Inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

SUBMISSION SUMMARY   

In June 2026, The Alternative First Responders (AFR) Team put forward a submission to The Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs for the Inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.

In this submission, we focus on the institutional role of police as agents of racism and harm, and its prevalence and impact. We also outline concerns, public pledges, and findings that demonstrate how alternatives to police can reduce contact with law enforcement for First Nations communities, and how community safety led by First Nations leadership and community-controlled solutions ultimately benefits everyone.

Read the Alternative First Responders’ full submission here – Submission 218

WHAT WE HIGHLIGHTED 

• The role of policing in ongoing racialised harm against First Nations peoples and communities.
• The nature of racism within policing as institutional, not individual.

“Too many people, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, being killed or harmed by police when they need and deserve care.” – AFR public pledge

• The impact of institutional racism as not abstract. High and increasing rates of First Nations deaths in police custody reveal the severe harms faced by First Nations peoples in interactions with police: in the years 2024-2025, Australia recorded the largest number of First Nations deaths in custody since 1979-1980.¹
• Trends in police responses and failure to ‘protect’.
• Alternative First Responders and safer entry points for care.
• The effectiveness of First Nations community-based initiatives.

“Harm reduction is an integral part of collective care and justice doing. Police are not appropriately trained to respond to social issues, and there is a real risk and reality of harm that cannot be held accountable without independent, transparent Police oversight. If we can’t change the players (Police), let’s change the game (Alternative First Responder model).” – AFR public pledge

CALL TO ACTION    

1. Urgent action to address the human rights violation of the mass incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and adults in Australia.
2. A reframing of the current default police-first model to one that prioritises alternative first responders.
3. Policy frameworks that prioritise community resilience with First Nations leadership embedded at all levels of development.
4. The adoption of a justice reinvestment approach, redirecting funds currently expanding police capabilities into community-led response programs.
5. A formal commitment from governments to support and expand existing community-based alternative response programs and to fund the development of new models.²

You can support the call for care, not force by signing our national pledge for alternatives to police HERE.

References

1. McAlister M, Miles H & Bricknell S. (2025). Deaths in custody in Australia 2024–25, Australian Institute of Criminology (web report) <https://doi.org/10.52922/sr78199>. Page 9
2. This call to action is reflected also by Change the Record in their submission to the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Country Visit to Australia 2 to 13 November 2026) <https://raisely-images.imgix.net/change-therecord/uploads/special-rapporteur-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples-ctr-pdf-90f194.pdf>.