Unfinished Business Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (Report, July 2025)

This important report was publicly released on 6 August 2025. You can read the full report here.

Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement acknowledges and pays respects to the cultural authority of Aboriginal people from all lands and waters of South Australia and Australia. ALRM pays tribute to all who have contributed to this report through sharing experiences, wisdom and knowledge. ALRM thanks all of our staff who have contributed their time and insights.

Below are some excepts from the Report

From Page 4

"It was the hope and expectation of the Royal Commissioners that fundamental reforms to the police and custodial systems – the criminal justice system might make a difference in such a way that those systems would cease from involving so many Aboriginal people in their operations. Also, that the standard of care for Aboriginal prisoners would be improved to lessen the rate of deaths in custody. Instead, the criminal justice system should recognise its disastrous effects upon the Aboriginal population as a whole and show respect and understanding for their cultural differences. The emphasis was on gradual and incremental change."

"It was thought that in this way the incarceration rate might be made to fall. It has been the bitter experience of Australia since the release of the 1991 National Report that the incarceration rate for Aboriginal people has dramatically increased and the rate of deaths in custody has not decreased. And so we look back to the National Report and we look to the recommendations which, had they been implemented, might have made that fundamental difference which had been hoped for." [Page 4]

From Page 7

"In August 2024, Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) commissioned an Aboriginal community led review of 130 of the Royal Commission’s recommendations and to consider whether or not they have been implemented in South Australia. The recommendations were chosen based on their connection with ALRM’s day-to-day operations and the immediacy of their impact (if implemented) on the rate at which Aboriginal people are incarcerated in South Australia. We discuss the selection process in our discussion of our report methodology below."

Some recommendations that discussed in the report that are either implemented or in progress that have had positive and lifechanging impacts. However, the ALRM Report finds (at Page 8) "that most recommendations have not been sufficiently implemented. This is largely attributable to a lack of implementing recommendations based on self-determination and as part of that, a lack of meaningful consultation with Aboriginal communities."

"We find that when government fails to fully consult, making decisions that do not align with community requests, any changes made either benefit only the non-Aboriginal community or simply fail. Perception of the reforms amongst Aboriginal communities is at a low, with a common view amongst our community that whilst at first the Royal Commission was seen as promoting change for the better, the money used on implementing the recommendations soon went into improving the work place for police and prison officers, rather than improving outcomes for Aboriginal people. The implementation of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody remains – Unfinished Business."[Page 8]

Please read the full report here.