"Unreasonable and oppressive" conditions in Northern Territory watch houses, a drastically rising remand population in the criminal justice system, and significant challenges for prisoners to access rehabilitation programs are some of the findings from the United Nations after they visited Australia this month.
The findings from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention — who were denied access to facilities in the Northern Territory and Western Australia — paint a troubling picture of systemic failures across the criminal justice, child detention, mental health detention and migration detention, with First Nations people disproportionately affected.
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Grossly disproportionate incarceration
First Nations people make up only 3.8 per cent of the population, yet represent a "grossly disproportionate" 35 per cent of prisoners across the country.
Systemic discrimination throughout policing, bail, sentencing, detention conditions and reintegration, with deaths in custody and unimplemented recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, remains of critical concern, the Working group said.
"Achievement of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap criminal justice targets is worsening rather than improving in several respects," they added, suggesting that a "reorientation of approach is needed, including adjusting models based on objective evidence of their impact in meeting those targets".
Speaking to National Indigenous Times this month, Dr Hannah McGlade, a Kurin Minang human rights expert and member of the UN's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, said people can't deny 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.
"The federal government and Minister [Malarndirri] McCarthy — as Indigenous Minister — should lead a proper response to this shocking situation, including by establishing a national Aboriginal justice commission body."
The comments come in the wake of last week's report from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), which found 113 deaths in custody in 2024-2025, including 33 First Nations people — the highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody since 1979-1980.
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Youth Justice failings
The Working Group expressed shock that children as "unconscionably young" as 10 can be detained and condemned the use of adult sentencing, mandatory minimums, solitary confinement, spit hoods and restraint chairs on children.
Currently, only the ACT (14) and Victoria (12) have a minimum age above ten. The NT lowered it from 12 to 10 years of age last year, with the UN body calling for the minimum age of criminal responsibility to be raised to at least 14 nationwide.
In some jurisdictions, over 80 per cent of children in custody are on remand, yet housed with convicted detainees. In WA, of the approximately 70 children in detention, around 60- 70 per cent are First Nations; in NT, it's essentially 100 per cent.
Having enacted a 'tough on crime' policy — which has seen the average prison population has risen by 15 per cent over the past year and now sees more than one per cent of its population behind bars — the Working Group said many detained Indigenous children between the ages of 10 and 13 in the NT "came from contexts with prior child protection involvement, exposure to violence, poverty, and disability".
Furthermore, school disengagement is widespread — removing critical protective factors, they said, and the reintroduction of spit hoods contradicted Royal Commission recommendations.
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Territory Failures
In a scathing critique of the Northern Territory, both before and during the visit, they reiterated their "willingness to engage with the NT authorities to address any concerns, but this offer was declined".
"This complete lack of cooperation by authorities in the NT undermines the Working Group's ability to implement its mandate and deprives detainees of access to independent international protection," they said.
Overcrowding, prolonged use of solitary confinement, frequent lockdowns due to staff shortages, inadequate mental health care, and reports of sexual harassment — particularly of women — were documented.
Watch houses in the NT were described as "unreasonable and oppressive". It mirrors the findings by acting ombudsman Bronwyn Haack last month, who called for all inmates held in watch houses across the Territory to be removed "as a matter of urgency" and argued nobody should be subject to the conditions currently seen in the facilities.
Prisoners endured these conditions for weeks and could only shower once every two days, the report said. Drinking water was limited, with some using a bubbler above the toilet, whilst women reported being watched by male officers while showering.
Earlier this year, Independent politician Yiŋiya Mark Guyula said he had written to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, calling for them to visit the NT.
In response, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said she believed the UN Special Rapporteur had "better things to do" than get involved in the prison situation in the Territory.
"We certainly have better things to do than spend resources walking around," she said.
Asked if it meant she wouldn't welcome the UN's involvement, Ms Finocchiaro added: "I wouldn't be at the airport ready to shake his hand to say 'welcome,' I can tell you that much.
