The bleak picture of how Indigenous youth are treated in Australia’s justice system

Young Indigenous people continue to be ‘locked up at alarming rates and for alarming amounts of time’

Originally published on Global Voices

This post is part of Global Voices’ August 2026 Spotlight series, “Indigenous Rights.” This series offers insight into the lives and experiences of Indigenous peoples to build connections across regions, center Indigenous experiences, and share the stories of leaders, activists, community members, and more. You can support this coverage by donating here.

As advocates continue fighting to eliminate Indigenous inequality within Australia, a recent update from the Australian Government Productivity Comission has painted a bleak picture of inequality within the justice system, particularly for Indigenous youth. The report was part of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which aims to, “enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to overcome the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.”

The report highlighted that Indigenous detention is on the rise, with First Nation youth, heavily over-represented in Australia’s prison systems:

The rate of First Nations prisoners jumped to more than 2,500 per 100,000 adults in 2025 and up from more than 2,300 a year earlier and more than 550 in 2019.

… First Nations youths remain heavily over-represented in detention, with 25.7 children aged 10–17 per 10,000 in custody on an average day in 2024-25 and ‘‘no change from the baseline’’ towards the target of a 30 per cent cut by 2031.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (NATSILS) highlighted that on average, First Nation youth are kept in detention without a sentence far greater than other populations:

The average length of time spent in unsentenced detention was 57.2 days, with the highest average in Queensland at 96.3 days and Victoria at 81.1 days.

NATSILS General Manager, Nick Espie, was scathing of the latest findings:

The data shows that yet again, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children — who have had no finding of guilt against them — are being locked up at alarming rates and for alarming amounts of time.

The evidence is clear that when a child spends time behind bars, it increases their likelihood of reoffending. Not only is this approach cruel and damaging to our children and their families, governments are spending almost AUD 3,200 on locking up children, a measure we know makes communities less safe.

In May 2026, the United Nations Human Rights Office echoed this concern, noting that:

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today expressed alarm over the persistent overrepresentation of Indigenous children in Australia’s criminal justice system, warning that this reflects systemic and structural racial discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

… In several states and territories in Australia, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is lower than the threshold under international human rights law and standards, and in some cases is as low as 10 years old.

NATSILS was one of more than 200 organizations to endorse an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on his government to take urgent action:

From coast to coast across our lands, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are being criminalised and imprisoned at alarming rates because of political point-scoring rather than evidence-based reforms.
This is an emergency.

We… are urging you to call an emergency summit on youth justice, so that key decision makers in government can listen to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal experts and leaders in a setting where community-controlled organisations lead the discussion.

Amnesty International Australia launched its Kids Need Better campaign in August 2026, calling for jsutice for Indigenous youth:

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Rodney Dillon, an elder of the Palawa Nation in lutruwita (Tasmania), introduced the campaign in the following video:

The video laid out some solutions which would make Australia’s prison system more equitable:

We’re calling on governments to establish enforceable minimum standards for the treatment of children in custody, raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, invest in Indigenous-led community solutions, and end harmful detention practices. Because every child deserves dignity, care and the opportunity to thrive.

Amnesty’s online petition outlines some of the recent developments by state and territory governments. For example:

In the Northern Territory, the minimum age a child can be imprisoned has been lowered to 10, spit hoods have been reintroduced, and children continue to be held in overcrowded youth detention centers and police watch houses. Almost every child in detention is First Nations.

Spit hoods have be risky and even deadly, were banned in the Northern Territory along with restraint chairs after a nationwide uproar in 2017, but later restored in 2025.

In 2025 the Australian Human Rights Commission report, “Help Way Earlier!” painted a disturbing picture of how Australia’s justice system mistreats children:

On an average day, 4,542 children across Australia were under youth justice supervision.

57 percent were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

Indigenous children were 23 times more likely to be under supervision and 28 times more likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous children

Its key findings included:

Many children in contact with child justice systems have experiences of poverty, violence, abuse, intergenerational trauma, mental health issues, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, and neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Many are in the child protection systems or living in out-of-home care.

If children at risk are supported earlier on — whether in the community, in detention, or when released from detention — they are less likely to be involved in criminal activity, keeping them and our communities safe.

Anne Hollonds, former Australian National Children’s Commissioner, explained the report in this video:

These reports argue strongly that harsh, punitive measures are not working. It costs AUD 1 million (USD 700,000) to detain one child for a year, and opponents argue it’s time to try something different.

While some states have diversion and other initiatives to reduce Indigenous youth incarceration, advocates say there is not enough progress in reducing this national shame.

Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, urged the States and Territories governments to do more.

State and territory governments must also back in their commitments under the National Agreement with investments and policies that improve outcomes for First Nations people.

The Amnesty campaign launch webinar includes pleas from young people in prison in Australia. You can watch the 50-minute video below.