Sign the Open Letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Sign the Open Letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Right now, there are more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison than ever before.
From coast to coast across our lands, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are being criminalised and imprisoned at alarming rates.
This is happening because state and territory governments are more concerned with political point-scoring than evidence-based reforms.
That is why more than 200 organisations and leaders have come together to urge the Prime Minister to show national leadership.
We are calling for a national emergency summit on youth justice, so that key decision makers in government can listen to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal experts and leaders in a setting where community-controlled organisations lead the discussion.
Will you sign the open letter to add your voice?
18/02/2026
Signatories TO THe Open Letter TO PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE
Nerita Waight, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
Wayne Nannup, Chief Executive Officer, Aboriginal Legal Service of WA Limited
Karly Warner, Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited
Jake Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service
Shane Duffy, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services Queensland
Klynton Wanganeen, Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (South Australia)
Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, Commissioner for Children and Young People Western Australia
Jodie Griffiths-Cook, ACT Public Advocate and Children and Young People Commissioner
Commissioner Natalie Lewis, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner
Shona Reid, Guardian for Children and Young People South Australia
Pat Turner, Lead Convenor, Coalition of Peaks
Catherine Liddle, Chief Executive Officer, SNAICC - National Voice for our Children
Daniel Daylight, CEO, Mounty Aboriginal Youth & Community Services
John Leha, Chief Executive Officer, AbSec
Carly Stanley, CEO, Deadly Connections Community & Justice Services Ltd
Gary Field, Director of Operations and Strategy, Barang Regional Alliance
Marius Smith, CEO, Vacro
Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress
Geoff Scott, CEO, Just Reinvest NSW
Tania Wolff, President, Law Council of Australia
Tim Leach, CEO, Community Legal Centres Australia
Jade Lane, CEO, Change the Record
Jonathon Hunyor, Chief Executive Officer, Justice and Equity Centre
Alexis Goodstone, Acting CEO, Redfern Legal Centre
Selim Ucar, Humanity Matters - Street Youth Services
Lauren Stracey, Chief Executive Officer, Youth Action NSW
Blake Alan Cansdale, National Director, ANTAR
Emma Hearne & Ashleigh Buckett, Principal Solicitors, National Justice Project
Debbie Kilroy, Chief Executive Officer, Sisters Inside
National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls
Jackie Mead, Chief Executive Officer, Knowmore Legal Service
Lesley Kirkwood, Principal Legal Officer, Family Violence Legal Service Aboriginal Corporation SA
Ian Murray, National President, Australian Lawyers Alliance
Alex Petkova, Managing Lawyer, Knowmore Legal Service
Jane Sanders, Principal Solicitor, The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre
Mat Tinkler, CEO, Save the Children Australia / 54 reasons
Gabrielle Bower, Solicitor , Thiyama-li FVPLS
Sym’mon Andrews (Executive Officer) and Benjamin Graham (Principal Solicitor), Central Coast Community Legal Centre
Damian Griffis, CEO, First Peoples Disability Network
Timothy Roberts, President, NSW Council for Civil Liberties
Kerry Weste, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
Kate Allingham, CEO, Economic Justice Australia
Caitlin Reiger, CEO, Human Rights Law Centre
Aysha Kerr & Devon Cuimara , Co-Chairs, Justice Reinvestment Network Australia
Jan Barnett rsj, Coordinator, Josephite Justice Network
Robert Stirling, CEO, Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (NADA)
Jonathan Harms, Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health Carers NSW Inc
Carly Wallace, Director, The Disability Dialogue
David Petherick, Interim CEO, Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) Limited
Skye Kakoschke-Moore, CEO, Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA)
Inclusion Australia
Mija Gwyn, Head of YDAS, Youth Disability Advocacy Service (YDAS)
Australian Child Rights Taskforce
Adam Valavsori, Advocacy Lead, ARACY
Dr Astha Tomar, President, Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
Dr Danielle McMullen, President, Australian Medical Association
Correna Haythorpe, President, Australian Education Union
Cara Varian, CEO, NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS)
Louise Giolitto, CEO, Western Australian Council of Social Service (WACOSS)
Devin Bowles, CEO, ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS)
Adrienne Picone, CEO, Tasmanian Council of Social Service, TasCOSS
Dr Catherine Earl, Chief Executive Officer, South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS)
