This paper explores the complex and never-ending dialectic between equality and difference in Australian Indigenous affairs. It begins with examples from debates over the inclusion of Aboriginal people in the […]

Figures for 1999 New South Wales Local Court appearances show that Aboriginal defendants are more likely to be refused bail or have heavier conditions placed upon bail where it is […]

Justice reinvestment is an emerging approach to addressing expanding prison populations. The merits of the justice reinvestment approach adopted in the United States and the United Kingdom to divert funding […]

This is a Pilot Project Report on research to provide a greater understanding of the civil and family law needs of Aboriginal people in New South Wales to improve access […]

The issue of appropriate legal and social supports is critical to the question of Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. This article discusses this relationship, arguing that the overwhelming […]

This report contains an alphabetical listing and description of past (published since 1991), current and planned data linkage studies relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The publication provides […]

The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2000-2004 was an Australian Government initiative funded by the Department of Family and Community Services to help build family and community capacity to deal […]

This report details the findings of an inquiry by the Select Committee on Youth Suicides in the Northern Territory into the high rate of youth suicide in the Northern Territory […]

Despite acknowledgement of the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families in statutory child protection services across Australia and understanding of the impact or broader social and […]

On 26 November 2012, the Senate referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee the matter of the value of a justice reinvestment approach to criminal justice in Australia […]

The Committee received evidence relating to children and young people in juvenile justice centres. This chapter of the Committee’s report covers the legislative framework for young offenders throughout Australia; numbers […]

In September 2006 the Northern Territory Government announced a plan under the NT Alcohol Framework to address ongoing alcohol issues in Alice Springs, resulting in the development of the Alice […]

This report explores the experiences and aspirations of youth in Wadeye, a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory which has become synonymous with the deviant behaviours of its young […]

This report examines the link between sentencing in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria and the over-representation of Koori people in Victoria’s prisons. The focus of this examination is a comparison […]

This presentation outlines the functions of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service and what they consider a responsive criminal justice system for Indigenous offenders should contain. These are […]

The Principal Lawyer from the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service reflects on the Queensland Government’s proposed laws to allow repeat juvenile offenders’ names to be published. The […]

This report is useful for those researching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people with disabilities in prison. Part 1 contains information on the over imprisonment of ATSI peoples, over […]

Our justice system is not meeting the needs of Aboriginal people. We have a system of imposed justice, where Aboriginal people feel little sense of ownership or engagement. Decisions are […]

The Central Australian Youth Link Up Service (CAYLUS) provides a service linking young people aged 5-25 years to diversionary activities and drug and alcohol treatment programs; and links remote communities […]

Over a six-month period beginning July 2000, the author researched eight different Bush Courts in remote communities throughout the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and evaluated the level of legal […]

Aboriginal Legal Service defence lawyers face uniquely challenging conditions when the Magistrates Court intermittently circuits remote Aboriginal communities and isolated towns in Northern Australia. Based on the findings of research […]

Based on field research conducted throughout remote Aboriginal communities, this article evaluates the Bush Court system operating throughout the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The article examines features that differentiate […]

Various studies indicate that people with intellectual disability are highly represented in the criminal justice system and this appears particularly clear in the juvenile justice system. Offenders with intellectual disability […]

This study by a team of Indigenous and non- Indigenous researchers aimed to explore, through Citizens Juries, the opinions and views of a critically informed public towards offenders, incarceration and […]

As a result of the adopted model of the Family Home Visiting, in which nurses conduct home visits with Indigenous Cultural Consultants for Aboriginal clients in South Australia, all families […]

Conferencing and cautioning are used as diversionary alternatives in the juvenile justice system and there is evidence to suggest they reduce reoffending. As Indigenous young people are overrepresented in the […]

This study was motivated by a concern that Indigenous juvenile offenders were not receiving the benefits of diversionary schemes. Its aim was to assess how much of a difference in […]

Fifteen years ago the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody drew attention to the fact that the rate of imprisonment of Indigenous Australians was 13 times higher than the […]

A number of theories have been put forward to explain the high level of violence amongst Australia’s Indigenous population. Up until 2002, lack of suitable data on the risk factors […]

The possibility of racial bias in the criminal justice system is a recurring concern in Australia, as it is in other countries with high rates of minority over-representation in prison. […]

This report documents the findings of an evaluation of the Trial Dry Area in Adelaide, which was introduced in a highly politicised context involving polarised opinions. The evaluation finds, among […]

