Two Aboriginal brothers, aged 11 and 13, were subjected to more than 150 police home checks over 20 months - often in the middle of the night - in behaviour they allege was racially discriminatory.
The boys from regional New South Wales were on bail for being passengers in a stolen car. They had no significant criminal history, and the court had not authorised home checks.
Despite this, their mother, Megan*, said police arrived at all hours.
"Hearing pounding on the door and seeing torches in the windows in the middle of the night is terrifying. And it was relentless," she said. "We want police to understand what that felt like, but they don't seem to be listening."
The boys are now taking legal action against the police in the Federal Court, alleging racial discrimination.
Grace Gooley, Senior Solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre (JEC), which is representing the family, said they believe the boys were targeted because they are Aboriginal.
For many, this reflects a broader pattern of intimidation based on Aboriginality.
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Earlier this year, an expert report commissioned by the JEC found NSW Police disproportionately target Aboriginal children and young people through "bail compliance checks".
The report, authored by academics Don Weatherburn and Anna Ferrante and based on data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, showed Indigenous young people were 11.7 per cent more likely than non-Indigenous peers to be checked by police within the first 30 days of bail.
The likelihood of that pattern occurring by chance was less than one in a thousand.
"Everyone should be treated equally by police under the law," Ms Gooley said. "But the data in our report and the experience of our clients indicates police are discriminating against Aboriginal children in how they conduct home checks of people on bail."
Megan agrees.
"It feels like police target blackfellas more than anyone else," she said. "It feels like discrimination. By taking this to the Federal Court, my boys are standing up for their community and saying 'enough is enough'.
"Now, me and my boys have to go to court and relive it just to get some justice."
The JEC first filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission, but it could not be resolved through conciliation with NSW Police. The Federal Court will now decide whether the home checks were discriminatory, drawing heavily on the research commissioned by the JEC.
If successful, it will mark the first time an Australian court has found racial discrimination proven through statistical evidence.
"It's disappointing that the complaint couldn't be settled at the Human Rights Commission," Ms Gooley said. "Taking this case to the Federal Court forces NSW Police to take Aboriginal community complaints seriously and do more to address endemic discrimination."
The JEC's research also found that sixteen Aboriginal children were subjected to more than 26 checks in 30 days, while just one non-Indigenous child experienced the same level of surveillance.
On average, Aboriginal children faced 42 per cent more checks and were more than twice as likely to experience "very frequent" monitoring. Nearly one in eight Aboriginal children were checked 12 or more times, compared with one in 20 non-Indigenous children.
"Police say they treat everyone fairly, but it feels like we've been targeted," Megan says. "And the numbers back us up."
She says the case is about creating change for all communities.
"We want police to stop targeting Aboriginal kids, and we want people to know what's happening."
Ms Gooley said cases like Megans' sons are far "too common".
"NSW Police are failing on Closing the Gap targets, and the disproportionate rates of arrest and imprisonment of Aboriginal young people in NSW are unacceptable," she said.
"This case is about holding NSW Police accountable for discriminatory practices that are harming Aboriginal children and their communities."
In 2023, then-NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said holding police responsible for Closing the Gap targets would create "competing duties". The comment drew widespread condemnation from lawyers and advocates, who called it an "outrageous statement".
A 2023 report to Parliament by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) found in many cases, police interviews with young people in custody - including Indigenous youth - compromised their right to silence, whilst a 2025 report from the same watchdog recommended that police only conduct home visits when a court order is in place.
*A pseudonym has been used to protect the family's identity.
