Justice Action

07/04/2026

While attempting to conduct an initial inspection of Bimberi Youth Justice Centre on the 5th of April, members of JA were quickly stopped.

Two guards who had been lying on the ground, presumably not on duty, jumped up and advanced on us (see video: https://youtube.com/shorts/hvbDI1Jjzp8). We proposed a quick walk around the visibly empty outside of the centre onto the grass but were swiftly rejected, the guards tense.

The tension and empty outdoor space observed aligns with the findings of the most recent official report. Many young people were confined to their cells, with outdoor and communal spaces largely vacant, causing many to express frustration, angst, tension and downbeat sentiments. This raises concerns on the centre’s focus on containment over dynamic security and rehabilitation.

We explained our focus on introducing computers into cells for Bimberi and were keen to work with them, providing our card and establishing an amiable rapport. We then left, taking a photo of our banner out the front as a commitment to improving the situation for the children inside.

24/03/2026

Youth Justice Minister Jihad Dib tries telling Parliament we “CAN’T AFFORD” to give children isolated in cells tablets where they can get education, counselling and social connection, even though they’re spending $1.17 MILLION A YEAR on each child. Watch him: https://youtu.be/VtYKRMC246E?si=F7OGBi_AQuab355F
Yet they’ve found the money for adult prisoners, on only $140 000 a year. So while adult prisoners are resourced, kids are left to ROT. What on earth are they spending our money on and what are we getting for it?
More info:https://www.communityjusticecoalition.org/2026/03/23/elementor-3716/

Youth Justice Minister Jihad Dib tries telling Parliament we “CAN’T AFFORD” to give children isolated in cells tablets where they can get education, counsell...

24/03/2026

Youth Justice Minister Jihad Dib tries telling NSW Parliament we “CAN’T AFFORD” to give children isolated in cells tablets where they can get education, counselling and social connection, even though they’re spending $1.17 MILLION A YEAR on each child.
Yet they’ve found the money for adult prisoners, on only $140,000 a year. So while adult prisoners are resourced, kids are left to ROT. What on earth are they spending our money on and what are we getting for it? More info: https://www.communityjusticecoalition.org/2026/03/23/elementor-3716/

https://youtu.be/VtYKRMC246E?si=FcGii5fVENrMGoNo

16/12/2025

Inspector Condemns Long Bay Prison

The Inspector of Custodial Services found the infrastructure of MSPC and LBH 2 to be ‘dilapidated, unsafe, and not fit for purpose’ and ‘incapable of providing safe and humane conditions’ and recommended these facilities be permanently closed.

The prison harms vulnerable people held within it by failing to meet the legally mandated minimum time for open-air access. It also subjects them to unsanitary and unsafe conditions and forces them to endure the longest periods of isolation of any prison in Australia.

Justice Action states that there is no need for a new prison built in a remote location, far from family and support networks. Instead, we believe what is needed is a new governor and significant improvements to the conditions and social culture at Long Bay.

Read the full Media Report ➡️
fil:///Users/ja12/Downloads/Long_Bay_report_media_release%20-%204DEC25.pdf

Read the full Inspection of the Long Bay Correctional Complex Report ➡️
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/tp/files/192556/Inspection%20of%20the%20Long%20Bay%20Correctional%20Complex%202023-24_FINAL.pdf

Watch our ABC News Segment on 12/12/25 ➡️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlFEXzPtlo8

16/12/2025

SUZETTE'S LESSON: PRISONER COMMUNITY CONTROL OF PRISONER SERVICES

In honour of the life and work of Suzette Broderick, we call for organisations servicing prisoners to have a majority of Board members and staff being former prisoners.

More information about Suzette can be found on our website: https://justiceaction.org.au/suzettes-lesson-community-control/

16/12/2025

UN CONDEMNS PRISON CONDITIONS: NT REFUSED ACCESS FOR SURVEY

Australia’s criminal justice system contains safeguards against arbitrary detention, yet serious concerns persist over the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, children, and migrants, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention outlined on 12 December 2025.

“The gross overrepresentation of First Nations peoples in the prison population, the shocking detention of children as young as 10, and the punitive approach to migrants are human rights crises that continue to plague Australia,” the Working Group said in a statement concluding an official visit to Australia.