This article draws together some of the major themes which emerged from an exploratory study of the issues facing Indigenous people who have a cognitive disability and come into contact […]

This strategy is a practical plan to combat the physical and psychological harm, as well as the broader community problems, arising from the abuse and misuse of drugs. The culmination […]

This report documents the activities and findings of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act. The main findings of this report relate to public consultations which […]

The Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland (the Taskforce) was established on 10 September 2014 to define the domestic and family violence landscape in Queensland, and make […]

The Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland (the Taskforce) was established in 2014 to define the domestic and family violence landscape in Queensland, and make recommendations to […]

As part of the inquiry conducted by the Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland which was established in 2014, focus groups were undertaken to better understand community […]

The speaker, who is the Chief Justice of New South Wales, recalls that he was associated with Charles Perkins on the 1965 Freedom Ride, which first made the issue of […]

This article presents the findings of recent research involving stakeholders in the Children’s Court of Western Australia (CCWA). This research found that the needs of Aboriginal children and their families […]

This report presents the findings of an external evaluation of the Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring Project, which is a mentoring service for young Indigenous people who experience multiple problems that […]

The National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework was developed by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) as a national approach to address serious and complex issues that exist for Indigenous […]

The resource profiles examples of projects and programs which are addressing the goals of the National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework 2009-2015. Prepared by the Standing Council on Law and […]

This document presents the Victorian Government’s response to the Implementation Review of the Recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The response summarises steps that the Government […]

This project broadly aimed to examine how the introduction and development of a communitarian approach to restorative justice practices in the Roebourne area could be achieved. The research also aimed […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This is the third Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report, prepared at the request of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). It provides indicators of Indigenous disadvantage, with a focus on areas […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

Each edition of ‘Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage’ is shaped and informed by feedback received, and updated as new evidence and data emerges. This consultation report provides a summary of suggestions and […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

In 2002, Australian governments committed themselves collectively to overcoming the disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians. As part of this commitment governments agreed to a regular public report on progress. The […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

This annual report collates Indigenous data from the Report on Government Services. The Report examines the performance of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments in the provision of education, health, […]

The Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report is the most comprehensive report on Indigenous wellbeing produced in Australia. It contains accessible data for an extensive range of wellbeing measures as well as […]

In 2002, Australian governments committed themselves collectively to overcoming the disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians. As part of this commitment governments agreed to a regular public report on progress. This […]

This is the sixth report in the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage (OID) series, which can trace its origins to the final report of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in 2000. The […]

In 2002, Australian governments committed themselves collectively to overcoming the disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians. As part of this commitment governments agreed to a regular public report on progress. The […]

This study, commissioned via a grants process, investigates factors that correlate with gambling-related problems among the Indigenous population. The report conducts a literature review on gambling and Indigenous people, examines […]

This is the final report of a project funded by the Criminology Research Council. The original title of the project, in the names of Dr Anna Stewart and Dr Susan […]

Diversion from the youth justice system is a critical goal for addressing the over-representation of Indigenous young people in the criminal justice system. In this report, four programs identified under […]

The effectiveness of Indigenous criminal courts is regularly debated in the public sphere with the many claiming these courts to promote ‘soft Indigenous justice’. There are many differences in the […]

This article discusses how Anti-corruption theory can be applied to over and under policing to help us diagnose the problem and work towards a treatment program, but it will not […]

This report provides an overview of restorative justice programs in Australia. While a wide range of programs may be broadly labeled ‘restorative’, the report mainly focuses on programs involving meetings […]

The review looks at the links between language and the law and how this affects the administration of justice – especially when dealing with disadvantaged offenders. The review forms part […]

Is it appropriate to apply restorative justice practices to cases involving domestic violence or family violence? After describing and evaluating claims made about restorative justice generally, this paper reviews the […]

The debate surrounding the use of restorative justice (RJ) for domestic violence and sexual assault offences is becoming increasingly complex. The author examines the theoretical constraints on the ability of […]

It is now two decades since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (‘RCIADIC’) delivered its final report, which documented the substantial overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prisons and […]

This article examines legal responses to women charged with a homicide offence arising from killing an abusive partner and reviews Australian cases over the period 1991-2007. The authors focus on […]

The purpose of this position paper is to define the Territory policy response to the introduction of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) in June 2007. The NTER has delivered […]

The aim of this project was to examine and report on the impact of various alcohol control measures on levels of alcohol consumption and related harm in Central Australia for […]