Although the ACT has the lowest rate of imprisonment of any Australian jurisdiction, and one of the lowest rates of Indigenous imprisonment, Indigenous people are still significantly overrepresented in the […]

In Canberra, members of the Indigenous population are five times more likely to be affected by family violence than the non-Indigenous population. The purpose of this study is to examine […]

This paper focuses on the inability of the legal system to adequately address Indigenous domestic and family violence issues. Three key areas of focus to improve issues for Indigenous people […]

This database contains summaries of reports of Australian criminal law cases that consider Aboriginality – the Aboriginal background of the defendant, their cultural practice or the customary law of their […]

This chapter focuses on the adequacy of data relating to Indigenous people generated during each phase of the criminal justice system. The chapter discusses, and notes data inadequacies in, the […]

Based on a report prepared by Judy Atkinson and Caroline Atkinson, this chapter provides a broad overview of the current situation regarding family violence in Indigenous communities from both a […]

In September 2002, the South Australian Coroner brought down his findings in the inquests into the deaths of Kunmanara Ken, Kunmanara Hunt and Kunmanara Thompson, three young Anangu men who […]

Family violence and abuse is causing untold damage to the cultures and fabric of Indigenous societies. Like all Australians, Indigenous peoples are entitled to live their lives in safety and […]

This report has been prepared as a result of the findings of a discussion paper, ‘Criminal justice and Indigenous people with cognitive disabilities’, developed in 2004 for the Aboriginal and […]

Family violence and sexual assault are enormous problems in remote New South Wales. This article explores some of the difficulties that face Indigenous women in these areas when trying to […]

The Closing the Gap Clearinghouse was established by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to bring together evidence-based research on overcoming disadvantage for Indigenous Australians. This paper provides policy makers […]

The Closing the Gap Clearinghouse was established by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to bring together evidence-based research on overcoming disadvantage for Indigenous Australians. The Clearinghouse provides access to […]

This report provides information on national data and some state-based data collections on violence in Australia. These collections contain information on the extent of violence, the underlying factors associated with […]

The report looks at the group of offenders that cause the most costs to the community. Chronic offenders, predominantly those early onset or adolescent onset offenders, are a small proportion […]

While police cautioning and police referred conferencing are widely used throughout Australia, there has been little research on their impact on Indigenous young people. Limited evidence suggests that Indigenous young […]

This report sets out the evidence supporting the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) Report Card on the wellbeing of young Australians. The ARACY Report Card is unique, […]

The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) commissioned the Allen Consulting Group to produce this report which takes a systems-based approach to child protection by examining the factors […]

Having completed his tour of Australian in August 2009, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous peoples has submitted his preliminary findings to the […]

The life expectancy of Indigenous Australians is about 17 years lower than that of the general Australian population. Using Australian Bureau of Statistics mortality data, this study, which aimed to […]

Whilst sexual assault and child abuse within the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities receives the most attention from the media and from government programs, it is the lower level-type offending that […]

Following the intrusion of non-Indigenous police officers, including a female officer, on a restricted Walpiri ceremony ground in Lajamanu (northern Tanami Desert, Northern Territory), this article highlights the conflict between […]

This report provides detail from a review of the literature regarding the prevention of and response to family violence with a focus on engaging Aboriginal men in remote communities. The […]

This report evaluates the Koori Cognitive Skills Program (CSP) for Corrections Victoria. Research has shown that people who get into trouble with the law often have difficulty solving problems in […]

This presentation contains a series of talking points discussing childhood trauma, including abuse and neglect, and ways of healing. These are the PowerPoint slides used as the basis of a […]

Aboriginal women comprise almost 50% of all women in custody, and in 1987, Aboriginal women were the victims of 79% of all chargeable homicides in the Northern Territory. They have […]

This article considers the experience of removal and institutional and out-of-home care, with a particular focus on the removal of Indigenous Australian children. Reports and legal actions since the 1997 […]

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of Indigenous Australians live in cities and towns rather than remote areas of the country, yet remain segregated and ‘invisible’ from the daily lives […]

The Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department’s written submission to the Review of the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program (ILAP).

This publication describes a framework developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in conjunction with stakeholders, to measure the wellbeing of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The […]

This publication presents summary results from the 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). The survey was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) from August […]

This snapshot presents an overview of Indigenous peoples’ experiences of law and justice as reported in the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) as well as […]

This is a comprehensive statistical overview, largely at the national level, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and welfare. Focussing on topics considered important for the health of Australia’s […]

In 2008, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) collected information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged 15 years and over; for the first time […]

This publication contains experimental estimates and projections of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) population of Australia and the states and territories for 30 June 1991 to 30 June […]

All Australian Governments agree that customary law in no way justifies, authorises or requires violence or sexual abuse against women and children. This media release announces that the Commonwealth is […]

In May 2008 the Government established an eleven-member national council which was tasked was to provide the Government with advice on the development of an evidence-based national plan of action […]

This second edition aims to continue to inform mental health policy and practice in Australia to the benefit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The book is intended for […]

This research paper evaluates Australian attitudes to domestic violence. It was commissioned by the Australian Government to inform the development of a prevention of domestic violence campaign. The report finds […]

This report outlines the work that the National Children’s Commissioner undertook in 2014-15 to promote discussion and awareness of matters relating to the human rights of children and young people […]

This chapter provides an overview of issues facing Indigenous women in corrections. It presents a statistical overview of incarceration and recidivism rates for Indigenous women on a national and state […]

This timeline details the history of forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. Information is primarily taken from the findings of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal […]

While there was some general positive response to the level of political and resource commitment to addressing Indigenous health issues that the Northern Territory Emergency Response represented, many were concerned […]

This brief paper suggests that in a crime prevention context, mentoring is often directed towards young people already involved in the criminal justice system or ‘at-risk’ of engaging in criminal […]

The wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is perceived holistically and encompasses the mental, physical, cultural and spiritual health of Indigenous people. This view of health considers the […]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are substantially over-represented in the juvenile justice system in Australia, and this over-representation is highest in the most serious processes and outcomes – […]

This report draws upon the latest available data to provide a contemporary perspective of the health and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, presenting a statistical picture of […]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people are recognised as the oldest continuous cultures on earth (Commonwealth of Australia 2017). First Nations people have a holistic concept of health […]

This Strategic Plan outlines the priorities of the National Advisory Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Information and Data in the period 2006-2008 for improving the quality and […]

This bulletin examines the numbers and rates of young people who were under youth justice supervision in Australia during 2014-15 because of their involvement or alleged involvement in crime. It […]

This report looks at the complete youth justice supervision history of 24,102 young people in Australia, who experienced supervision, both in the community and in detention, between 1 July 2000 […]

The Australian Government has funded Indigenous-specific legal assistance services since 1971. State and territory governments are responsible for the operation, and funding, of the law and justice sector in their […]

Under its Law and Justice Program, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS) provides legal aid to Indigenous Australians, as well as preventative and diversionary services, support for the resolution […]

The Department of Health and Ageing engaged the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee (NIDAC) to conduct six targeted community consultations to inform the development of the National Aboriginal and […]

Aboriginal Sentencing Courts are not generally understood as ‘therapeutic jurisprudence’. This essay explores a particular Aboriginal Sentencing Court – the Shepparton Koori Court – from its establishment through its first […]

The Shepparton Koori Court has just completed its first two years of operation, and has been subject to a high level of scrutiny and observation for the purposes of evaluation. […]