Custody Notification Service (CNS)

2019 saw the commencement of NAAJA’s Custody Notification Service or “CNS”. The origin of the service can be traced to the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in custody with its twin aims of preventing avoidable harms in police custody for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and providing them with early legal advice to better equip them to understand and exercise their rights while in custody. In December 2018 the Commonwealth announced 3 years of funding for NAAJA to administer this service in the NT.

CNS is a 24 hours/7 days a week Custody Notification Service (CNS) for the whole of the Northern Territory. The aim of the program is to prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody. NAAJA’s model will provide Aboriginal people in custody medical, mental health, legal and welfare support, with the physical and emotional welfare of the person of paramount importance.