“42% of prisoners are unsentenced, and many are kept in detention due to disadvantage from discriminatory practices, homelessness and social conditions rather than risk to the community,” the experts said.

The Working Group noted that the minimum age of criminal responsibility was 10 years old in several jurisdictions in the country.

“Keeping children as young as 10 in adult prisons is inhumane,” the experts said.

The experts regret that they were denied access to detention facilities in the Northern Territory and to youth detention facilities in Western Australia. This undermined the Working Group’s mandate and prevented the wider public in Australia from hearing concerns from these regions.

Criticising Australia’s default use of migration detention, the experts said irregular entry to a country should not automatically lead to detention.

Chronic staff shortages result in prolonged solitary confinement in many Australian facilities, with prisoners denied access to fresh air, programmes, and legal consultations.

The Working Group nonetheless noted that Australia has many robust procedural protections in place to limit arbitrary detention and widespread provision of legal aid for persons detained, including a 24/7 legal advice service for First Nations people and justice reinvestment initiatives like Maranguka and specialist Indigenous sentencing courts.

“These are positive measures, but urgent action is needed to address the overincarceration of Indigenous peoples, the detention and mistreatment of children, and mandatory migration detention,” the experts said.

To call for change, email the Federal Attorney-General at [email protected]

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/12/australia-un-working-group-raises-major-concerns-about-detention-indigenous

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-13/united-nations-warn-australia-prison-detention-human-rights/106136950

https://ruleoflawaustralia.com.au/commentary/damning-coroners-report-reveals-how-youth-justice-system-needs-overhaul/

https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/statements/20251212-eom-stm-australia-wg-arbitrary-detention-en.pdf

11/12/2025

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

"NSW Ministers march to end domestic violence, yet continue to block the implementation of the very counselling services that would prevent it in significant areas of concern. They joined the annual Step Out and Speak Out Walk, launching the global 16 Days of activism, but this means little when taxpayer-funded solutions remain inaccessible to prisoners charged with DV offences, ” said the Honourable John Dowd AO KC, President of the Community Justice Coalition.

“Domestic Violence Minister, Jodie Harrison, heard the Deputy Corrections Commissioner acknowledge that internal counselling faces a conflict of interest and agree to facilitate external providers. Despite DV offenders being 30% of total remand prisoners, they still do not have access to external counselling through the computer tablets in cells. CSNSW agreed in 2018 to install computer tablets in prison cells to enable external domestic counselling, funded by a $42 million investment in 2019. However, external services have still not been introduced,” said Deputy President, Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans.

“External DV counselling has wide political support, including from the DV Minister, Shadow Minister Natasha Maclaren-Jones, Deputy Whip Cameron Murphy, and crossbenchers, Greens Abigail Boyd and Alex Greenwich. Corrections Minister, Anoulack Chanthivong agrees in principle, and, following a national and international consultation about his concerns, I have shown him a clear pathway forward in a recent letter,” said Mr Dowd.

“The Community Justice Coalition’s Cost of Inaction paper (2017) estimated that more than 500 women and children each year ‘could have been spared the traumatic effects of domestic violence’ had online counselling been available. External services overcome the conflict-of-interest issue, aligning with the ‘4 E’s Concept’. This model ensures that Effective trusted counselling is Efficiently delivered using funded mainstream services, and continues to Exist for the offender beyond release while further supporting their Emotional needs to feel part of the mainstream community,” said Dr Chesterfield-Evans.

Full report can be found here: https://www.communityjusticecoalition.org/2025/12/11/media-release-marching-against-violence-while-ignoring-the-solution/

09/12/2025

Suzette's Lesson: Community Control

The aim of this project is to highlight the importance of community controlled prisoner support organisations, while also honouring Suzette Broderick for her contributions as a prisoner representative.

Suzette Broderick was a powerful advocate for women in prison, using her lived experience and leadership to push for community-driven change.

Despite earning deep respect among prisoners and serving as President of WJN (WIPAN), she wasn’t given the post-release support or opportunities she needed. This lack of support contributed to her struggles after incarceration and her tragic passing in 2025.

Her legacy highlights an urgent need for prisoner-led involvement in shaping services and ensuring culturally safe, supportive pathways after release. Those who knew and worked with her continue to call for change in her honour.