Aimee McVeigh, Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Council of Social Service
Siobhan Bryson, CEO, Weave Youth & Community Services
Daniel Wong, Acting CEO, NSW Family Services (Fams)
Natalie Ross, Acting CEO, Welfare Rights Centre (NSW)
Joy Connor & Lisa Wriley, Co-Leaders, Wellspring Community of Australia
Rumbi Mabambe, Executive Director, Chain Reaction Foundation
Simon Katterl, CEO, Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland
Kacey Teerma, Indigenous Rights Campaigner, Amnesty International Australia
Emma Cother, Acting Executive Director, Justice Reform Initiative
Kristin O’Connell and Jay Coonan, Co-coordinators, Antipoverty Centre
Charlotte Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health Legal Centre
Kasy Chambers, Executive Director, Anglicare Australia
Isabelle Reinecke, Executive Director, Grata Fund
The Rt Rev Dr Matt Brain, Chair, Public Affairs Commission
Giancarlo de Vera, Chief Executive Officer, BEING Mental Health Consumers
Imogen Edeson, CEO, CREATE Foundation
Sarah Marland, Executive Director, Community Legal Centres NSW
Jenny Davidson, CEO, Council of Single Mothers and their Children
Bryanna Connell, CEO, Barwon Community Legal Service, Victoria
Queensland Advocacy For Inclusion (QAI)
Kerry Staines, CEO, First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence (FNAAFV)
Chelsea McKinney, CEO, Community Legal WA
Matthew Panayi, CEO, Kimberley Community Legal Service
Kris Ramien and Zachary Armytage, Co-Convenors, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men’s Network
Damian Stock, Chief Executive Officer, ARC Justice
Hannah George, Chief Executive Officer, Katherine Women’s Information and Legal Service
Jennifer Tierney, Chief Executive, Oxfam Australia
Jacqueline Phillips, Acting CEO, Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS)
Kerryn Pennell, CEO, Australian Association of Social Workers
Georgie Dent , CEO, The Parenthood
Andrea Mason, Acting CEO, NPY Women’s Council
Anne Cregan, Partner, Gilbert + Tobin
Rosslyn Monro, Director, Community Legal Centres Queensland
Health Justice Australia
Katherine Hayes, CEO, Youth Advocacy Centre
Candice Hughes, Principal Solicitor, YFS Legal
Tracey Harris , Executive Director, Sisters in Spirit Aboriginal Corporation
Emma Golledge, Director, Kingsford Legal Centre
Megan Spindler-Smith, Acting CEO, People with Disability Australia
Gabriela Christian-Hare, CEO, Australian Pro Bono Centre
Jody Nunn, CEO, Reconciliation WA
Judy Harrison, Co-convenor National Regional, Rural, Remote and Very Remote Community Legal Network
Mark Patrick, Managing Principal Solicitor, Australian Centre for Disability Law
Sarah Moulds, Volunteer Director, Rights Resource Network SA
Christine Robinson, CEO, Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre
Elena Rosenman, CEO, Women’s Legal Centre ACT
Belinda Lowe, Campaigns and Communications Director, Grata Fund
Arlia Fleming, CEO, Central Tablelands and Blue Mountains Community Legal Centre
Ryan Gilmour, Coordinator, North West Community Legal Centre Inc.
Belinda Davis, Principal Solicitor, Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre
Katie Green, Chief Executive Officer, Inner City Legal Centre
Justin Abi Daher, Principal Solicitor, Marrickville Legal Centre
Dr Fiona Allison, Associate Professor, Law and Justice Hub, Jumnbunna Institute for Indigenous Research
Leo Patterson Ross, Chief Executive Officer, Tenants’ Union of NSW
Megan Gilmour, Chief Executive Officer, Missing School Inc
Sophie Stewart, CEO, Social Reinvestment WA
Sarah Condon, Principal Lawyer, Crime & Advocacy, Robinson Gill Lawyers
Remberto Rivera, COO, Comm Unity Plus Services Ltd
Teya Dusseldorp, Executive Director, Dusseldorp Forum
Gemma Cafarella, President, Liberty Victoria (the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties)
Louise Farroway, CEO, Illawarra Legal Centre
Peter Rankin, Director, Rankin Lawyers
Cybele Koning, CEO , Caxton Community Legal Centre
Dr Angela Argent, CEO, St Francis Social Services/Centre 360 Youth and Family Service
Dr Michele Lonsdale, Interim CEO, Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
Darren Munday, CEO, Consumers of Mental Health WA
Penney Ferguson, CEO, First Nations Women’s Legal Services Qld
Charlotte Stockwell, Interim CEO, commUnity Plus Victoria
Jenni Smith, CEO, Northern Community Legal Centre Victoria
Mel Dye, Chief Executive Office, Southside Justice
Gershon Nimbalker, National Director, Common Grace
Chris Carr SC, Chair, Criminal Bar Association Victoria
Jade Blakkarly, CEO, WIRE
Elena Pappas, CEO, Law and Advocacy Centre for Women
FIGJAM: Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne VIC
Ashleigh Newnham, Interim CEO, South-East Monash Legal Service
Jason Kanoa, CEO, Victorian Aboriginal Children and Young People’s Alliance
Kon Karapanagiotidis OAM, CEO, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
Bill Rowlings OAM, CEO, Civil Liberties Australia
James Dowsley & Associates
Trans Justice Sydney
Debra Zanella, CEO, Ruah Community Services
Sarah Toovey, Executive Manager, Ruah Legal Services
Karen Fletcher, Executive Officer, Flat Out Inc.
