Outcome 10: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not overrepresented in the criminal justice system

Target 10: By 2031, reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent.

Minister responsible

Attorney-General, Minister for Indigenous Australians

Productivity Commission national progress against the target

The path forward

The Commonwealth is committed to working in full partnership with First Nations communities to achieve better justice outcomes, with a priority focus on turning the tide on incarceration and deaths in custody, in line with Outcomes 10 and 11 of the National Agreement.

Recognising that states and territories hold the levers to make direct changes to the systems and policies that disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, the Commonwealth’s justice reinvestment commitment supports states and territories to shift their focus and redirect resources from responses to crime to supporting the prevention of crime, or early intervention.

Consistent with Priority Reform Two, the Commonwealth’s key role is to work with First Nations peoples and state and territory governments to drive change, including through supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations and communities to identify and implement solutions. This is complemented by the Commonwealth’s role in funding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled legal services providers, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS), as well as diversionary and early intervention programs through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy.

Noting the complex socio-economic drivers that increases the risk for First Nations peoples contact with the criminal justice system, the Commonwealth will work closely across governments and across sectors to align our approaches.

Priority actions

Partnering on justice outcomes

The Justice Policy Partnership, co‑chaired by the Attorney General’s Department and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), provides a strategic forum where First Nations peoples genuinely partner with governments to lead, accelerate and improve First Nations justice outcomes.

The Justice Policy Partnership brings together representatives from the Coalition of the Peaks, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experts and all Australian governments to take a joined-up approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice policy to accelerate progress towards achieving both Outcomes 10 and 11 under the National Agreement.

Building on its efforts under the inaugural Justice Policy Partnership Work Plan 2021–22, the Partnership will continue to strengthen strategic partnerships and consider First Nations policies and their potential impacts holistically. This includes understanding the complex socio-economic drivers that increase the risk for First Nations peoples contact with the criminal justice system.

First Nations justice reform

The Commonwealth’s First Nations justice commitment, announced in the 2022–23 Federal Budget, is aimed at Closing the Gap and improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This includes $81.5 million over four years, from 2022–23, in new and ongoing funding for community-led justice reinvestment projects and a national independent justice reinvestment unit to assist communities to develop and evaluate justice reinvestment initiatives, ensuring lessons learned are shared country-wide.

Justice reinvestment enables Indigenous communities to identify and address the drivers of incarceration at a local level, in cooperation with all levels of government and the broader community. It has proven successful at reducing crime and contact with the criminal justice system.

In 2023, the Commonwealth will design the justice reinvestment program and support establishment of an independent National Justice Reinvestment Unit in partnership with First Nations communities and justice reinvestment experts. It is anticipated that First Nations communities will be invited to apply for justice reinvestment funding in the second half of 2023. Justice reinvestment readiness support will also be provided to interested communities, ahead of the national grants program being established.

In line with the Government’s 2022 election commitments, the Commonwealth has begun work to implement early investments in Alice Springs, Northern Territory and Halls Creek, Western Australia.

The Commonwealth will also explore options for consolidated national real-time reporting of First Nations deaths in custody, and the establishment of a qualitative research program that incorporates the voices of First Nations peoples.

Legal support for First Nations peoples

Consistent with Priority Reforms Two and Three, the Commonwealth will contribute an additional $17.5 million to building the capability and leadership capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations and improving culturally appropriate legal and non-legal support for First Nations peoples. This includes:

• $13.5 million for ATSILS to ensure First Nations families who have lost a loved one in custody can access culturally appropriate, timely and fair legal assistance before, during and after all coronial processes
• $1 million to build capacity and support the leadership of NATSILS
• $3 million to support the work of the FVPLS Forum and all 16 FVPLS providers, who deliver culturally safe legal and critical non-legal wrap-around support to First Nations women and children subjected to family and domestic violence and sexual assault.

The Commonwealth is also funding the development of a National Bench Book for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the Legal System by the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration, as a practical and culturally-sensitive resource to better inform judicial officers and legal professionals.

Enhancing responses to family, domestic and sexual violence

The Commonwealth will develop a training package for law enforcement to enhance responses to family, domestic and sexual violence, including content that addresses barriers to First Nations peoples reporting violence to police and early intervention strategies for family, domestic and sexual violence victim-survivors.

Summary of new actions

All align with Outcome 11

*A full appendix of new and existing measures being undertaken by the Commonwealth to support Closing the Gap efforts is on the NIAA website, at Closing the Gap implementation measures.