Read the full article ➡️ https://justiceaction.org.au/suzettes-lesson-community-control/

18/11/2025

Ending Solitary Confinement Conference Programme - Global Launch of the International Guiding Statement on Alternatives to Solitary Confinement

Time: 12 December, 12:30 am - 5:30am (AEST)

Registration Link: ⤵️
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhB9J4zzjkIPuu1u8ilHhCxpgzwNCN-BQU9aQNP15yz5x7Tw/viewform

📩For more information about the programme:
http://www.antigone.it/upload/Ending_solitary_confinement_Antigone.pdf

03/11/2025

Disgraceful prison officers’ strike

https://justiceaction.org.au/disgraceful-prison-officers-strike/

Media release: October 31, 2025

The prison officers’ strike is a disgraceful act of contempt for the judicial system, which gives them the authority to hold other citizens. If they are public servants they must show respect for court decisions and not deliberately cause chaos, holding others hostage who have no responsibility and actually threatening the Attorney General.

Prison officers have misled the public by their statements, suggesting that Cameron Welsh has escaped penalty for the assaults. He has been continuously in prison, and since February held in the highest security HRMCC with people charged with terrorism, under the most severe conditions. Other prisoners in Cessnock reported that he was bashed by six prison officers after the incident, and later by the SOG. We call for the Commissioner to expose photos of Mr Welsh and his medical file showing his injuries.

Minister Chanthivong and Commissioner McCahon must control their staff and ensure there is no return to the disgraceful culture of the past that was exposed in the Nagle Royal Commission Report of 37 years of brutality and savagery, David Dungay’s Inquest and others more recently. No staff were ever held responsible for abuse except for Wayne Astill getting a 23 year sentence after s*x with prisoners.

Prison officers must not be encouraged to think that more prison time and crushing sentences make them safer in their job. History has shown that desperate prisoners with nothing to lose are the most dangerous and more dangerous for the community when they are released. Citizens removed from their homes, families, and jobs charged with domestic violence offences, and locked in cells are not surprisingly extremely disturbed.

De-escalation techniques must be taught to guards. According to overseas experience, Computers in cells with prisoners using their time positively have reduced attacks on guards by 60% and attacks on other prisoners by 30%. Corrective Services has a duty to make us all safer by inclusion not brutality.

11/08/2025

On Sunday 27 July, the trial at Macquarie Correctional Centre Wellington replacing Sunday physical visits with video calls ended in failure. Prisoners and their families expressed their anger that the trial was said to have occurred in response to their desire to relieve the burden of visiting on the families. A Macquarie prisoner told us ‘The single most important element to maintain my mental health…is to hug my wife and children.

We are relieved that Corrective Services NSW has reached the conclusion of the trial’s failure. But the trial has sparked broader concerns that video calls are quietly replacing physical visits in other NSW prisons, to reduce staffing and cost.

Our survey revealed families are facing increased obstacles when trying to visit their loved ones. The booking process is rigid, requiring a logon at midnight to secure a spot, and often cancelled. Mostly only one time is available – 8.30am requiring 7.30am attendance, so children and accommodation costs are difficult for travellers. This disproportionately affects those with inflexible working hours, caring responsibilities or limited digital literacy. This forces reliance on video calls.

We asked Commissioner McCahon not to refer to a video call as a ‘visit’ as it is misleading. He defended it on 31 July saying the Regulation used the term. We presented a legal analysis and showed the contradiction with the Act and other authorities, but have yet to receive a response.

Nothing is as healing as the human touch. Visitation is about connection – it is about the brief but powerful moments where a hand is held, where a hug rekindles the human spirit. In institutional settings emotional needs are often overlooked. Visitation strengthens bonds, fosters emotional stability, and affirms the humanity of those inside and those who visit. Other jurisdictions have conjugal visits whilst NSW wants to offer a screen.

The major investment bringing computer tablets into cells for external domestic violence counselling, education and video calls, still hasn’t been turned on although Minister Chanthivong said it is ready. (p. 88 q328) The drug use, sense of hopelessness and shocking recidivism level of 48% creating a more dangerous community is a direct result of this failure. Video calls should always be an option in addition to physical visits.

We call upon the Minister and the Commissioner to guarantee visits at times convenient to families and to turn on the tablet external services.

https://justiceaction.org.au/p/