Indigenous Incarceration   

Explainer
Explainer: What causes the high incarceration rates of Aboriginal people in Australia?
First Nations Australians are among the most incarcerated peoples in the world....
Dechlan Brennan 21 May 2026
The world is watching Australia breach its human rights obligations, legal body says
The United Nations' finding that the overrepresentation of Indigenous children i...
Dechlan Brennan 8 May 2026
Legal service accuses Tasmanian Government of failing Aboriginal people
New data has prompted the head of an Indigenous justice service to accuse the Ta...
Callan Morse 27 Apr 2026
Analysis: Policy contradictions, Commonwealth inaction are undermining Closing the Gap outcomes
The annual Closing the Gap Day is intended, at least in principle, to mark stead...
Dechlan Brennan 23 Mar 2026
Closing the Gap: Suicide, incarceration and child development targets go backwards; land and economic participation show progress

Warning: The following article contains references to suicide, which may be distressing to readersAustralia's Indigenous incarceration rates continue to rise sharply, while the proportion of children...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Mar 18, 2026
WA Commissioner calls for urgent early intervention as child outcomes decline

Almost 140 children under the age of 14 were held in detention in Western Australia in the last financial year without ever being sentenced, whilst mental health outcomes across the state decline.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Mar 18, 2026
Chief Minister says Mparntwe crime drop proves tough laws are working amid Closing the Gap pressure

The Northern Territory Government says falling crime rates in Alice Springs demonstrate its controversial justice policies are delivering results, as the federal government considers using funding pre...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Feb 20, 2026
'Punitive' bail laws driving surge in First Nations remand rates, report finds

First Nations people are being disproportionately held on remand under Australia's increasingly restrictive bail laws, according to new research highlighting the impact of tougher "law and order" refo...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Feb 4, 2026
Indigenous children overrepresented as youth justice costs climb and outcomes worsen

Australia's spending on youth detention has increased by $400 million in five years, with the former National Children's Commissioner describing the system as a "devastating policy failure".

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jan 30, 2026
Bail crackdown credited with crime drop as NT prison population surges

A year after the introduction of its controversial bail laws, the Northern Territory Government says crime has dropped "significantly" across the Territory, despite ongoing criticism from legal, Indig...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jan 12, 2026
Long-held warnings from legal groups come to fruition as Victoria’s bail crackdown clogs courts

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains names and images of Aboriginal people who have died.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Jan 8, 2026
Record Indigenous deaths in custody in 2025 reflect one thing — a lack of political will by governments to change

The end of 2025 marks 34 years since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, a landmark inquiry that delivered more than 300 recommendations aimed at protecting some of the most v...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 24, 2025
Law and order dominates 2025 as NT faces record incarceration and mounting human rights concerns

Twelve months ago, National Indigenous Times described a "horror" year for the Northern Territory — one that began with a curfew in Alice Springs and ended with a "record" number of people impri...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 22, 2025
Victorian Parliament passes youth justice laws allowing life sentences for children despite human rights concerns

Controversial youth justice reforms that allow children to be sentenced to life in prison have passed the Victorian Parliament, despite strong opposition from legal experts and Indigenous organisation...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 4, 2025
As a child, Lily was diverted from custody — under Victoria’s new laws, she would have faced life in prison

As a young boy, Oscar* was removed from his family home and placed in out-of-home care, moving repeatedly through placements that worsened his trauma, before eventually settling in a safe, stable and...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 4, 2025
Ombudsman finds inmates in ‘inhumane’ NT watch houses need to be removed as a matter of urgency

All inmates currently held in Northern Territory watch houses should be removed "as a matter of urgency," the Territory's Ombudsman has found, describing the facilities as "unacceptably poor" and "inh...

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Dec 1, 2025
Advocates warn more children will be 'churned through the system' after NSW law changes

Advocates warn more children will be "churned through the system" as New South Wales moves to change laws governing the centuries-old principle of doli incapax.

Dechlan Brennan Dechlan Brennan Nov 19, 2025
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National Indigenous Times

Disclaimer: This function is AI-generated and therefore may mispronounce.