Queensland Police have sacked the First Nations advisory body - made up of Indigenous Elders and leaders from the community - in a move likely to further erode trust in an institution that has faced accusations of racism and a lack of inclusivity for First Nations officers.

The sacking of the QPS First Nations Advisory group (FNAG) comes after months of criticism against the QPS - both privately and publicly - by the body about a perceived failure by senior members of the QPS to implement cultural reforms, first promised in the 2022 Call for Change inquiry.

The inquiry found evidence of a culture in the QPS where "attitudes of misogyny, sexism and racism are allowed to be expressed, and at times acted upon, largely unchecked".

FNAG were made aware of their sacking - via email - on February 29, after new Queensland police commissioner Steve Gollschewski had been appointed.

In a lengthy statement, they said: " On the 5th March 2024 we wrote to the Executive Director, First Nations Division asking for a meeting to better understand the decision and to seek a collaborative way of informing community of this decision. Our request to meet was ignored."

In 2022, the group accused Mr Gollschewski of displaying aggression during a meeting and telling an Elder "you people" don't run the organisation.

Whilst no announcement was made by the QPS, the page which advertised the Advisory Group - established in 2021 to provide formal strategic advice on First Nations issues - has now been taken down from the QPS website.

The Advisory Group said they were given contracts six weeks before their sacking, with confidentiality clauses that "would prevent us from speaking publicly about the work of the [group]" — unless approved by the QPS.

"This clause and others within the contract were both contrary to the approved Terms of Reference and the whole of government procedures for advisory boards 'Remuneration procedures for Queensland bodies'", the statement read.

"We are obliged to act with open transparency about the workings of the First Nations Advisory Group and we are obliged to advocate in the interests of justice for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities."

"The actions of the QPS have left us with little faith in the newly established First Nations division to be effective, or the senior leadership of the QPS to work in partnership with … our First Nations communities."

The FNAG said they were concerned QPS would now put in place a token body who will be constrained by a pre-ordained narrative.

"Until drastic action is taken to address the culture that exists within the QPS, we hold great concern that any action taken by QPS will be tokenistic, performative and for the purposes of optics to mislead our communities."

In a statement, the QPS said they were aiming to "recruit members with the view of reflecting the diverse groups that make up our First Nations community."

This statement is similar to one's mentioned in the Call for Change report. It found QPS members had made a number of "inaccurate" statements about the First Nations advisory body, arguing it was not properly representative and there wasn't a proper selection process, when these were false.

The Commissioner at the time accepted this evidence.

One FNAG member, speaking off the record, told National Indigenous Times: "repeating history."

Last year, the FNAG openly condemned Police Union president Ian Leavers in an open letter after he wrote an article arguing any commitment to keep children under the age of 16 out of prison would give a "free pass to every rapist, domestic violence abuser, habitual home invader and car thief who tells police they identify as Aboriginal".

He was heavily criticised, with Indigenous and human rights groups arguing the article showed a "deep-rooted racism he has for First Nations communities".

In late November the advisory body released another open letter, arguing they had been met with "no response" from the government when they called on the entire QPS to publicly condemn Mr Leavers' comments.

The open letter said all members of the QPS had an "obligation and responsibility" to help change and mitigate the "systems of violence that continue to perpetuate harm on First Nations peoples".

Less than a month after the article, Leavers was announced as one of 15 members of the Independent Ministerial Advisory Council tasked with analysing crime-related issues.

This resulted in a third open-letter from the Advisory Group, which described the government's decision to appoint Leavers as an "implicit endorsement" of him and his article, and a "gross disservice" to victims and others seeking change.

In the wake of Mr Leavers' article, National Indigenous Times reported a long-serving Indigenous member of the QPS said a number of Indigenous officers had quit the union and called on Mr Leavers' to apologise.

Last year, former FNAG member and academic Marlene Longbottom quit the body, arguing senior members of the QPS were unwilling to confront systemic issues amongst their ranks.

Then co-chair of the Advisory Group, Christine Thomas, was also openly critical of the QPS and their alleged lack of reforms, pointing to a number of deaths in police custody, as well as revelations of officers in watch houses who were revealed to have made racist comments keeping their jobs.

In a statement, the QPS said: "Following an internal assessment of the operation and function of the FNAG by the QPS, which was commenced in December 2023, it was identified that the group, in its previous iteration, was not meeting the purpose and original intent of the group."

"With that advice in mind, the Executive Director of the QPS's First Nation Division decided to release the group members at the time and encouraged those members to apply through a transparent recruitment process."