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Perceptions of change in the standard of living for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

6 Jul 2021

Q. In your opinion, over the past 10 years, have things got better or worse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, or have things stayed much the same?

  Jul’21 Jan’21 Jun’19
A lot better 18% 18% 18%
A little better 30% 30% 28%
Stayed much the same 33% 32% 36%
A little worse 6% 7% 5%
A lot worse 3% 3% 3%
Don’t know 11% 11% 10%
TOTAL: Better 48% 48% 46%
TOTAL: Worse 9% 10% 8%
Base (n) 1,099 1,084 1,097
  • Nearly half (48%) believe things have got better for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the last 10 years, unchanged since January this year (48%).
  • About a third (33%) state that in their opinion, conditions have stayed much the same for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over the past 10 years, while 9% believe things have got worse. Both figures are consistent with perceptions from the start of the year.
  Total Labor Coalition Greens NET: Other
A lot better 18% 13% 27% 13% 22%
A little better 30% 28% 36% 28% 24%
Stayed much the same 33% 40% 24% 39% 34%
A little worse 6% 7% 4% 9% 7%
A lot worse 3% 3% 2% 3% 7%
Don’t know 11% 9% 8% 7% 7%
TOTAL: Better 48% 41% 62% 41% 46%
TOTAL: Worse 9% 10% 6% 12% 13%
Base (n) 1,099 404 388 87 114
  •  Coalition voters are the most likely to think things have got better for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the last decade (62% compared to 41% Labor voters, 41% Greens voters and 46% minor/independent party voters).
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