Indigenous sentencing courts in Australia

Abstract

This chapter maps the development of Indigenous sentencing courts in Australia, particularly focussing on children’s courts, exploring who initiated their establishment in each state and territory, and how different models were created. The chapter then focusses on various evaluations and impact studies that have been conducted in order to compare the impact such courts have had on adult and juvenile Indigenous offenders. The focus of such a comparison will be on the Queensland Murri Courts, the Victoria Koori Courts, and the Western Australian Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community Court since they all deal with both adults and children and all have been evaluated.