NAAJA is calling for immediate government action to address a looming crisis in the Northern Territory justice system.
New data from the Productivity Commission shows that the target to reduce Aboriginal incarceration is out of reach unless immediate action is taken. Despite commitments from both the Federal and NT governments under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Agreement and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap to reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in incarceration by at least 15% by 2031, the number of Aboriginal people in prison in the Northern Territory (NT) has increased by 40% from the 2019 to June 2024.
Concerningly, this data does not yet reflect the significant rise in the prison population following the Northern Territory Government’s ‘tough on crime’ reforms introduced from August 2024. Since then, an average of 40 Aboriginal people have been taken into custody every single day in the NT, leading to overcrowding and inhumane conditions as prisons and watchhouses reach capacity.
Pressure on the court system and legislative changes are creating significant backlogs and contributing to a 55% increase in prisoners on remand since June 2024. Of the record 2,700 people in custody in the Northern Territory, 1,253 are on remand for an average of 90 days for adults and 71 days young people for Local Court matters.1 In the Supreme Court, the situation is worse, with 179 people on remand for an average 350 days before their matter goes to trial.2 This means that 53 per cent of people in jail have not been convicted in a court of the offence they have been charged with. Those on remand are also experiencing unacceptable delays in speaking to a lawyer and on some days the backlog means that a NAAJA lawyer may only speak to a client for 15 minutes before they are brought before the court. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the right to adequate legal representation are at serious risk in the Northern Territory, if we have not already lost them.
The NT Government’s announcement of additional prison beds does not ease the crisis. With courts overwhelmed and remand times at record highs, more people are being held in custody for longer, keeping beds full. Without urgent reform, the system will remain in crisis. NAAJA is forecasting that all of the additional prison beds brought on in March 2025 will at current rates be full by July 2025.
‘The NT Government’s approach to justice is failing Aboriginal people and causing profound and long term harm to our communities’, said NAAJA chairperson, Theresa Roe. ‘The time for empty promises is over. REAL ACTION IS NEEDED NOW. Without real change, our people will continue to suffer, and the justice system will continue to limp towards complete failure.’
NAAJA urges all levels of government to work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal communities to end this crisis and take meaningful action to close the incarceration gap.
Media contact
Comments in this media release other than direct quotes can be attributed to a NAAJA spokesperson.
Anthony Beven, 0419 218 518, anthony.beven@naaja.org.au
NAAJA MR2025-07
23 March 2025