Fay Mound, Acting National Director, UnitingCare Australia
Heather Corkhill, Legal Director, Equality Australia
Lee Carnie, CEO, Youthlaw
Mary Nega, Chief Executive Officer, Youth Affairs Council Victoria
Vanessa Graf, Managing Solicitor, Mulleun Mura Access to Justice Program (Women’s Legal Centre ACT)
Nadia Morales, CEO, Inner Melbourne Community Legal, and Police Accountability Project
Indigenous Social Justice Association - Melbourne
Dash Heath-Paynter, CEO, Health Equity Matters
Tania Farha, Chief Executive Officer, intouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence
Dr Robyn Miller AM, CEO, MacKillop Family Services
Jackie Galloway, CEO, Peninsula Community Legal Centre
Sarah Rodgers, Director, Hume Riverina Community Legal Service
Kylie Wallace, Chief Executive Officer, Youth Affairs Council of Western Australia
Anoushka Jeronimus, Director of the Youth Law Program, WEstjustice
Julie Phillips / Chief Executive Officer, Disability Discrimination Legal Service
Rebecca Glen, Management Director, Centre for Women’s Economic Safety
Priscilla Brice, National Mental Health Consumer Alliance
Tony R. Milne, CEO, Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre
Vrinda Edan, CEO, Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council
Sarah Moulds, Director, Rights Resource Network SA
Reverend Charissa Suli, President, Uniting Church in Australia
Reverend Bruce Moore, Uniting Church Australia, Queensland Synod
Josh Lourensz, Executive Director, Catholic Social Services Victoria
Mr Mark Gaetani, National President, St Vincent de Paul Society National Council
Julie Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, Jesuit Social Services
Satya Tanwer, Executive Director, Strategy and Engagement, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW
The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt, Chair, Social Responsibilities Committee, Anglican Church (Southern Queensland)
Sue Cooke, CEP, Anglicare Southern Queensland
General Synod, Anglican Church of Australia
The Most Revd Jeremy Greaves, Archbishop - Anglican Church Southern Queensland
Tony McAvoy SC, Barrister
Simon Henderson, International Human Rights Lawyer
Dr Leah Williams, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, Society and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW SYDNEY
Emma Buxton-Namisnyk, Senior Lecturer, UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice
Prof Daryl Higgins, Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies, ACU
Anna Copeland, Associate Professor in Law, Murdoch University, Senior Lawyer, SCALES Community Legal Centre
Mehera San Roque, Associate Professor, School of Law, Society and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW
Helen Gibbon, Associate Professor, UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice
Thalia Anthony, Professor, Faculty of Law, UTS, Convenor, Criminal Justice Cluster
Elyse Methven, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UTS, Co-convenor, Criminal Justice Cluster
Ingrid Matthews, Lecturer, Criminology and Law, University New South Wales
Noam Peleg, Associate Professor, UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice
Ruth McCausland, Associate Professor, UNSW Division of Societal Impact, Equity & Engagement
Peta Ivy MacGillivray, Senior Research Fellow, UNSW Division of Societal Impact, Equity & Engagement
Alyce McGovern, Associate Professor, School of Law, Society and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW Sydney
Phillipa Evans, Senior Lecturer, UNSW
Marc De Leeuw, Associate Professor, School of Law, Society and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW
Linda Steele, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney
Samara Hand, Lecturer, UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice
Luke McNamara, Professor, Centre for Criminology, Law and Justice & Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW
Jane Wangmann, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, UTS
Emma Russell, Associate Professor of Crime, Justice and Legal Studies, La Trobe University
Professor Derek Chong, SMO, CEO QP, ABIT (Adventure Based Indigenous Therapy), Quantum Psychiatry








