The over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT justice system is worsening, even though the ACT Government wants Indigenous incarceration rates to be on par with that of the broader population by 2031. Determined to lower the rate, the ACT Government has appointed an academic and former political advisor to lead the independent review announced last year.

“The ACT Government is firmly of the view that the rate of Indigenous incarceration in the ACT is unacceptable,” Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said. “We’ve made good progress in recent years trough our justice reinvestment agenda of reducing the rate of imprisonment and reducing the rate of recidivism. These outcomes are good, but … benefit non-Indigenous people more than Indigenous people.”

According to the Report on Government Services published last week, 28.9 of prisoners in the ACT are Indigenous, while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 24.6 times more likely to be sent to prison in the ACT than non-Indigenous people – the highest Indigenous imprisonment rate in Australia.

Mr Rattenbury attributes those ratios to the government’s success in reducing recidivism and incarceration for non-Indigenous people. However, that data prompted Julie Tongs OAM, CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services, to call once more for a comprehensive inquiry with the powers of a Royal Commission to inquire into the causes of the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the justice system.

Recidivism for the general population has fallen from 41 per cent of adults released from prison returning within two years in 2015-16 to 34 per cent in 2022-23. However, Indigenous people are stil lnearly 20 per cent more likely to return to prison than non-Indigenous people (see Table A below). And in 2022, Ms Tongs states, the ACT had the highest Aboriginal recidivism rate in Australia: 90 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Professor Lindon Coombes, from the Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research, at the University of Technology Sydney, has been appointed to lead the inquiry.

“The extent of over-representation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system in the ACT is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed,” Professor Coombes said.

A descendant of the Yuallaraay people of north-west NSW, he has been CEO of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, and worked in the NSW Government, including as Senior Policy Advisor to Ministers for Aboriginal Affairs. The Jumbunna Institute helped to establish the ACT’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner last year.

The review’s first report, due in May, will assess how the ACT is implementing the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) recommendations to reduce First Nations overrepresentation in the justice system. The Pathways to Justice Report – Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples sets out key steps for all Australian jurisdictions to take, the ALRC states.

“There have been many reports in this space, and we want to take an opportunity to hold ourselves to account and to test how we’ve gone against those previous recommendations,” Mr Rattenbury said. “Let’s check where we are up to see if those things we have implemented work, check what things have not been implemented as intended, and use that as a foundation.”

The review’s final report, expected late this year, will recommend additional practical measures to decrease the over-representation of First Nations people in incarceration in the ACT.

“We have set an ambitious goal of ensuring the rate of Indigenous incarcerated people to the rest of the community is equal by 2031,” Mr Rattenbury said. “There is quite a gap. We’ve got some work to do to achieve that goal by 2031. But the recent progress we’ve seen on things like reducing the rate of imprisonment, reducing the rate of recidivism, shows us that with determined effort and the right investments, we can make a real difference in a reasonably short time.”

Professor Coombes’s team of First Nations and non-First Nations researchers will work closely with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the ACT – including those who have been arrested, incarcerated, or sentenced.

“Working together, we are confident we can bring about the necessary changes,” Professor Coombes said.

The key drivers for Indigenous incarceration are social determinants that lie outside the justice system, Mr Rattenbury said: poverty, access to housing, and access to medical care.

Emma Davidson, ACT Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, said health and social services need to meet Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s needs, and connect different kinds of community support.

“A justice system that focuses on the needs of the individual will mean better life outcomes for them and a safer community,” Ms Davidson said. “Too many First Nations people are cycling in and out of our justice system, which shows we need improved, culturally appropriate and holistic health and social services in the community. Doing this right will reduce harmful behaviour and improve life outcomes for Canberra’s First Nations communities.”

“The legacy of colonisation and dispossession continues to have far-reaching impacts for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the country,” Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, said. “To deliver generational change and close the gap, we must do more to address systemic racism while empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to identify and implement strength-based solutions. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of Jumbunna Institute’s engagement on this critical issue.”

Table A: Adults released from prison

Returned to prison with a new sentence within two years (%)

Returned to corrective services with a new correctional sanction within two years (%)