Inquiry into Racism, Hate and Violence against First Nations People
8 July 2026
On 5 June 2026, the Law Council provided a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in relation to its inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The submission was informed by input from the Indigenous Legal Issues Committee, the Law Institute of Victoria, the Law Society of NSW, the NSW Bar Association, the Queensland Law Society, the Law Society of South Australia and the Law Society of Western Australia.
The submission highlighted that, as confirmed by numerous Federal bodies and inquiries, First Nations Australians have long experienced racial discrimination, hatred and violence; that this constitutes a serious human rights problem resulting in significant harm for First Nations individuals, families and communities; and that given its systemic nature, this issue cannot be considered or addressed in isolation from historical and ongoing impacts of colonisation. The submission also noted the disjunct between Australia’s international human rights commitments and its domestic practices (in particular the lack of progress to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and other gaps in the Australian Government’s implementation of outstanding recommendations of relevant Federal inquiries and reports.
Some of the Law Council's recommendations included the development of a National Action Plan to implement the UNDRIP in Australia, implementation of outstanding recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Pathways to Justice report with respect to police accountability, full domestic implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, enactment of a federal Human Rights Act, adequate and predictable funding for First Nations legal assistance and access to justice (including for civil justice needs), and implementation of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Anti-Racism Framework.
Last Updated on 07/07/2026