Expressions of interest have opened for a board of inquiry into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), Canberra’s prison.

“A strong understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice issues, along with a demonstrated commitment to delivering a culturally safe, community-focused inquiry, will be essential,” corrections minister Dr Marisa Paterson MLA said.

Applications close on 8 May. Members can be full-time or part-time, and Dr Paterson strongly encouraged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants to apply. 

But Julie Tongs OAM, CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services — who has long advocated for an inquiry — says Dr Paterson’s media release, sent on Thursday, took her and other community members by surprise.

“I was blindsided by this media release,” Ms Tongs said. “There has been zero communication with me or any of the community members who agitated for this board of inquiry. They didn’t even have the decency to send me the media release.

“Sending out media releases the day before the Easter break is unacceptable. There has been no consultation with me, and I haven’t even been privy to the Terms of Reference for the Board of Inquiry.”

The government committed last May to the inquiry into the deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody at the AMC, after the deaths of three people within less than a year: a 34-year-old man in August 2024, and two men, aged 38 and 73, within a week of each other in February 2025.

Ms Tongs and Winnunga Nimmityjah welcomed last year’s announcement of the inquiry: “The Aboriginal community has been fighting for many years for this day. […] The decision was a turning point and a step toward justice for [the mothers] and their families.”

The inquiry will also investigate systemic issues surrounding deaths in custody, including racism and previous incarceration in a youth detention centre. Independent MLA Thomas Emerson proposed the inquiry.

Ms Tongs has described the AMC as a “bloodbath”, alleging deaths by drug overdose, assaults on First Nations inmates without relatives being notified, strip-searches of women inmates in front of men, and staff playing ‘Hangman’ with the names of Aboriginal prisoners. In 2021, she was furious that the then-government defeated the Canberra Liberals’ motion for an investigation into systemic racism at the AMC.

The ACT has the highest rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander over-representation in any Australian jurisdiction’s criminal justice system, a report published last year found. Young people are 14 times more likely to be in detention, adults 22.7 times more likely to be imprisoned, and Indigenous women 76.5 times more likely, than their non-Indigenous counterparts.

The ACT Government has set a target to reduce the Indigenous incarceration rate to parity with non-Indigenous people by 2031, and Dr Paterson has said she is determined to confront “the perpetuation of systemic racism through our justice and parliamentary systems”.

An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Advisory Committee was set up in December to guide the creation of the board of inquiry, a government spokesperson noted. Its members included people whose family members had died in custody; community leaders; and experts in justice, health, community services and governance. It had advised government on terms of reference, and on potential members’ skills, experience, qualities, and background.

“When the DPP was under investigation, they didn’t call for expressions of interest from the community; they went ahead and appointed an ex-judge from another jurisdiction,” Ms Tongs said. “Why are they not appointing people from the legal profession to run this inquiry? I find this patronising, to say the least.”

The Justice and Community Safety (JACS) Directorate has also engaged regularly with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body (ATSIEB) to help shape this inquiry, the government spokesperson said. JACS will liaise with an extensive range of stakeholders in the coming weeks to share the EOI and to encourage suitable applicants to apply.

The expression of interest is online: www.act.gov.au/law-and-justice/board-of-inquiry-into-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-deaths-in-custody-in-the-amc

The Terms of Reference will be available on the ACT Government website when ready.