Western Australian Government Overarching Indigenous Policy Frameworks

The Western Australian Government has introduced a range of whole-of-government strategic frameworks addressing Indigenous issues, including justice issues, with a proposed Whole of Government Framework for Indigenous Services in development. (1)

Government of Western Australia (2000) Implementation Report - RCIADIC

The Government of Western Australia 2000 Implementation Report - RCIADIC was introduced by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, and provides information from relevant agencies with respect to how they have implemented each of the 339 recommendations of the RCIADIC.  Those recommendations cover a broad range of issues (including housing, education, drug and alcohol, collation of statistical information, increasing economic opportunity, and addressing land need). For our purposes, the most relevant initiatives discussed in the report are as follows.

(a) Imprisonment as a last resort (Recommendations 86-88, 92-95, 101-014, 109, 111-114, 115-121)

• In terms of bail, the Ministry of Justice is assisting by ensuring that Community Corrections Officers liaise with hostel providers to allow for bail within hostels where bailees cannot return to their communities.  These Officers will also provide a relevant court assessment with a view to home detention bail.  The Juvenile Justice Division also operates a Supervised Bail Program, offering supervision to youth unable to locate a responsible adult.   Juvenile Custodial Services are piloting a regional Bail Facility at Kimberley Aboriginal Community, which will give Magistrates the discretion of granting bail under the supervision of the Supervised Bail Program.
• Aboriginal offenders are permitted to perform community service on communities and with Aboriginal organisations. There is a wide range of statutory, non-custodial sentencing options available, including a drug court, and the diversion from court of juvenile offenders (diversion programs for adults continue to be developed).  These options have been developed through consultation with agencies representing the interests of Aboriginal people.
• Up to 40 Aboriginal communities are participating in the supervision of adult community based orders, and negotiation with other communities is ongoing on an ‘as needs' basis.  Where possible, Juvenile Justice staff provide support to communities that have juveniles completing orders.  All Community Based Services branches have recruited Aboriginal staff to assist in the implementation of non-custodial sentencing options.  Where supervision is contracted, staff from communities are provided with training in the management of offenders on community based orders. 

(b) Courts (Recommendations 96 and 99-100)

• Work has been done within the Ministry of Justice to conduct interpreter-training courses for the accreditation of interpreters. Aboriginal Fines Liaison Officers commenced work in 1995, and they may be involved in providing information to Aboriginal people appearing at court or to the court and the magistracy on Aboriginal issues, or in supervising Aboriginal people placed on community based orders (or similar) by the court. Community Based Services employs Aboriginal staff at all its field offices (as Community Corrections Officers of Juvenile Justice Officers), and those staff also provide advice to courts, including in relation to what a relevant community considers to be appropriate in terms of sentencing.  Cross - cultural training is provided to judicial officers and others working in courts and in the probation and parole services.

(c) Custodial health and safety and the prison experience (Recommendations 122-187)

• The Ministry of Justice provides an Aboriginal Visitors Scheme to provide support and counselling to Aboriginal detainees in prisons and juvenile detention centres. • Whilst it was recommended that Aboriginal prisoners be detained in a facility as close as possible to the place of residence of his or her family, the Ministry of Justice provides for temporary transfer of prisoners to relevant facilities (including police lockups) which are closer to family for family visits (once or twice per year).  • Further, Corrective Services will give recognition, where appropriate, to special kinship and family obligations of Aboriginal prisoners which extend beyond immediate family in relation to a request for release for ceremonies, for instance.  Aboriginal Welfare Officers are employed in juvenile detention facilities, and one of their roles is to provide management with family and background information in relation to attendance at significant occasions. 

• A Peer Support Program operates in prisons, and, as well as supporting inmates, Prison Support Officers who coordinate this program also advise staff on culturally relevant, welfare related issues.  Aboriginal ‘Meeting Places' have been constructed in most prisons and Regional Prisons liaise with local Aboriginal groups and communities to encourage their participation in prison programs.  In juvenile facilities, Aboriginal Teacher Aides are employed in the Education Centre and external Aboriginal agencies run relevant programs in the facilities. Aboriginal prisoners in adult prisons have their own classes, but are also able to access classes for the general population.  Effort is made to deliver culturally relevant courses and vocational training for future employment opportunities and to engage Aboriginal personnel for delivery of training/educational courses. More broadly, the Ministry of Justice attempts to involve the Aboriginal community in correctional processes. In the Kimberley for example, Broome prison has negotiated with relevant organisations to provide section 94 activities for prisoners.  This gives prisoners the opportunity to perform duties outside of the prison walls.

(d) Self Determination (Recommendations 188 - 204)

• Aboriginal people are involved in negotiating, managing and delivering services. For instance, Community Based Services consults widely with Aboriginal Communities in planning for offender management (for specific cases, as well as in general cases).  Further, Prison Services intends to appoint a Manager of Aboriginal Services to, among other things, assist with the modification of prison programs and services to better suit the needs of Aboriginal people.

Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage in Western Australia Report (2005)

The DIA's Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage in Western Australia Report 2005 (OIDWA) seeks to improve performance by establishing baseline indicators for measuring progress, facilitating cohesive and coordinated action, and sharing examples of evidence-based best practice. Basically, it seeks to guide the delivery of better services to Indigenous people in Western Australia, serving as a tool for governments in developing policy and planning for services delivery, and to measure the impact of these services over time.  An updated OIDWA (with progress noted in terms of the 2005 OIDWA) is due to be developed.

The structure of the OIDWA consists of three priority outcomes; twelve headline indicators; and seven strategic areas for action (with corresponding strategic change indicators).

The three priority outcomes, representing a long term vision for well-being, are as follows:-

(i) Safe, health, and supportive family environments with strong communities and cultural identity;
(ii) Positive child development and prevention of violence, crime and self-harm; and
(iii) Improved wealth creation and economic sustainability.

There are then twelve headline indicators, used to indicate the extent of Indigenous disadvantage and to measure progress in the priority outcomes over the longer term.  These indicators include rates for imprisonment, juvenile detention and victimisation. Statistical and other detail relating to each of the headline indicators is provided, within an Indigenous context.  Seven strategic areas for action are then set out, with some detail, including relevant strategic change indicators. These are intended to drive collaborative action, and represent factors which potentially influence whether disadvantage will be experienced, avoided, or overcome.  They pertain to issues such as juveniles at risk, substance abuse, and recidivism (see below). Change in these areas is said to impact positively upon the headline indicators, and ultimately, the achievement of priority outcomes.  Some examples of action already undertaken in (relevant) strategic areas are set out below.

Strategic Area: Substance use and misuse

Strategic change indicators are alcohol consumption/drug and other substance use as well as alcohol related hospitalisations. (The co-relation between substance use and misuse and family violence, child abuse, assault, homicides, and rates of drunken detainees in police lockups are discussed).  Initiatives include Indigenous Street Patrols, twenty of which exist in rural and metropolitan regions in Western Australia. Alcohol was reported by nineteen of the twenty patrols as being the single biggest issue, after anti-social behaviour and family violence, that they deal with. They serve to divert (mainly) Indigenous people from the justice system, and to alternative places such as sobering up centres. This initiative has reduced the number of drunken detainees and evaluation of this has been generally favourable. (2)  Outcomes include cost benefits through reducing the costs of detention and other criminal justice costs via its diversionary function.

Strategic Area: Functional and resilient families and communities

Strategic change indicators include repeat offending.  The high rate of recidivism for adult and juvenile offenders is discussed.  Relevant initiatives are as follows.

1. Prisoner Traineeship Program is an initiative set up by the Department of Justice to assist prisoners post-release to reintegrate. Partnerships have been  established between government, non-government, business and community organisations to assist through vocational education and training.  It allows prisoners to gain traineeships in prison, enabling prisoners who have employment in prison-based industries to gain qualifications and experience in their chosen field.  Upon release, prisoners are going on to further training and employment.  It is not Indigenous-specific, but has delivered outcomes for Indigenous people.

Gordon Inquiry and Action Plan (2002)

The Gordon Inquiry came about in the aftermath of a coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal teenage girl at the Swan Valley Nyungah Community.(3)  The Inquiry was headed by Magistrate Sue Gordon and ultimately presented Government with 197 Recommendations and Findings.  The Gordon Action Plan was formulated by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in November 2002 as a formal Government response to the Gordon Inquiry.(4)  It details more than 120 initiatives to be implemented by 15 agencies and a whole-of-government approach to organising and delivering services.  It has been a very influential document in Western Australia, in terms of policy.  The Action Plan focuses on the safety of women and children, and its key outcomes reflect this focus (that is:- timely responses to Aboriginal children identified as abused or significantly at risk of abuse and/or neglect; reduction in Aboriginal family violence and child abuse; increase in the percentage of Aboriginal people who feel safe; and an increase in the percentage of Aboriginal people who are aware of, and can access, family violence and child abuse services).  Relevantly, the Gordon Action Plan acknowledges that the expansion of community-based programs and community supervision agreements to enhance the management of violent offenders may assist in achieving these outcomes.  Specific recommendations of the Gordon Inquiry are also responded to. 

(i) Responses to child abuse and family violence may be strengthened by implementing the best aspects of the Joonalup Family Violence Court Project; by ensuring that Aboriginal prisoners access relevant (and culturally appropriate) programs; and that Aboriginal (victims and) offenders are given better information about the justice (and specifically court) processes and systems (through, for instance, an information sheet for litigants in Indigenous languages, a video with an Indigenous focus, or employment of Indigenous people as Court Information Officers)); and working towards increasing the number of Aboriginal Community Supervision Agreements (whilst strengthening support provided to Aboriginal communities participating in this program).

