers, institutional leaders, sector regulators, and practitioners across all levels of learning to move beyond siloed operations and formally embed education as a core structural determinant of health,” they write.
Angela Baeza, Peter Anderson, Thu Pham, Levon Blue and Bronwyn Fredericks write:
Efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must place great attention on recognising and addressing education as a core structural determinant of health.
Education is recognised as a key determinant of health and wellbeing which reshapes life opportunities future outcomes and wellbeing. Educational attainment influences many aspects of an individual’s life including employment opportunities, income levels, housing security, mental health and life expectancy.
Meaningful progress on Closing the Gap initiatives requires a stronger focus on education as a health issue, as health-related conversations are often centred within healthcare environments, with the role of education often being overlooked.
Our previous research on social determinants affecting Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’ university educational outcomes discuss the complex social, political and historical elements that shape Indigenous educational experiences and success.
Research findings indicate that issues like cultural safety, the physical environment, and individual characteristics affect Indigenous people’s academic performance and intersect with issues affecting the social determinants of health.
Racism in education
The Australian Human Rights Commission outlines that in Australian schools, at least 40 percent of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or culturally and linguistically diverse students reported being affected by racial discrimination from their peers.
When Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students face racism, are left out, or face low expectations in school, it affects more than their learning. This is similarly the case in higher education
Racism affects mental health and how Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students feel about themselves. Racial discrimination is a constant stressor in social interactions that damages health via psychobiologic mechanisms.
Underlying causes of physical and emotional ill-health include the history of dispossession of Indigenous peoples, which contributes to the lack of Indigenous peoples’ involvement in the social, political and economic system of the country.
The mental health and wellbeing of Indigenous students has been shown to be a critical influence on their university completion and school completion. Stress, depression, isolation, financial hardship, difficult living circumstances and family responsibilities can disrupt study and lead Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students to consider withdrawing and or seeking an institution the student believes is less racist.
These pressures are interconnected, with financial insecurity and culturally unsafe or unsupportive university environments intensifying psychological distress, which all impact on education outcomes. Indigenous centres in universities, and vocational institutions, along with Indigenous staffing in schools helps to support students towards success.
Education and national priorities
The Closing the Gap report stated in 2025 that: “Higher education and training have substantial benefits for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait peoples, their families and communities.”
It also highlighted a positive association between childhood development and preschool participation, showing that educational engagement can have lifelong impacts on wellbeing.
However, education appears to be missing from health policy discussions for improving the lives of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
While clinical ill-health can often be diagnosed and treated, to be poorly educated is a systemic cruelty. It can act as a long, drawn-out death, a structural hazard whose devastating impact, which can compound over the course of a lifespan.
When Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are educated, the outcomes extend beyond academic achievement. Being educated provides choices, improves agency, and supports Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander leadership within local communities and influences national research priorities and public policy.
Educational success can foster Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community development, support intergenerational aspirations, and contribute to stronger and healthier communities.
The importance of education for and by Indigenous peoples globally has long been recognised and advocated for as outlined in the Coolangatta Statement, and other key documents, and policies.
Call for action
We call on health and education policymakers, institutional leaders, sector regulators, and practitioners across all levels of learning to move beyond siloed operations and formally embed education as a core structural determinant of health.
This demands a system-wide shift from viewing educational access as a peripheral benefit to recognising it as a shared institutional obligation governed and informed by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
The broader sector must co-design cross-boundary governance mechanisms that vest genuine decision-making authority in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities.
This has been called for by numerous advocates and leaders, by government and organisational commissioned reports, and via research.
Across these pathways, mental health and wellbeing must be additionally understood as outcomes shaped by educational conditions, including cultural and racial safety, institutional support and Indigenous authority.
We must dismantle the systemic racism that fractures these pathways and elevate racial safety to a required and enforceable expectation of all organisations.
Evidence from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander university graduates demonstrate how these conditions directly influence whether students remain in and complete their studies.
Responding effectively requires institutions to address the structures negatively impacting Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander student’s ability to complete their studies.
Ultimately, tangible health equity will only be achieved when the right to education across the entire lifespan is operationalised as the foundational architecture for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities to thrive and flourish.
About the authors
Dr Angela Baeza is a Diaguita Woman from the Chilean desert, educator, and a Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures at The University of Queensland.
Professor Peter Anderson is from the Warlpiri and Murinpatha peoples of the Northern Territory and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) at the University of New England
Dr Thu Pham is a researcher, a Project Specialist at the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI).
Associate Professor Levon Blue is a member of Beausoleil First Nation (Canada) and is the HDR Coordinator at The University of Queensland.
Professor Bronwyn Fredericks is an Indigenous woman from south-east Queensland, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) at The University of Queensland, a theme lead with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures, and Chair of Croakey Health Media.
See Croakey’s archive of articles on education as a social determinant of health
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