The issue of appropriate legal and social supports is critical to the question of Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. This article discusses this relationship, arguing that the overwhelming emphasis on communities’ criminal law needs distracts from other equally important, though perhaps less urgent, practical concerns. The authors argue that more attention needs to be paid to specific areas of civil and family law, by both legal aid and Aboriginal legal services, to prevent these unaddressed issues from escalating into offending behaviour. The article refers to the pilot project for the Indigenous Legal Needs Project, for which later detailed reports by jurisdiction have been published.