(ii) The safety of communities may be strengthened through the use of work camps as an alternative to traditional incarceration of Aboriginal adult offenders.  There is a commitment through amendment of the Young Offenders Act to early release of juveniles to allow them to return to communities under supervision for the latter part of their custodial sentence. Aboriginal Community Supervision Agreements for juveniles, and the use of elders, wardens and community advisors to facilitate Juvenile Justice Teams is also endorsed.

Western Australian Family and Domestic Violence State Strategic Plan (2004-2008)

In 2003, the Western Australian Government developed the Western Australian Family and Domestic Violence State Strategic Plan (2004-2008). (5)  Although this Plan is not Indigenous-specific, within the document the particular circumstances of Indigenous women (with respect to violence) are noted, and the Plan is informed by, or aligned with, Indigenous-specific frameworks or policy documents (such as the Gordon Action Plan and the WA Inquiry into Aboriginal customary law (see below)).  The ten specific focus areas of the Strategic Plan have been used to develop annual WA Family and Domestic Violence Action Plans over time.

Examples of initiatives undertaken as part of the Strategic Plan and Action Plans include increasing the circuits of visiting Community Corrections Officers and Juvenile Justice Officers to multi-functional (justice and policing) centres set up on remote communities. The Department of Corrective Services' Community Justice Services have also assessed the need for, and established where appropriate, perpetrator programs in consultation with Aboriginal communities in the Goldfields, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Kimberley (with an innovative program established at Broome in 2006 - employing a fulltime program officer position to deliver the program, while building local capacity to deliver it on an ongoing basis).  It is noted that the Department of Corrective Services has employed regional program officers in response to the recommendations of the Gordon Inquiry, and it is these officers who are responsible for undertaking the latter project. More specifically, in 2006/07, as part of this policy initiative, there was a focus on the expansion of family violence courts.  Commencing in 2006-2007 and continuing through 2007-2008, Family Violence Courts were to be developed in a number of metropolitan court locations, including an Aboriginal-specific program at Geraldton.  A reduction in the increasing rate of Aboriginal imprisonment through engagement of suitable perpetrators in a Family and Domestic Violence Court Case Management Model, and an increase the accessibility to courts for Aboriginal people were identified as outcomes for the initiative.  An Aboriginal Reference Group was established to ensure effective consultation with Aboriginal people in the roll-out to new areas. The Department of Attorney General was responsible for promoting and educating the community on the expansion of the family violence courts, targeting the Aboriginal community in particular.  The Family and Domestic Violence Unit were to continue delivery of their educational resources, and include as part of these resources specific radio segments for Indigenous communities as part of a ‘Freedom from Fear' campaign.  Family violence courts in a number of metropolitan court locations were to focus on service delivery to Aboriginal victims and perpetrators of family violence. (6)

Safer Communities Safer Children (2007)

Safer Communities Safer Children was developed by the Department of Indigenous Affairs in September 2007 in response to a dramatic increase in the number of disclosures and investigations of child abuse in the East Kimberley (WA).  This document is informed by, linked to, and built on the commitments set out in the Gordon Action Plan, and is, in a sense, an extension of that Plan.

The document sets out a ‘phased approach' to disclosure.

1. Phase 1 consists of an initial, immediate and short-term response, where evidence is obtained, perpetrators charged and case managed within the court system, and victims provided with safety, support and intervention strategies.  Community education is also undertaken in relation to legal processes. 
2. - Phase 2 consists of recovery, and the delivery of support for the broader community to manage issues arising as a result of the allegations and arrests.
3. Phase 3 is concerned with ongoing community building where agencies will work with communities to accomplish any cultural shift required to ensure the safety and security of children.  Each relevant agency has specific roles to fulfill in relation to each phase.

• The Department of Corrective Services (DCS) is to provide appropriate custodial care and transport of Indigenous prisoners, suicide prevention programs, and will manage the integration of Indigenous prisoners into the justice system (considering age, cultural and family issues) during Phase 1.  During Phase 2, they will supervise persons on bail or on supervision orders and parolees in the community with other relevant support staff, and will train and supervise Aboriginal Community Corrections Officers.  They will support the uptake of police and court diversion services.  During Phase 3, they will contribute to streamlining core police and justice activities through an extension of custodial services, and will provide or purchase culturally appropriate sex offender treatment programs for adults and juveniles and cognitive behaviours, violent offenders and alcohol and drug programs, available both in and out of prison. 

• The Department of the Attorney General, in relation to Phase 2, will evaluate the possibility of developing specialist Aboriginal courts and family and domestic violence courts within the region.  Further, it will support the uptake of police and court diversion services.  For Phase 3, it will ensure that regional Aboriginal Justice Agreements are available to all relevant agencies for action, and will evaluate the possibility of developing specialist courts.