A "long overdue" reform being introduced to New South Wales Parliament on Wednesday to close a legal loophole in the state's Crimes Act will make it possible to prosecute offenders who commit acts of sexual violence, or indecently interfere with a body, when the time of death is unknown.

The reform is in direct response to the coronial inquest into the 1987 deaths of cousins 16-year-old Murrawarri and Kunja girl Mona Lisa ('Mona') Smith and 15-year-old Wangkumara girl Jacinta Rose 'Cindy' Smith.

The two girls, described as "like sisters", were found beside the wreckage of a ute on the Mitchell highway, between Bourke and Engonnia.

Non-Indigenous man, Ian Alexander Grant, then 40, was found by witnesses with his arm draped across the body of a bare chested and partially naked Cindy. He was later acquitted of driving-related offences with a further charge of interfering with a corpse being dropped on the eve of the trial. Detective Inspector Paul Quigg told the inquest that Grant should have been charged with manslaughter.

The inquest revealed the initial investigation into the deaths was inadequately conducted, officers failed to adequately preserve evidence, police did not contact the mother of Mona Lisa Smith after her daughter's death, and that the "inexplicably" deficient police investigation was influenced racial bias.

The National Justice Project, which represented the families of the girls in their long fight for the inquest, which began in November 2023, noted that until now, if it was unclear which specific crime occurred the sexual offender has gone unpunished.

Cindy's mother Dawn Smith said on Wednesday: "We have waited too long for justice for our girls. Justice that will never come. I hope no-one ever has to go through what my Cindy went through, but if they do, I am comforted that these changes might help them find justice. We will always love and remember our girls."

National Justice Project chief executive, Adjunct Professor George Newhouse, said this opportunity for reform with 'Cindy's Law', would be a lasting legacy for the courage of the families over many decades.

"For 36 long years, the families of Mona and Cindy Smith have carried the unbearable weight of grief and injustice, and their tireless pursuit of truth has been vindicated," Professor Newhouse said.

"Mona and Cindy were vibrant, much-loved Aboriginal girls whose lives were tragically cut short. Their deaths devastated their families and communities. But the pain did not end there, it was compounded by a series of legal and institutional failures that denied their families dignity, justice, and closure.

"The coronial inquest confirmed what the family have always known: that the legal system and police failed their daughters and failed them."

Professor Newhouse noted that "one of the most harrowing elements of this case was the decision not to proceed with charges against the man who sexually assaulted Cindy as she lay helpless by the side of the road".

"Because it could not be determined whether the assault occurred before or after Cindy's death, the charge was ultimately dropped. This legal technicality was deeply distressing for the family and a glaring example of a system ill-equipped to respond to the reality of such traumatic crimes," he said.

"Thanks to the courage of Mona and Cindy's families - and their unwavering demand for accountability – this is an important opportunity to change the law. The NSW Attorney General has acted decisively to ensure that no other family will be forced to endure this kind of injustice. While this reform cannot bring back Mona or Cindy, it is a meaningful step forward and a powerful legacy of their lives.

"We are grateful for the respectful and compassionate way the Attorney General has engaged with the family throughout this process.

"This is about more than legal reform. It is about restoring trust, honouring lives lost, and ensuring that Aboriginal families are heard, respected, and treated with justice."

Julie Buxton, the barrister who represented the family at the inquest said it was a privilege to assist the family of Mona and Cindy to pursue this important legislative reform.

"This law reform is vitally important to protect the legacy of deceased victims and their families who continue to live with insufferable pain," she said.

"The reform is also vital to ensure sexual offending does not go unpunished in the future, particularly given the disproportionate rate such crimes impact First Nations girls and women. It is abhorrent that the law allowed for a horrendous sexual crime to go unpunished due to a legal technicality.

"I pay my enormous respect to Mona and Cindy's family - the bravery and grace with which they conducted themselves throughout the harrowing evidence at the inquest, and their fierce determination to seek legislative change to prevent other families enduring such horror and injustice.

"It is also a great credit to the NSW State Coroner that she referred the proposed reform to the Attorney-General so swiftly after delivering her findings."

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