Final Report of the Evaluation of Custody Notification Services

KPMG was commissioned by the Australian Government to evaluate the 5 Custody Notification Services (CNS) that are funded under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy. Introduced to address Indigenous deaths in custody and recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the CNS provide a telephone-based service that is intended to deliver an independent, culturally appropriate health and wellbeing check, along with basic legal information, to any First Nations person entering police custody. 

The evaluation findings provide understanding into: 

• the appropriateness, implementation, effectiveness and efficiency of the CNS program
• the components of the CNS models that represent best practice
• the opportunities to enhance the CNS to better contribute to achieving targets 10 and 11 under Closing the Gap.