Serious concerns persist over the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, children, and migrants, despite Australia's criminal justice system's safeguards against arbitrary detention, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said on Friday.
"The gross overrepresentation of First Nations peoples in the prison population, the shocking detention of children as young as 10, and the punitive approach to migrants are human rights crises that continue to plague Australia," the Working Group said in a statement concluding an official visit to Australia.
The experts urged Australian authorities to engage in "comprehensive reforms" to reduce the imprisonment of First Nations peoples, raise the minimum age of detention to at least 14 years, and end the mandatory detention of persons with irregular visa status.
"First Nations people make up just 3.8 percent of Australia's population, yet they account for 35 percent of those imprisoned in the country," the Group noted.
The Working Group said Indigenous women are imprisoned at over 20 times the rate of non-Indigenous women, and noted that over 30 Indigenous persons have died in custody this year. During their visit, the experts heard reports that over-policing and racial profiling persist despite being prohibited.
"Addressing this crisis requires authorities to work in genuine partnership with First Nations communities to co-design solutions, from early intervention, including prior to contact with the criminal justice system, through to reintegration after detention—rather than relying on punitive approaches," they said.
'First Nations people deserve much better than this'
Kurin Minang human rights expert, law academic and member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Dr Hannah McGlade, told National Indigenous Times the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had flagged "serious violations of human rights ... especially in relation to Aboriginal people and the criminal justice system".
"I met the Committee on Monday in Perth and spoke to them about mass incarceration, women and children's imprisonment, mandatory detention laws and racial profiling, as well as indefinite detention laws like the High Risk Serious Offenders Act WA 2020," she said.
"All of these issues and more show the legal system is built on a racism to Aboriginal people including young children.
"We can't say Australia isn't a racist country when the evidence shows another story. It's time for Australian governments, especially the ALP governments who have made many promises to Aboriginal people, to remember that First Nations people deserve much better than this."
Dr McGlade said she was "glad to see the Working Group acknowledge the importance of governments working in partnership with Aboriginal people, affirming our right to self-determination and participation in the justice system, to address these issues".
"The federal government and Minister McCarthy as Indigenous Minister should lead a proper response to this shocking situation, including by establishing a national Aboriginal justice commission body.
"We cannot give up because people's lives are at stake here and our people and children deserve a future free of discrimination and abuse."
The UN Working Group noted the rising remand population as the country's most pressing concern.
"42 per cent of prisoners are unsentenced, and many are kept in detention due to disadvantage from discriminatory practices, homelessness and social conditions rather than risk to the community," the experts said.
'Keeping children as young as 10 in adult prisons is inhumane'
The Working Group slammed those Australian jurisdictions with the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 10 years of age.
"Keeping children as young as 10 in adult prisons is inhumane," the experts said. Western Australia operates the notorious Unit 18 - a facility for children - inside the maximum security adult prison, Casuarina.
The UN experts called for a complete ban on the use of spit hoods, restraint chairs, and solitary confinement against children; practices prohibited under international law.
The experts expressed regret they were denied access to detention facilities in the Northern Territory and to youth detention facilities in Western Australia; noting it "undermined the Working Group's mandate and prevented the wider public in Australia from hearing concerns from these regions".
The Working Group noted recent restrictive bail reforms have "dramatically increased the unsentenced population in detention", and that chronic staff shortages result in prolonged solitary confinement in many Australian facilities, with prisoners denied access to fresh air, programmes, and legal consultations.
The Working Group noted Australia has robust procedural protections in place to limit arbitrary detention and widespread provision of legal aid for persons detained, but said despite some "positive measures... urgent action is needed to address the overincarceration of Indigenous peoples, the detention and mistreatment of children, and mandatory migration detention".
A final report on the visit will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.
