Unfinished Justice: Honouring Mabo Day and the Unmet Promise of the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission
- Brian AJ Newman LLB
- Jun 3
- 3 min read
Today, as we publish this reflection on the enduring legacy of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, we do so on a day of profound national significance—Mabo Day. Observed annually on 3 June, Mabo Day commemorates the courageous efforts and remarkable achievements of Eddie Koiki Mabo, a proud Mer Island man, who successfully challenged and overturned the legal fiction of terra nullius through the landmark 1992 High Court decision. This historic victory not only recognised the rightful ownership and connection of Indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands but also reshaped the very foundations of Australia's legal and social landscape, affirming the principles of justice, equity, and reconciliation.
Reflecting upon the Royal Commission provides us with a powerful reminder of how far we have come—and how far we still have to go. The Royal Commission of 1991 was more than just an examination into systemic injustice; it was an urgent call for profound societal change, offering a transformative roadmap towards healing, equity, and dignity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It delivered 339 carefully considered recommendations, each representing a vital commitment to addressing the root causes of disadvantage, reducing incarceration, and fundamentally reshaping the justice system to honour and respect Aboriginal identity, culture, and human rights.
At the heart of these recommendations was a vision of a justice system grounded in:
Empowering culturally appropriate legal representation and advocacy, ensuring every Indigenous voice is heard and valued.
Establishing meaningful alternatives to imprisonment, particularly for minor offences, emphasising rehabilitation and community engagement over punishment.
Upholding fairness, equity, and dignity, embedding these core principles in every level of the justice process.
Creating national standards to protect human rights, ensuring humane and respectful police and custodial practices.
Implementing culturally appropriate and comprehensive support programs within correctional facilities to support healing and rehabilitation.
Ensuring robust accountability through transparent and continuous monitoring, to expose and correct injustices promptly.
Building detailed, reliable data systems to monitor incarceration rates and conditions continuously.
Facilitating genuine Indigenous community leadership and oversight, recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices as essential in justice reform.
Transforming police interactions and protocols, ending discriminatory practices and ensuring respectful, culturally informed engagement.
Reducing the criminalisation of Indigenous Australians through effective, culturally tailored diversionary programs.
[Full list of 339 recommendations available here.]
The Broad Vision of the Recommendations
The Royal Commission categorised its detailed recommendations into pivotal areas that remain as critical today as ever:
Human Rights
Racism, Aboriginality, and Equity
Care and Well-being
Health
Custody and Security
Rehabilitation
Reparation
Administration and Accountability
Staffing Issues
Correctional Efficiency and Fairness
These categories reflect a holistic approach to reforming the justice system—one that values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ lives, rights, and futures.
Current Realities: The Need for Renewed Commitment (2025)
Over three decades later, independent evaluations confirm that fewer than half of these crucial recommendations have been meaningfully implemented. Critical measures intended to dismantle structural racism, reduce incarceration rates, improve custodial conditions, and enhance oversight remain inadequately addressed or wholly neglected.
This failure to fully realise the Royal Commission’s vision has perpetuated cycles of incarceration, marginalisation, and injustice—continuing the crisis of Aboriginal deaths in custody and exacerbating systemic inequality.
Connecting the Past to the Present
The authoritative 2012 research paper, Monitoring and Oversight of Human Rights in Closed Environments, underscores how profoundly relevant the Commission's original recommendations remain. Persistent systemic failures identified include:
Grave breaches in duty of care, exemplified by tragic cases like Mr Ward’s preventable death in custody.
Severe overcrowding and inadequate infrastructure, compromising basic human rights and dignity.
Insufficient oversight and transparency, which allows injustices to remain hidden and unaddressed.
A Call to Collective Action and Courage
On this Mabo Day, we have an opportunity—and a moral imperative—to renew our commitment to the vision of justice articulated by both Eddie Koiki Mabo and the Royal Commission. This is a call to action for every Australian: governments, justice agencies, policymakers, and communities must work hand-in-hand with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to fully realise the recommendations made over three decades ago.
Together, we can transform our justice system, reclaim our shared humanity, and honour the legacy of those who have fought tirelessly for justice. In doing so, we move closer towards the society we aspire to become—one defined by fairness, dignity, reconciliation, and genuine equality for all Australians.
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