First Nations justice
Media and commentary relating to our collaborative work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations to promote the rights of First Nations peoples.
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PIAC Reconciliation Action Plan 2020-2022
We’re pleased to announce that we have launched a new Reconciliation Plan for the period 2020 – 2022. The new RAP sets out our organisational commitment to reconciliation and contains a number of concrete actions for us to work towards over the next two years. PIAC’s first RAP was launched in July 2017 following consultation…
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Urgent reforms needed to protect Aboriginal children
PIAC is standing with the Aboriginal Legal Service and other Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organisations in calling for the NSW Government to take urgent action to address the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the state’s child protection system. In an open letter to the Premier Gladys Berejiklian, released today, over 20 civil society organisations have urged…
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Police watchdog to probe ‘excessive’ bail checks of Indigenous accused
‘The independent police watchdog will hold public hearings into claims an Indigenous man in NSW was subjected to excessive bail checks as part of a broader probe into whether officers across the state have engaged in unlawful behaviour or serious misconduct in enforcing bail conditions…’
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Opinion: Why we should be concerned about the NSW adoption reforms
This week, the NSW Government will seek to pass sweeping changes through Parliament that will make it easier for children to be adopted without the consent of their parents and harder for parents to have their children restored to their care after they have been removed. These changes have been promoted as enabling the Department…
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NSW Government to rush through adoption reforms today
The Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT (ALS) and PIAC have re-iterated their concerns about the NSW Government’s child protection and adoption reforms, which would have dire consequences for Aboriginal children and families. NSW Parliament will today consider a Bill amending the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act and the Adoption Act which will fast…
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Urgent need for consultation on child protection changes to avoid dire consequences for Aboriginal children and families
The Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT (ALS) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) have joined forces to call on Members of the Legislative Council to refer a Bill amending child protection legislation for inquiry amidst concerns that the changes would have dire consequences for Aboriginal children and their families. Last week the NSW Government introduced…
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Calls for greater transparency and accountability for secret ‘STMP’ policing policy and its impact on young people
PIAC has welcomed calls by a NSW Parliamentary Committee for greater transparency and accountability in relation to the way the NSW Police Force applies the Suspect Targeting Management Plan (STMP) to children and young people. The STMP is a secret NSW Police policy that has been used by police to single out young people for…
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Thank you Danielle Hobday, PIAC’s 2017 Indigenous secondee
We are very grateful to Danielle Hobday, who leaves us this week after 12 months at PIAC as part of a joint PIAC/ Australian Government Solicitor initiative to support up-and-coming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early-career lawyers. Through this program, which started last year, PIAC provides mentoring and support for junior lawyers or graduates with…
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PIAC hosts Uluru Statement from the Heart
On Wednesday, PIAC, together with our good friends at Justice Connect, the Human Rights Law Centre and Health Justice Australia, hosted the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The Statement, issued by the First Nations National Constitutional Convention, calls for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to be enshrined in the Constitution. It also calls…