What we
Fight for
Our
Priorities
We advocate for a fair, just, and equitable society that protects the rights of all people. To achieve our vision, we call for reform on our priority areas, including immigration detention, health justice, discriminatory policing, and First Nations deaths in custody.
Refugee
Justice
Everyone has the right to seek asylum. But instead of protecting people from persecution, our governments harm refugees through mandatory offshore detention. We call on the Australian government to own up to their duty of care to people seeking asylum, and to fulfill its responsibility to prevent harm from occurring to people in detention.
Our Principal Solicitor, George Newhouse, spoke out against government negligence in offshore detention that led to the death of an Iranian refugee Hamed Shamshiripour on Manus Island in 2017.
Health
Justice
All of us deserve quality medical care when they are ill. But too often in Australia, people are denied access to healthcare because of the colour of their skin. We call for urgent reform to address the ongoing failure of governments to provide adequate and culturally-safe healthcare for First Nations people, refugees, and people
in prisons.
Dr Anita Heiss spoke to the media in March 2019 following the coronial inquest into the death of her cousin, Naomi Williams. Naomi was a young Wiradjuri woman who died at Tumut hospital on 1 January 2016 after receiving discriminatory healthcare.
POLICING &
PRISON REFORM
All members of the community should feel safe and respected when interacting with police services. However, police frequently violate
the human rights of diverse communities.
We argue that state governments must prioritise community-based responses to crime and implement alternatives models of responding
to crises.
After a brutal assault by NSW Police against a young First Nations man in Surry Hills in June 2020, our Principal Solicitor, George Newhouse, together with the Aboriginal Legal Service and NSW Greens, took a knee in solidarity with our clients.
FIRST NATIONS
Justice
First Nations people have the right to be safe in their communities, but right now, there is an incarceration crisis that is channeling First Nations people into the criminal justice system. And all too often, this leads to deaths behind bars. To stop First Nations deaths in custody and overincarceration, we advocate for urgent reform to prioritise rehabilitation, care and humanity.
We stood with our client, Leetona Dungay, the mother of David Dungay Jnr, to announce a complaint to the United Nations against the government’s failure to take action against First Nations deaths in custody.
Disability
Justice
People with disabilities deserve the same access to healthcare, education, housing and justice as all members of the community. However, many of our clients with disabilities are treated as second-class citizens by state institutions. We call on prisons, police and child protection agencies to treat people with physical and psychosocial disabilities with respect and care, not negligence and brute force.
We stood with the family of Todd McKenzie (mother June Wilkins and steph-father Neil Wilkins) at Taree courthouse in March 2023. Todd McKenzie had been suffering from psychosocial disabilities his whole life, and he was experiencing a severe psychotic episode on 31 July 2019 when NSW Police breached his home and shot him dead.
Justice
REFORM
The legal system ought to deliver just outcomes for the community, but the reality is that our justice system is letting people down through judicial bias, punitive policies, and limited scope for reform. We argue for alternative policies to increase confidence in the system and deliver better outcomes for individuals and the community.
JUSTICE
CHANGE
ACCOUNTABILITY
Take action today to help us secure justice for our clients and systemic change for the community.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CASES
Content Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following includes the names of First Nations people who have passed away. More than a year after the death of 24-year-old Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White, his family has commenced proceedings in the Northern Territory Supreme Court to obtain answers about the decision not to […]
People experiencing a mental health crisis deserve care, not criminalisation. That’s why the National Justice Project and the Alternative First Responders campaign have made a submission to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s community survey on mental health and policing interactions in NSW. Our submission outlines the harms caused by police-led responses to mental health crises […]
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) will introduce significant nationwide reforms, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency training for more than 100,000 of its staff, following the resolution of Federal Court proceedings brought by the Benton family. Barkindji Koori man, Murray Benton, along with his family, lodged a racial discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission and later commenced proceedings at the Federal Court, after […]
Content Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this media release contains the name of a Gomeroi person who has passed away. The Coroner has ruled out suicide as the cause of death of Gomeroi teenager Mark Anthony Haines and delivered strong criticism of the way NSW Police investigated his death in 1988. Mark, aged 17, was […]
The Northern Territory Government is proposing significant changes to child protection laws through the Care and Protection of Children Legislation Amendment (Every Child Matters) Bill 2026. But the National Justice Project has raised serious concerns about the proposed laws in a submission to the Northern Territory Legislative Scrutiny Committee, warning they are being rushed through […]
On National Sorry Day, we honour the Stolen Generations and acknowledge the pain still carried by First Nations families and communities. First Nations children are still being removed from their families at rates that are persistently and staggeringly disproportionate. In 2023-24 across Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were 9.6 times more likely to […]
This year, the National Justice Project partnered with the University of Technology Sydney and the Jumbunna Legal Strategies Hub to launch the Strategic Litigation Clinic, putting trauma-informed practice at the centre of legal training from day one. Trauma can affect how a person thinks, feels and behaves. Whether it’s triggered by a single event, or a series of difficult experiences, it can stay […]
We’re celebrating the people who give their time to the National Justice Project, and hearing what the experience has meant to them. National Volunteer Week, running from 18–24 May, is Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteers. It recognises the contribution of more than six million Australians who generously offer their time and expertise to support others. The […]
‘Reconciliation is not a spectator sport’ is the message behind this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme. ‘All In’ is a direct call for every person to stand alongside First Nations people and commit to reconciliation every day. Standing alongside is not the same as standing back and watching. But standing alongside is not the same as standing back and watching. The […]
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