If Western Australia was a country, it would be the 10th largest in the world by land area. The Goldfields region alone is nearly the size of New South Wales. Distances in the State on an international scale: a trip from Perth to the northern-most settlement of Kalumburu is roughly the same distance as a trip from London to Moscow.

People are few and far between in this enormous space. Distance, isolation and an often-harsh climate create unique challenges for residents and governments. This is especially the case in remote communities, which are some of the most isolated settlements in Australia.

Western Australia has about 95,000 Aboriginal residents, nearly half of whom live in the Kimberley, Pilbara, Goldfields and Mid West. In these regions, the State Government estimates that about
15,000 Aboriginal people reside in either town-based reserves or remote Aboriginal communities, with about 30,000 Aboriginal people living in regional towns.

Despite high and increasing levels of expenditure, progress in closing the gap in Aboriginal disadvantage in Western Australia has been slow. On a wide range of indicators, Aboriginal West Australians are worse off than other West Australians. Outcomes are particularly poor in the State’s regions, and decline further with remoteness. For instance:

• about 20 per cent of Aboriginal adults living remotely were employed in 2011, compared to 43 per cent of Aboriginal adults in regional towns and 65 per cent of all West Australian adults
• only 16 per cent of Aboriginal adults who live remotely have completed Year 12, compared to 24 per cent of Aboriginal adults in regional towns and 53 per cent of all West Australian adults
• 16 per cent of remote Aboriginal residents live in a house of eight or more people, compared
  to 5 per cent of Aboriginal residents in regional towns and 0.4 per cent of all West Australian residents[1]
• Aboriginal residents in very remote Western Australia, relative to both Aboriginal residents elsewhere in the State and overall State averages, are more likely to have diabetes, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease.[2]

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, Census: data for Goldfields, Kimberley and Pilbara

[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012–13, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey