Collaborating to Decolonise Sentencing Narratives: Aboriginal Community Justice Reports

Join us for the next Carnegie Network session, where we will explore the collaboration between the University of Technology Sydney and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. This initiative focuses on Aboriginal Community Justice Reports in sentencing—an approach that amplifies First Nations voices and challenges systemic biases in the criminal justice system. In recognition of its impact, this project was awarded the 2024 Excellence in Indigenous Engagement Award by Engagement Australia. In 2023, UTS also became one of only two Australian universities to receive the prestigious Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, underscoring its commitment to meaningful partnerships and social impact.

Criminal sentencing in the West has been framed by risk metrics, deficit assumptions and systemic racism. In Australia, First Nations people are routinely classified as high risk based on measures relating to criminal history and nature of the offence. These measures purport to be objective but conceal the racism and classism in the policing and criminalisation processes.

The presentation draws on research findings arising from a collaboration between UTS and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service that established Aboriginal Community Justice Reports in sentencing. These reports are written by and for First Nations people in order to centre their stories, including their experiences of ongoing colonisation, the impact of genocide on their communities and the ongoings strengths of their community and cultural connections. They identify the role of racism in the criminal law system and seek to promote options that involve reintegration, cultural responses and First Nations community engagement.

Although it is impossible to decolonise the criminal law system – given that it was built on the colonial impetus to control, exclude and incarceration – Aboriginal Community Justice Reports provide a glimpse into rewriting narratives on First Nations terms. In this way, the system is forced to confront its complicity in the ongoing carceral colonialism confronting First Nations peoples. The reports have contributed to more appropriate sentence processes and outcomes, which will be discussed in the presentation.

Join us as we discuss the findings of this research collaboration and the impact of Aboriginal Community Justice Reports in reshaping sentencing narratives.

Presenters 

Thalia Anthony

Thalia Anthony is a Professor of Law at the University of Technology Sydney and the lead investigator on an Australian Research Council on Aboriginal Community Justice Reports (ACJR). She worked directly with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service to establish the ACJR program, co-design its scope, recruit and train staff, supervise the production of reports and evaluate its outcomes. Thalia has published over 200 outputs, including journal articles, books, chapters and media pieces. She has twice been recognised by The Conversation as one of Australia’s Top 50 influential academics. Thalia’s research seeks to embed decolonial processes across the legal system in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.

Djallarna Hamilton

Djallarna Hamilton is the inaugural Aboriginal Community Justice Reports Program Manager in the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, having served since 2024. She is a Wamba Wemba, Dja Dja Wurrung and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman with a background in secondary education and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. She has a flair for writing and has been published in The Guardian. Djallarna is a fierce advocate for justice

Resources:
If you want to learn more about the project, please visit the following links.

• Aboriginal Community Justice Reports – Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
• Article at The Conversation: The role of ‘re-storying’ in addressing over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• Article at National Indigenous Times: "Aboriginal Community Justice Reports aim to drive truth-telling, empowerment and rehabilitation"
  
  
  

This session is run as part of the Carnegie Community Engagement Network offerings.  
*Please note that this session is free and will be recorded.

Contact us:

If you have any questions about the session or the Carnegie Community Engagement Network, please contact carnegie@engagementaustralia.org.au