Media Releases
13/05/2026
MEDIA RELEASE: Federal Budget fails to ensure access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) says the Federal Budget has ignored Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with no new investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS).
08/05/2026
MEDIA RELEASE: UN calls out Australia for racial discrimination while PM missing in action
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has handed down a scathing statement on the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia’s so-called criminal justice system.
06/05/2026
MEDIA RELEASE: Children pay the price for justice system failures
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) shares its deepest condolences for the family of Kumanjayi Little Baby and stands in solidarity with the community in Mparntwe who mourn this tragic loss.
17/04/2026
MEDIA RELEASE: “Don’t waste this opportunity” – Emergency summit on youth justice must be on PM’s agenda for Indigenous Conference
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) is calling for an emergency summit on youth justice to be on the Prime Minister’s agenda at the inaugural National Indigenous Labor Conference, taking place this weekend.
08/04/2026
MEDIA RELEASE: Entirely untrue – federal government’s response to open letter ignores legal advice
The government’s response to an open letter from hundreds of organisations released today is entirely untrue and ignores legal advice obtained and shared with the Prime Minister last year.
08/04/2026
MEDIA RELEASE: 200-plus organisations and leaders urge PM to call emergency youth justice summit
206 organisations and leaders from across civil society have penned an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to call an emergency summit on youth justice where governments can listen to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal experts and leaders.
19/03/2026
States and territories outright rejecting CTG commitments, new data shows
The latest Closing the Gap update shows that without decisive action from the Albanese Government, there is no hope for reaching Australia’s 2031 targets, says the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS).
13/02/2026
PM glosses over child incarceration crisis – not good enough
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) says theFederal Government’s failure to acknowledge the mass incarceration of Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people in yesterday’s annual Closing the Gap update is not goodenough.
05/02/2026
MEDIA RELEASE: AIC confirms punitive bail laws driving First Nations over-imprisonment
A new study from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) confirms what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services have been warning for years: a dangerous push towards punitive bail laws from state and territory governments has hit First Nations people the hardest.
11/12/2025
NATSILS Media Release: “Our people are paying with their lives”: Aboriginal deaths incustody reach record high
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) extends its condolences to families and communities who have lost loved ones to deaths in custody, following news that Australia has recorded the highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody in at least four decades.