This report presents the first qualitative study of how Indigenous offenders view the court process and the role of Indigenous Elders, with reference to the Nowra Circle Court in New […]

Circle sentencing is an alternative method of sentencing Aboriginal offenders which involves the offender’s community in the sentencing process. This bulletin considers whether people who participate in circle sentencing show […]

In Australia, research investigating Indigenous differences in sentencing is limited. This study examines the impact of offenders’ Indigenous status on the decision to imprison and length of imprisonment in South […]

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 study of NSW offenders found that offenders given a suspended sentence are no more likely to re-offend than those given a prison sentence of up to 12 months in […]

Discusses the human rights implications of the ‘media gag’ imposed on Lex Wotton for his part in the Palm Island riots after the death of Mulrunji.

Previous research by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has shown that the cost-effectiveness of the NSW Drug Court could be increased through the early identification of those […]

The right to a fair trial is a long-standing common law right, with the High Court describing this as ‘a central pillar of our criminal justice system’. 1 Australia has […]

This bench book provides NSW judicial officers with statistics and information about the different values, cultures, lifestyles, socio-economic disadvantage and/or potential barriers in relation to full and equitable participation in […]

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 […]