Essential Report
Perceptions of change in the standard of living for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
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?
Jan’21 | Jun’19 | |
A lot better | 18% | 18% |
A little better | 30% | 28% |
Stayed much the same | 32% | 36% |
A little worse | 7% | 5% |
A lot worse | 3% | 3% |
Don’t know | 11% | 10% |
TOTAL: Better | 48% | 46% |
TOTAL: Worse | 10% | 8% |
Base (n) | 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 June 2019 (46%).
- About a third (32%) state that in their opinion, conditions have stayed much the same for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over the past 10 years, while 10% believe things have got worse. Both figures were also at a similar level in June 2019.
Total | Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | |
A lot better | 18% | 15% | 23% | 9% | 20% |
A little better | 30% | 32% | 33% | 22% | 27% |
Stayed much the same | 32% | 34% | 31% | 45% | 26% |
A little worse | 7% | 8% | 3% | 14% | 10% |
A lot worse | 3% | 3% | 2% | 7% | 7% |
Don’t know | 11% | 8% | 8% | 4% | 9% |
TOTAL: Better | 48% | 47% | 57% | 30% | 47% |
TOTAL: Worse | 10% | 11% | 4% | 21% | 17% |
Base (n) | 1,084 | 334 | 431 | 118 | 106 |
- Coalition voters are the most likely to think things have got better for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the last decade (57% compared to 47% Labor voters, 30% Greens voters and 47% other voters).

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