A new strategy aimed at diverting children away from the justice system and toward community-led responses has been launched in New South Wales.
Developed by the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) NSW in partnership with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), the Therapeutic Pathways for Children report focuses on trauma-informed, culturally safe responses that steer children and young people away from police, courts and incarceration, and back into their communities and families.
Supported by an expert Aboriginal-led research team at the University of New South Wales, and informed by a co-design process involving Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), non-government organisations, systems-impacted Aboriginal young people, and senior representatives from government agencies, the report sets out a series of actions and recommendations to help establish therapeutic pathways for children.
ALS says these pathways "can be made available either alongside or as an alternative to the criminal justice system, so that children's needs are met, and they are less at risk of coming into contact with the system in the future".
The report calls on the state government to fund the establishment of a youth- and ACCO-led independent Aboriginal Children and Young People's Peak, and to amend the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW) to make it easier for children and young people to access formal diversion options through police and the courts.
It also urges the government to work with ACCOs in genuine partnership, including by providing meaningful funding to implement solutions.
"Co-design participants agreed that a service system that focuses on prioritising the wellbeing of children and young people should be prioritised over a criminal justice response provided by police and the courts," ALS said.
The NSW Government has allocated $13.8 million over three years for the ALS and DCJ to implement two of the recommendations: designing and delivering a community-led pilot program, and establishing a mechanism for young people to help design and deliver the policies and programs that affect them.
Both the ALS and DCJ say they will work together to implement the recommendations in consultation with Aboriginal communities and organisations across the state.
ALS acting chief executive Sharif Deen said it was clear that locking children up was a policy failure that only made future offending more likely and, in turn, made communities less safe.
"But we know a better way," he argues.
"This plan is about providing children with trauma-informed and culturally safe pathways away from police stations, courts and youth prisons, and back into their communities. When the needs of children and families are met, they're less likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system in the first place."
The strategy comes as the NSW Government continues with youth bail laws which have been heavily criticised by Indigenous and human rights groups, as well as some Labor MPs, with experts arguing the measures only increase incarceration rates.
Lawyers appearing at a NSW youth justice inquiry on Wednesday described the bail laws as "lazy" and "knee-jerk". They argued some children had considered pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit in order to avoid prison, while others were left languishing in custody for extended periods before charges were eventually dropped.
According to NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research data, 127 of the 225 children and young people in custody in December last year were Aboriginal. Overall, more than 75 per cent were on remand.
The number of young people in detention in NSW has risen by 29.3 per cent since December 2023.
Appearing at a federal Senate youth justice inquiry last week, Change the Record's Jade Lane said the crisis in youth justice would not change through siloed responses.
"It is not just about police or courts or detention," she said. "It is about housing, mental health, exclusion from education, trauma, disability, removal from family, and poverty."
The ALS says most children caught up in the justice system are dealing with entrenched systemic challenges, including racism, poverty, intergenerational trauma and unstable housing. Many children — colloquially known as "crossover kids" — first grew up in child protection before later becoming involved in the youth justice system.
The ALS argues many of those young people are also living with disability, while facing significant barriers to accessing culturally appropriate diagnosis, treatment and support.
"These kids have been let down by the same decision-makers and systems meant to protect them. Our justice system was built to punish, but what children need is care and support," Mr Deen said.
"In particular, Aboriginal children are severely over-policed and impacted by structural discrimination. Every day, they are over-represented in police stations, courts and youth prisons."
