The Health and Well Being of First Nations Younger People in Australia's Prisons
Our summary
This report shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people are over-represented in Australia’s prisons. First Nations people in contact with the criminal justice system often have complex health and wellbeing needs and may require access to culturally safe health care services. First Nations people in prison are often there for short periods and many enter and exit the system multiple times.
The report highlighted targeting of Through care services for First Nations people in prison could be enhanced by improvements in routine national reporting, including on the size and characteristics of the population entering and being released from prison. First Nations people are over-represented among those on remand and serving short sentences and can therefore be cycling through the prison system at a higher rate.
If administrative data could be collected routinely on the health of all people in prison as part of the National Prisoner Health Data Collection (NPHDC) in future, this could better inform thorough care policy and service planning, including for First Nations people.