orders and their children were in out-of-home care
(kinship care or residential care).
financial impost to the Victorian Government in
the order of $286 per day, per person (annually
$104,443 per child). Overall, Victorian government
expenditure on out-of-home care services in
2011-12 was over $350 million with Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander children significantly over
represented in the out-of-home care cohort.
at a significant personal cost to the families and
children involved given the impact on the child
of separation, poor outcomes for children in care
and the intergenerational trauma caused by family
breakdown and contact with the child protection
and/or youth justice system.
of a single prisoner in 2012-13 is in the order
of $96,000.
prison increases the risk of reoffending and
reimprisonment, and that Koori prisoners are more
likely to return to prison within two years of release.
As at 30 June 2012, in Victoria, Indigenous children
were 15.8 times more likely to be in out-of-home care
than non-Indigenous children. Australian Institute of
Family Studies, Child Protection Statistics for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Children (2013). <http://www.
aifs.gov.au/cfca/pubs/factsheets/a142117/index.html>
at 15 July 2013.
Youth justice costs are also considerable, particularly
if children enter the system at a very early age. Recent
research by Jesuit Social Services found that for their
sample of 27 children who first experienced remand
at 10 to 12 years, the total cost of custody in Victorian
Youth Justice was $3,046,560. Cost is from first ever
youth justice custodial order to May 2012. This does
not include collateral costs including policing, court
time, legal aid, or social service. Jesuit Social Services,
above n 190, 15.
"The estimated cost of recidivism was approximately
$96, 348 per incarcerated prisoners and $84,888 per
client referred to residential treatment in 2012-13".
National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee,
above n 487, 56.
See for example, Holland et al, Corrections Research
Paper Series No 1, Who Returns to Prison? Patterns of
Recidivism Among Prisoners Released From Custody
in Victoria in 2002-03 (2007). The paper found that 50
per cent of Koori prisoners returned to prison within two
years compared to 35 per cent of all prisoners. <http://
www.corrections.vic.gov.au/utility/publications+manual
s+and+statistics/ who+returns+to+prison> at 20 June
2013. See also, State of Victoria, Sentencing Advisory
Council, `Comparing Sentencing Outcomes', above n 49.
when it comes to female prisoners as it is with the
general prison population, with at least 40 per cent
of women leaving prison subsequently reoffending
17 per cent of those within 12 months and 27 per
cent within two years".
community are considerable. These include justice
system costs such as police, legal aid, courts
and corrections, but also the costs to community
safety within and beyond Koori communities and to
community relations generally.
reimprisonment is one of the most costly
risks to society of incarceration".
group in our population. They carry
a heavy load within the community.
Imprisoning Aboriginal women makes
no sense this is acknowledged
internationally. They are often victims, have
short criminal careers and their offending
is less serious. Based on this, it is safe to
divert women from the justice system.
have children, that the Commissioner for Aboriginal
Children and Young People, in overseeing the
development of the Five year plan for Aboriginal
children in out-of-home care specifically identify
and address the needs of Koori children with
mothers in prison. This should include a focus
on targeted supports for mothers and children in
these circumstances, including education, health,
parenting and life skills supports.
Parliament of Australia, `Report into Justice
Reinvestment', above n 34, 17.
National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee,
above n 487, 40.
Key informant interview, Dr Harry Blagg, 23 November
2012.