Our Story

About the Clearinghouse

The Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse is a collaborative partnership between the the Australian Commonwealth Government and all State and Territory Governments; the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC); and the New Zealand Government.

The Clearinghouse is managed by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice in Sydney and receives support from the AIC. Strategic direction for the Clearinghouse is provided by justice and police agencies from Australia New Zealand through the ‘Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse Reference Group’.

The Clearinghouse was launched in 2006 and is currently funded until June 2022.

The Clearinghouse’s goal is to reduce Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system and improve safety in Indigenous communities by providing policy makers and those working in the Indigenous justice field with quality, accessible information about Indigenous justice issues and ‘what works’. In addition to maintaining this website and database, several Research Briefs and/or Current Initiative Papers are commissioned each year, with authors among the leading academics and practitioners in their fields. Annual Forums for policy makers and program designers were recommenced in 2017.

If you have suggestions or comments on the website or the Clearinghouse’s publications program please contact us:

About the logo

The artwork was developed by Garry Jones, Winner of Art of Place 2000 and National Indigenous Heritage Art Award (works on paper category). Garry has provided the following artwork explanation.

“The artwork is a celebration of our connection and rootedness to the land from which we come, and the life force from which we draw our hopes and inspiration. The spiral represents this energy inherent in the world about us and the dotting is the diffusion of that force throughout the land. The snaking yellow line of dots represents the path or journey along which we travel in life and which maintains our connection to our origins, giving us the core of our identity. The hand print is one of the most fundamental and enduring symbols of our Indigeneity, it also represents our capacity as Indigenous people to have power over our circumstances wherever we are.” (Garry Jones 2006)

Frequently asked questions