Justice Issues in the Northern Territory

Staff from the Indigenous Law and Justice hub conduct research projects with legal service providers in the Northern Territory as well as the Aboriginal Justice Unit within the NT Government. Our major projects are listed below.

i) The NT Aboriginal Justice Agreement (AJA)

We have worked with the Aboriginal Justice Unit in the NT Government from 2019 on progressing the NT AJA. The Agreement was signed in 2021.We have been subsequently engaged by the Governance Committee of the AJA to establish an evaluation framework to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the AJA between 2021-2027. We have also been engaged to conduct the evaluation of the first year of implementation. In addition, we are involved in specific projects under the AJA including currently conducting a systemic racism review in the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics. The NT Aboriginal Justice Agreement and other relevant document are available here.

 ii) Access to Justice in the Barkly Region

We have worked with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), the NT Legal Aid Commission (NTLAC), the Central Australia Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU) and the Central Australian Women’s Legal Service (CAWLS) to investigate legal needs in the Barkly Shire. The aim of the project is to improve access to justice in Tennant Creek and the Barkly Region through an examination of access to legal information and assistance and current legal needs. Access to justice within this project encompassed civil, family and criminal law, and for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The project’s eight focus communities within the Barkly include Tennant Creek, Elliott, Ali Curung, Ampilatwatja, Arlparra, Canteen Creek, Epenarra, and Alpurrurulam.

After the completion of the project report in late 2020, an implementation group representing the relevant legal services was established and a Project Officer employed to facilitate progression of the recommendations. The Access to Justice in the Barkly full report, fact sheets and webinar are available here.

iii) Measuring the Value of Holistic Legal Service Delivery

The NT Legal Aid Commission (NTLAC) has employed social support workers in various offices and practice areas in the Territory since 2016. The expansion of legal aid services to include support work has had many unanticipated benefits for the service, lawyers and for clients. These services enable direct legal service delivery to be more effective as they ensure the lawyer is aware of the whole client concerns while focussing on legal service delivery.

We worked with NTLAC to evaluate the initiative's value to clients and to the justice and services sector generally. The report was concluded in 2021.