Since 2011 the Indigenous Australians with Mental Health Disorder and Cognitive Disability (IAMHDCH) Project, based at the University of New South Wales, has been investigating the life course pathways of […]

This paper is submitted by Mackay and District Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Corporation for Legal Aid Services (the Corporation) to Indigenous Deaths in Custody Summit held in Queensland in […]

This paper examines the processes or practices used by child protection services and specialist domestic violence services or family law services to improve service responses for women and children living […]

The final report on the South East Queensland Drug Court is the second of three reports that will form the basis of the evaluation of the South East Queensland Drug […]

This report details the outcomes of a project to help develop prevention and intervention methods for sexually exploited children and youth, particularly Aboriginal children and youth. The report below was […]

This report outlines the findings of a review of Correctional Services Canada’s progress in meeting its strategic plans and obligations pertaining to the Aboriginal offending population in certain key areas. […]

The project was undertaken to examine the experiences of racism for young people of mainstream, Indigenous, migrant and refugee backgrounds; investigate their responses to racism; and explore the attitudes of […]

This report highlights the need for leadership and improved regional efforts in tackling the rates of suicide in Australia. Qualitative survey data is relied upon extensively throughout. The findings are […]

This article examines the ethical considerations that need to be addressed when conducting research with Indigenous (and other marginalised) communities, including a need to ensure that appropriate cultural protocols are […]

In the previous issue of this journal, the extent to which the official reports of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) addressed the problems of Indigenous women […]

The use of Indigenous sentencing courts and cases of family violence received criticism in ‘The Australian’ for being too lenient in R v Morgan. The criticisms related to the Court […]

In April 1991, the final national report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) was released. This report was the result of a lengthy and detailed investigation […]

In common law countries that have been colonized, the colonized peoples are overrepresented in criminal justice statistics and in rates of incarceration. Sentencing laws and court processes have, for some […]

Since 1999, a number of Indigenous sentencing courts have been established in Australia that use Indigenous community representatives to talk to a defendant about their offending and to assist a […]

This final report, completed in January 2013, provides a high-level strategic review of the implementation of the Petrol Sniffing Strategy (PSS) since its inception in 2005 and provides guidance on […]

This report presents the results of a review of the Port Lincoln Aboriginal Adult Conference Pilot conducted during 2007/2008. The pilot aimed to involve members of the community and victims […]

Correctional authorities in Canada have sought to ‘aboriginalise’ prisons by incorporating aboriginal cultural aspects into formal correctional programming. The article analyses the contradictions evident in current methods of risk-based management […]

This paper describes the work of the Top End Women’s Legal Service (TEWLS), a community legal centre, fully funded by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, providing legal advice and representation to […]

The Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT) program is a New South Wales court-based scheme targeting adult defendants appearing before a participating Local Court who have a demonstrable illicit drug […]

The Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT) program is a New South Wales court-based scheme targeting adult defendants appearing before a participating Local Court who have a demonstrable illicit drug […]

This report, undertaken by the Crime and Misconduct Commission, describes the key findings of the Offending Persons Across the Lifecourse (OPAL) project which examines the risks and needs of Queensland’s […]

The Koori Court Division of the Magistrates’ Court in Victoria has been in operation since 2002, and in many ways reflects an innovative and progressive approach to the problems Aboriginal […]

Current high levels of morbidity and mortality, and high rates of incarceration among Australian Aboriginal populations are related historically to the attempted separation of Aboriginal people from family and community. […]

Despite the prevalence of Indigenous men’s support groups little is known about their strategies and outcomes. These support groups aim to empower men to take greater control and responsibility of […]

There are notable differences in the Local Court data on crime rates between different Aboriginal communities in NSW. Despite this, there is a lack of qualitative research on the factors […]

This study examines young women, with sixty percent being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, who are within the New South Wales Children’s Court criminal files and have been […]

For a number of years, there have been many efforts by Indigenous women to establish effective and appropriate responses to family violence and to child sexual assault. The criminal justice […]

This paper concerns the need to find new solutions to enduring problems experienced by Aboriginal victims and communities and the place of restorative justice. Using a literature review of recent […]

This paper provides background information about the best ways of increasing the number of high quality foster and kinship carers in the Northern Territory (NT) by considering: what characteristics of […]

The aim of this review is to inform a community education and social marketing strategy to improve the safety and wellbeing of children in the Northern Territory (NT). Examining national […]

Deaths in custody, particularly Indigenous deaths, have been the subject of widespread public debate and concern for more than a decade since the undertaking of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal […]

This is a useful introductory resource highlighting the need for a government policy response to Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). FASD may be more prevalent in indigenous communities due to […]

This opinion piece, delivered as the University of Newcastle’s 2007 Human Rights and Social Justice Lecture, has called the Australian Government to task over its treatment of Aboriginal children. In […]

There has been a great deal of recent discussion about violence in Indigenous communities. It is stated that violence is widespread within Indigenous communities, and is disproportionately high in comparison […]

Family violence mars the lives of a very large number of Indigenous Australians, helping to effectively disable many communities and deny future generations a basic chance for health, happiness and […]

This research is concerned with the phenomenon of Indigenous homelessness in Australia. The project aimed to examine the definitions and constructs of ‘Indigenous homelessness’ found in the literature and to […]

The Melbourne Metropolitan Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee (RAJAC) wants to see fewer Koories coming into contact with the justice system and to improve communication and treatment when they do […]

Indigenous people experience a disproportionately high burden of interpersonal violence. This paper compares the demographic characteristics and injury circumstances of male and female Indigenous Australians hospitalised due to interpersonal violence […]

A major national review in 2006 noted that volatile substance use (VSU) is an issue in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Australia. The review found that ‘chroming’ (inhaling spray […]

This report is the fourth in a series of national statistical reports on young people aged 12-24 years, produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It provides the […]

The reliance of the Canadian criminal justice system on adversarial procedures and incarceration is not very effective or productive when dealing with Aboriginal crime. Restorative justice is often presented as […]

Problematic alcohol consumption is a major contributor to the poor health status, social problems and shorter life expectancy of Australian Indigenous people. While Indigenous people are less likely to drink […]

The National Drug Strategy – Australia’s Integrated Framework 2004-2009 was set up to improve health, and social and economic outcomes by reducing use of harmful drugs. It is an umbrella […]

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia. In November 2004, the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy agreed to the development of a National Cannabis Strategy to consider […]

This paper provides detailed information to support the key strategy areas identified in the ‘National Alcohol Strategy 2001 to 2003-04’, and provides a resource document for those interested in developing […]

Alcohol plays an important role in the Australian economy. It generates substantial employment, retail activity, export income and tax revenue. It also has an important social role and is a […]

Assesses whether the philosophy of the Young Offenders Act is being adhered to in respect to the nature of offences being diverted and the use of the hierarchical approach to […]

The study is to compare police-referred youth justice conferences (P-YJCs), court referred youth justice conferences (C-YJCs) and Children’s Court (CC) matters on the time to finalisation (i.e., the number of […]

Indigenous sentencing courts have been established in most Australian jurisdictions to reduce high rates of reoffending among Indigenous offenders and to provide a more culturally appropriate criminal justice process that […]

The Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs commissioned the Australian Institute of Criminology to review policing and non-policing data on the involvement of alcohol in crime and to identify options available for […]

This review of the impact of Western Australia’s three strikes mandatory sentencing laws for repeat home burglars finds that the laws are fundamentally flawed. Based on an analysis of cases […]

The ‘Study of reported rapes in Victoria 200-2003: summary research report’ released by the Victorian Government is the first extensive analysis of police investigations into rape offences in Victoria in […]

This report relates to the incidence of child sexual abuse on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, its nature, extent and consequences on the health and well-being of individuals and the […]

Public police agencies face challenges in getting voluntary cooperation from youth and find it particularly difficult to engage youth in collaborative crime control efforts. Understanding factors that shape young people?s […]

Prepared for the New South Wales Minister for Juvenile Justice as a strategic review of the juvenile justice system, this report identifies and describes effective practice in juvenile justice. Changes […]

Prepared for the New South Wales Minister for Juvenile Justice as part of a broader review of the juvenile justice system, this report identifies and describes effective practice in juvenile […]