The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) will present the 2022 AIJA Indigenous Youth Justice Conference in Sydney on 29-30 October.
The conference, presented in collaboration with the Law Society of New South Wales, will examine many of the complex issues associated with Indigenous youth justice and aims to promote meaningful discussion about ways to improve the situation.
“We will be guided by the conference’s expert presenters, including elders, community leaders, medical specialists and academics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the judiciary and legal profession,” AIJA President Justice Jenny Blokland said.
Her Honour said that, in Australia, half of the children (aged 10-17) in detention were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. They were grossly over-represented, given that about 6% of people aged 10-17 in Australia are Indigenous. This meant that Indigenous youth were roughly 16 times more likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous young people.
“In parts of the country such as the Northern Territory where 30% of the population are Aboriginal people, Aboriginal youths make up about 100% of young people in detention,” she said. “That is despite significant attention being drawn to the issue through the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory which reported in 2017.”
More information and registration.
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