Foreword
By Professor James Ward PhD FAHMS
Director, University of Queensland, Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and Chair of the Expert Advisory Group
It has been almost 35 years since the report arising from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) was tabled in the Australian Parliament. The report contained 339 recommendations, many of which were beyond the initial scope of reducing Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and extending broadly to include reducing the over representation of Aboriginal people in custody. Since then, there have been far too many deaths of Aboriginal people in custody. A common misnomer is that the recommendations from the RCIADC report have not been fully implemented, but to date, there has been limited work undertaken to document the status of implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations and to make this public for transparency, accountability and assurance.
This report provides evidence from a comprehensive audit conducted to assess the implementation status of 109 of the 339 recommendations that relate to Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) and Justice Health NSW. The audit was conducted between 2022 and 2024 led by an Expert Reference Group comprised of experts both internal and external to both CSNSW and Justice Health NSW.
Executive Summary
The Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Thematic Review carefully considered the deaths of Aboriginal people in the custody of Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) since 2010.
The Review was undertaken by an external reference group including many Aboriginal experts, chaired by Professor James Ward.
The 287 recommendations handed down in the 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADC) were considered in this review to determine how much progress has been made.
Twenty of the RCIADC recommendations were for Justice Health NSW alone, and a further 11 were combined Justice Health NSW and CSNSW recommendations.
Of the 20 Justice Health NSW specific recommendations:
- 16 have been implemented
- 4 have been partially implemented.
The full recommendations, implementation status and supporting information can be found in the following document.
The following initiatives and services illustrate the significant progress Justice Health NSW has made towards addressing the RCIADIC recommendations and improving the experiences of Aboriginal people in custody:
- Establishment of the Aboriginal Health Directorate with a focus on expanding Aboriginal health service delivery, improving health services and outcomes for Aboriginal patients, expanding the Aboriginal workforce and increasing health partnerships with Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services (ACCHOs). Justice Health NSW currently has service agreements in place with ACCHOs including Waminda South Coast Women’s Health and Wellbeing Aboriginal Corporation and Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation in Broken Hill (recommendations 150, 152, 154, 247 & 258).
- The Aboriginal Health Directorate continues to work with tertiary training institutions to support and attract Aboriginal students. Justice Health NSW is proud to support the Aboriginal Nursing Undergraduate Cadetship program and has an established cultural supervision program for Aboriginal staff (recommendations 154, 256 & 257).
- The Adolescent Court and Community Team (ACCT) works closely with the Youth Koori court (a diversional option for young Aboriginal people) in Parramatta and Surry Hills. They provide mental health assessment and monitor mental health care received by other services (recommendations 150, 250 & 265).
- Justice Health NSW has multiple services that aim to improve transition to community on release including the Connections Program, Community Integration Team (CIT), Integrated Care Services (ICS), and Community Transitions Team (CTT) (recommendations 150, 250 & 265).
- Justice Health NSW is constantly evolving staff education and training programs. Respecting the Difference is a mandatory Aboriginal cultural training framework for all NSW Health staff. This training framework is an ongoing learning experience rather than a one-off module (recommendations 154, 247 & 255).
- An Aboriginal Reference Group has been established to review all research proposals and ensure Justice Health NSW research meets the governance requirements of the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council (recommendations 152 & 269).
Justice Health NSW acknowledges that there is significantly more work to be done. Ongoing research, education, training and workforce development will continue to support these recommendations and aim to reduce Aboriginal deaths in custody and improve the patient experience for Aboriginal people in our care. Of note:
- Justice Health NSW will be transitioning to the Single Digital Patient Record in 2026 which will improve essential medical liaison between Justice Health NSW and local health districts for seamless transition between services and improved health outcomes (recommendations 68, 152, 153 & 250).
- Ongoing work across Justice Health NSW with the Aboriginal Health Directorate to implement the Aboriginal Health Enabling plan, Aboriginal Workforce Plan and enhance formal community relationships (recommendations 150, 151, 152, 154, 247, 254, 256, 257, 258 & 265).
- Justice Health NSW has created senior clinical leads in Aboriginal Health- Clinical Director, Aboriginal Health and Service Director, Aboriginal Health. Both are Aboriginal identified positions.
- Ongoing review of education and training (recommendations 154, 247, 255 & 265).
- Ongoing involvement in research to improve Aboriginal Health outcomes (recommendations 265& 269).
Access to culturally safe and effective health care is a basic and fundamental human right. Justice Health NSW reaffirms the commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and is committed to reducing First Nations peoples deaths in custody and improving the experience of First Nations people in our care. This is in line with the NSW Health Ministers commitment to the health and wellbeing of First Nations people in prison following the 2024 National Review of First National Health Care in Prisons.
To review the CSNSW recommendations and their implementation status, along with joint recommendations, visit the Corrective Services NSW website: Review of the Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody