Overview
Measures under Goal 16 varied in performance
Aboriginal children have received increased access to intensive bail support programs. Aboriginal adults on the other hand are being referred to bail support programs in high numbers but have been receiving these services at lower rates.
Closing the Gap – Relevant Outcomes and Targets for Goal 16
The National Agreement does not contain outcomes and targets that align with this VAAF goal. Victoria is pursuing more ambitious and comprehensive goals under the VAAF, which are reported on in this chapter and the Data Dashboard.
Closing the Gap - How Victoria is tracking nationally
Not applicable.
Data Note
The latest year of available data varies across the Report due to the inconsistent frequency of collection of survey data and lags in processing administrative data. Data in this Report is the most up to date available for publishing.
All measures in this goal are reported on.
16.1 Increase Aboriginal Victorians’ participation in culturally safe and effective justice prevention, early intervention, diversion and support programs
Measure 16.1.1 Number and proportion of Aboriginal young people receiving intensive bail support through the Koorie Intensive Support Program (KISP)
In 2023-24, 67 Aboriginal young people were allocated Youth Justice case management through the Aboriginal Intensive Support Program (AISP), formerly known as the Koori Intensive Support Program. AISP is delivered across 5 regions and provides intensive support to young people on a range of youth justice orders, including supervised and intensive supervised bail. In 2023-24, 10.4 per cent of young people accessing AISP were provided intensive bail support while the remaining 89.6 per cent were provided other types of intensive supports dependent on their youth justice order type.
The AISP aims to reduce the number of Aboriginal young people who are on remand. This includes providing intensive outreach support to assist young people who are complying with bail conditions or conditions placed on deferred sentences. Bail support is an important program that reduces time spent in prison as well as rates of reoffending.
Measure 16.1.2 Number and proportion of Aboriginal adults receiving intensive bail support
In 2023-24, Victorian courts referred 759 Aboriginal adults for intensive bail support. From these referrals, 413 Aboriginal adults received intensive bail support. This represents a take-up rate of 54.4 percent, a decline since 2022-23. There is a similar trend with the non-Aboriginal population. Intensive bail support provides an alternative to remand for bail applicants. Applicants need to be considered high risk by the court and who would not otherwise get bail. Increasing the proportion of Aboriginal adults referred for and receiving intensive bail support is key to preventing people from spending unnecessary time in prison.
Measure 16.1.3 Number of Aboriginal children and young people accessing community support programs through youth justice community services
In 2023-24, 451 Aboriginal children participated in community support programs through the youth justice community services pathway. This is 129 less children than the previous year (2022-23). It is also 33 less Aboriginal children since the pathway’s initial year of operation in 2019-20. Alongside this reduction in the number of children receiving services through such programs, there has been a consistent number of Aboriginal children in community-based supervision or detention between 2022-23 and 2023-24 as outlined in Measure 15.1.2. This reflects a lower rate of Aboriginal children receiving support services through the community services pathway year-on-year, and a worsening of outcomes.
Youth Justice Community Support Services aim to reduce rates of re-offending by young people. The service does this by minimising contact with the criminal justice system and support their transition from the youth justice system to their local communities. By developing young peoples' independence, resilience and connectedness to family and community, the services help to prepare young people for adulthood and develop their capacity for meaningful education.
Aboriginal Justice Agreement - Transfer of Power and Resources to Aboriginal Communities
Self-determination Enabler 4. Transfer power and resources to communities
The Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA) Community Grants Program provides approximately $40 million per annum towards Aboriginal justice outcomes, with over 98 per cent of this funding going to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. In 2024, the AJA Community Grants Program enabled Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to deliver 100 grant initiatives – which included a diverse range of self-determined programs that promote healing, cultural identity and create positive pathways that divert Aboriginal people from the justice system. The AJA Community Grants Program recognises that Victorian Aboriginal communities are best placed to design and deliver initiatives that effectively engage Aboriginal people and achieve positive and sustainable outcomes.
Programs developed for the Aboriginal community by the Aboriginal community achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians in contrast to programs run through government departments. This transfer of power to Aboriginal organisations enables greater benefits for the Aboriginal community whilst also reducing the financial costs and pressures on justice systems and services throughout the state.
Maintaining investment in effective Aboriginal community-based solutions to address over-representation of Aboriginal people in the justice system aligns with and upholds the Victorian Government’s commitment to the Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA) and self-determination for Aboriginal people – including by transferring resources to Aboriginal organisations.
The AJA is Victoria’s primary strategy committed to driving systemic change to address the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the justice system and deliver better justice outcomes for Aboriginal communities by embedding self-determination through the justice system. The AJA is an enduring 25-year formal partnership with the Victorian Aboriginal community and is currently in its fourth phase, Burra Lotjpa Dunguludja.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) works in partnership with the Aboriginal Justice Caucus (AJC), Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee (RAJAC) and Local Aboriginal Justice Action Committee (LAJAC) chairpersons, Aboriginal Community Organisations, and senior Victorian Government members of the Aboriginal Justice Forum (AJF). The governance structures of the AJA ensure the voices and experiences of Aboriginal communities are heard across the State, and Aboriginal communities and government work together to enable self-determination, collaborative development, and a problem-solving approach.
The development and implementation of the next phase of the AJA, Phase 5, will foster and develop Victoria’s progress on reducing the rates of over-representation and ensure a culturally safe justice system for Aboriginal people that is shaped by self-determination. The need for initiatives and programs that improve Aboriginal justice outcomes remains of critical importance for DJCS.
The Aboriginal Justice Group works in close collaboration with leaders of the AJA governance structures to achieve improved Aboriginal justice outcomes. This includes through triannual Aboriginal Justice Forums, which include a community forum component open to Aboriginal community members of the host region; regular weekly meetings between the Koori Justice Unit executive and AJC Co-Chairs; and regular reporting and information-sharing between the Aboriginal Youth Collaborative Working Groups (CWGs) and wider AJF.
Aboriginal-Led Model of Health Care in Victorian Prisons
Self-determination Enabler 2. Address trauma and support healing
The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) and Justice Health have partnered to design an Aboriginal-led model of care and develop measures to support the capacity building of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) to deliver in-reach prison health services. Expanding the health services of ACCHOs into correctional settings will enable self-determined and culturally safe health service delivery for Aboriginal people in custody, with a focus on providing social and emotional wellbeing support that strengthens the continuity of health care.
VACCHO, ACCHOs and the Aboriginal Justice Caucus lead service design and provide strategic direction via project governance groups. These groups are working together to ensure that service design, resources and capability building strategies are guided by Aboriginal decision-making, leadership and strategic direction.
Aboriginal people in prison were consulted throughout 2024 and will continue to inform the model in 2025. Work is underway to identify Aboriginal people in community with lived experience to inform service design on a regular basis.
Justice and Safety
Systemic and structural barriers that Aboriginal Victorians experience, such as racism and social and economic disadvantage, can lead to over-representation in the justice system.
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