First Peoples' justice

First Peoples continue to experience worse social and economic outcomes across their lives, with poor progress in meeting the Closing the Gap targets and a lack of government accountability. There is mixed progress nationally on advancing the rights of First Peoples. The absence of First Peoples’ participation in decisions that affect their lives remains a critical barrier to progress.

In relation to this assessment:

• Recent human rights advances = where governments have positively advanced human rights
• Urgent human rights issues = where serious human rights concerns exist and are not being addressed sufficiently
• Other priority human rights issues = where further action is required to address known human rights challenges

Recent human rights advances

• The Australian Government established the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People to protect and promote the rights, interests and the wellbeing of First Peoples’ children.
• Governments have developed co-design and leadership models to address child protection and family violence in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander controlled organisations particularly through the Safe and Supported: National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2021–2031 and Our Ways – Strong Ways – Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026– 2036
• There has been progress on some of the Closing the Gap targets, particularly early childhood education, jobs and land rights. Other measures - like year 12 and tertiary education completion - are improving but not fast enough to meet targets.
• Victoria negotiated its first statewide treaty with First Peoples in 2025. Outcomes include establishing Gellung Warl, an ongoing elected Aboriginal representative body, an Infrastructure Fund, ongoing truth telling as well as education, cultural and place-naming reforms. The treaty outcomes build on Victoria’s 4-year truth-telling inquiry through the Yoorrook Justice Commission. South Australia has a representative Voice body and is progressing its treaty process. NSW and ACT have commenced First Peoples treaty consultations.

Urgent human rights issues

• There are insufficient representative structures for First Peoples to participate in law and policy development at the national level and through regional mechanisms. Progress nationally has not advanced since the failure of the Voice Referendum.
• Only 4 of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track. Overimprisonment and child removal are going backwards. There is a lack of accountability for failures to meet targets or taking actions that undermine commitments. Independent monitoring mechanisms for every government in Australia have not been established, despite the Productivity Commission identifying these as critical to Closing the Gap.
• State and territory governments, most notably NT and Queensland, continue to implement harsh and punitive criminal justice laws and policies that significantly impact on First Peoples’ children and young people and people with disability. Since 2024, Queensland, Victoria and the NT have passed legislation which means detention is no longer to be considered only as a last resort when sentencing children for some crimes. Children are regularly being held in solitary confinement. There is inadequate progress in developing and maintaining First Peoples-led diversionary and early intervention programs that address offending behaviour early.
• Too many First Peoples continue to die in custody, with limited implementation of reform recommendations from coroners and others. Trust in government within First Peoples communities is low. Governments need to establish independent investigation processes, especially for police related deaths.
• Queensland abolished its treaty and truth telling processes. The Northern Territory has abandoned its treaty process.
• It has been17 years since Australia committed to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and 2.5 years since the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs recommended further actions to achieve this with no response from the Australian Government.

Other priority human rights issues

• Reform to the Native Title Act as well as heritage protection laws are required to ensure that First Peoples have an effective voice and control over actions on their traditional lands. The Australian Law Reform Commission is finalising an inquiry into the future acts regime of the Native Title Act that will identify necessary reforms.
  

Find out more

For information about the purpose and methodology of this assessment, please visit our Australian Human Rights Assessment 2026 page.