Indigenous Australians are dramatically over-represented in Australia’s criminal justice system. The gap between the rates of Indigenous incarceration and non-Indigenous incarceration is fundamentally unfair.

The high numbers of Indigenous people in prison has consequences for virtually all Indigenous people. This impacts on the individuals who are incarcerated, as well as their families and communities. Children with a parent in prison are particularly vulnerable, increasing their risk of contact with the justice system later in life. As well as the human impact, high incarceration rates impact significantly on the Australian economy. The current approach will not make our communities safer in the long-term. There is a better way, we need to invest in the underlying reasons people come into contact with the justice system in the first place.

We are calling for action to address this unfair, unsafe and unaffordable situation.

Indigenous Australians only make up 3% of total population. But make up a quarter of all adult prisoners.
We Could Save

$19 Billion

Nearly $19 billion per year savings to the economy could be achieved by 2040 if the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous rates of incarceration were closed.
More than 1 in every 4 adult prisoners is Indigenous.
$7.9 BILLION

3% of the population
The current rates of Indigenous imprisonment cost the Australian economy $7.9 billion per year and rising.
More than 1 in every 3 female prisoners is Indigenous.
$7.9 BILLION

3% of the population
The current rates of Indigenous imprisonment cost the Australian economy $7.9 billion per year and rising.
Today: Indigenous people represent 27% of the prison population. 26 years ago in 1991, Indigenous people made up 13% of the prison population.
$19.8 BILLION

If nothing is done indigenous incarceration will cost almost 20 Billion per year in 2040
55%

of young people in detention

more than one in every two young people in detention is indigenous
10,000

Indigenous adults

On any given day there are approximately 10,000 Indigenous adults in prison

WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW

To unlock the facts download the PwC report or the toolkit for more information

Visit one of the of our partner websites to see what they are doing to unlock the facts

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