Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website contains the names and images of people who have passed
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website contains the names and images of people who have passed
47
Parliamentary reporting on people held in custody
That relevant Ministers report annually to their State and Territory Parliaments as to the numbers of persons held in police, prison and juvenile centre custody with statistical details as to the legal status of the persons so held (for example, on arrest; on remand for trial; on remand for sentence; sentenced; for fine default or on other warrant; for breach of non-custodial court orders; protective custody or as the case may be), including whether the persons detained were or were not Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
The intent of Recommendation 47 is to ensure regular, accurate, and publicly accessible reporting to Parliament on the number of Aboriginal people in custody.
The Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report fulfils some aspects of the recommendation, as it is tabled in Parliament annually and made publicly available through the Aboriginal Affairs Data Dashboard. It includes a range of disaggregated data by Aboriginal status, age, gender, and legal status, covering contact with police, community-based and custodial supervision, and returns to custody within two years.
Additional data on Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in custody is also available through national reporting mechanisms, as outlined under Recommendation 45. However, Caucus have previously raised concerns about the accuracy of past reports and reinforced the need for robust, reliable data collection and transparent presentation to Parliament. Data on people held in police custody remains unavailable.
Priority for Further Work:
Moderate
Relevance and potential impact | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low (0-2) | Moderate (3-4) | High (5-6) | |||
Extent of action taken and evidence of outcomes | High (5-6) | ||||
Moderate (3-4) | |||||
Low (0-2) | |||||
Potential Actions for Further Work
Data Accuracy
Need for accurate data collection and clear, transparent reporting to Parliament.
Background
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) had greater access to comprehensive information on the use of prisons across Australia than on police custody. Since 1982, the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) had conducted an annual prison census, which provided the Commission with valuable data—particularly for analysing disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal prisoners. However, a key limitation of the census at the time, was the significant number of cases where a person’s Indigenous status was not recorded, reducing the reliability of comparisons and limiting the accuracy of data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration rates.
Actions Taken Since Last Review
Department of Justice and Community Safety
The Department of Justice and Community Safety Annual Report 2021–2022 includes statistics for various performance indicators across policing, crime prevention, adult and youth custodial measures, however only one measure provides data for Aboriginal people – the average daily number of Aboriginal children and young people (10–17 years) in custody.
First Peoples – State Relations
Each year the Victorian Government produces an Aboriginal Affairs Report that describes progress against targets and indicators in the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018–2023, the Self-determination Reform Framework and Victorian Closing the Gap Implementation Plan. These reports are tabled in parliament, before being publicly released. All of the data referred to in the annual Aboriginal Affairs Report is also published in the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Data Dashboard. In terms of data relevant to Recommendation 47, the Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report 2021 includes data disaggregated by Aboriginal status for:
- Unique youth offenders receiving a caution, arrest, summons, or other (from Police)
- Young people (10–17 years) under youth justice community-based supervision and detention
- First-time youth (10–17 years) alleged offenders cautioned by police
- Youth (10–17 years) in detention on remand
- Unique adult (18 years and above) female alleged offenders processed by police
- Women under corrections supervision (community-based and in prison)
- Women who return to prison under sentence within 2 years of release
- Women in prison on remand
- Unique adult male alleged offenders processed by police
- Men under correction supervision
- Men who return to prison under sentence within 2 years of release from a sentence episode
- Men in prison on remand.
Impact
Outputs
The Department of Justice and Community Safety Annual Report provides limited Aboriginal-specific justice data, reporting only on the average daily number of Aboriginal children and young people in custody. By comparison, the Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report offers more comprehensive, disaggregated data across a range of justice indicators and is tabled annually in Parliament. This data is also published through the Aboriginal Affairs Data Dashboard. Reporting is guided by the Financial Management Act 1994 (Vic) and the Department of Treasury and Finance’s Model Report to ensure consistency and transparency.
Outcomes
As of 2024, reporting shows mixed outcomes in the availability of disaggregated justice data. The Department of Justice and Community Safety's 2021–22 Annual Report includes limited data on Aboriginal children and young people in custody, reflecting a new performance measure, but lacks broader disaggregation by Aboriginal status—marking a decline from previous years. In contrast, the Department of Premier and Cabinet's Victorian Government Aboriginal Affairs Report provides detailed, disaggregated data across various justice indicators, including police processing, custody, and recidivism. However, the Victoria Police Annual Report 2021–22 does not include any information on individuals held in police custody, highlighting a significant gap in custodial data reporting.