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The United Nations have raised grave concerns about the systemic racial discrimination of First Nations children in Australia’s justice system. They warned that the extreme overrepresentation of First Nations children in detention reflects structural racism across Australia’s justice system, driven by discriminatory laws, over policing and harmful detention practices. They also raised concerns about the broader social and economic inequalities impacting First Nations children and families, including housing, education and healthcare. This is happening while Australia continues to face further international condemnation for allowing children as young as 10 to be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned across most jurisdictions, despite sustained pressure from the United Nations and human rights bodies to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
Government data, inquiries, children’s commissioners, coronial findings and human rights bodies continue to reveal the same reality across Australia, and we see the devastating impacts on First Nations children every day.
Our children remain vastly overrepresented in youth detention, child protection systems and out of home care, while governments continue to prioritise criminalisation over prevention, community leadership and long term support. In the Northern Territory, almost all children in detention are First Nations children. Children continue to be removed from families, exposed to violence in detention and pushed deeper into systems that entrench criminalisation, trauma and disadvantage. Despite local and international criticism, governments continue to expand these failed systems. The Northern Territory Government’s 2026-2027 Budget highlighted hundreds of millions of dollars will be poured into policing, corrections, prison expansion and additional police officers, all while First Nations communities continue to call for investment in prevention, equity and early support. Evidence continues to show that imprisoning children causes profound harm, increases the likelihood of ongoing contact with the justice system and fails to address the underlying drivers of harm and community safety. Australia cannot claim to protect children while criminalising them, removing them from family and culture, and subjecting them to harmful systems. Real change requires governments to stop expanding punitive systems and shift power, decision making and investment to First Nations solutions and communities.
