Advocacy, organised.
20 campaigns across 14 issue areas. Filter by status or topic. Each entry is a playbook other organisers can borrow from.
- Victoria, Australia· 2026active
Tackle the drivers of crime to create safer communities
To promote a more effective approach to creating safer communities by addressing the drivers of crime, rather than expanding youth detention facilities like Malmsbury.
Led by Commission for Children and Young People Victoria
youth-justicechild-rightscrime-prevention - Queensland, Australia· 2023active
Free the Kids QLD
["End watch house detention of children","Raise age of criminal responsibility to 14","Repeal breach of bail laws"]
Led by ["Sisters Inside","Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak","Youth Advocacy Centre"]
indigenous-rightsqldyouth-justice - Tasmania, Australia· 2021active
Close Ashley Youth Detention Centre
Close Ashley Youth Detention Centre following revelations of decades of child sexual abuse. Transition to community-based therapeutic model.
Led by Commission of Inquiry survivors, Tasmanian Aboriginal community, legal services
child-abusefacility-closureyouth-justice - Australia (National)· 2021active
End Strip Searching of Children
["Ban routine strip searching of children in all jurisdictions","Implement body scanner technology","Independent monitoring of all strip searches"]
Led by ["National Children's Commissioner","Human Rights Law Centre","CREATE Foundation"]
detention-conditionshuman-rightsstrip-searching - Australia (National)· 2020active
Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch
["Independent investigation of all Aboriginal deaths in custody","Implementation of all 339 RCIADIC recommendations (only 64% fully implemented after 30+ years)","National justice target in Closing the Gap"]
Led by ["National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services","ANTaR","Change the Record"]
accountabilitydeaths-in-custodyrciadic - Australia (National)· 2020active
Free the Kids - End Child Imprisonment
End imprisonment of children under 14. Immediate moratorium on solitary confinement of children.
Led by Free the Kids Coalition, Aboriginal Legal Services, medical professionals
age-of-responsibilityhuman-rightsyouth-justice - Canada· 2020active
End Immigration Detention / #WelcomeToCanada
End use of provincial jails for immigration detention; broader detention reform
Led by Amnesty International Canada & Human Rights Watch with allies
asylumdetention-conditionsjail-userefugee - Australia (National)· 2020active
Bail Reform for Children Campaign
End remand as default for children; presumption of bail for all under-18s
Led by National Children's and Youth Law Centre, NATSILS
bailremandyouth-justice - Australia - NSW· 2019active
Justice Reinvestment - Mt Druitt
Apply justice reinvestment principles in Mt Druitt/Western Sydney. Redirect spending from youth incarceration to community programs.
Led by Western Sydney University, Marist180, local Aboriginal orgs
community-ledjustice-reinvestmentyouth-justice - Australia - QLD· 2019active
Youth Justice Coalition QLD - Voices for Change
Counter punitive QLD youth justice rhetoric. Advocate for therapeutic alternatives, raise the age, end watch house detention of children.
Led by Youth Advocacy Centre, Sisters Inside, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service QLD
advocacyalternativesyouth-justice - United States· 2018active
Families Belong Together
End family separation and detention; reunify families; humane asylum policies
Led by National Domestic Workers Alliance with broad coalition
asylumchildrendetention-conditionsfamily-separationrefugee - Australia (National)· 2018active
SmartJustice for Young People
Promote evidence-based youth justice responses. Campaign against punitive approaches that increase reoffending.
Led by Jesuit Social Services, Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
early-interventionevidence-basedyouth-justice - Australia (National)· 2018active
National Custody Notification Service Expansion
Expand the NSW Custody Notification Service model (zero deaths in police cells) to all jurisdictions nationally.
Led by NATSILS, Aboriginal Legal Services, Change the Record
custody-notificationdeaths-in-custodyindigenous-rights - Australia - NSW· 2017active
Deadly Connections - Aboriginal Community Justice Group
Aboriginal community-controlled organisation providing culturally safe support to Aboriginal people in contact with the justice system in Western Sydney.
Led by Deadly Connections
community-controlledindigenous-rightsjustice-support - Australia - NT· 2016active
Close Don Dale Campaign
Close Don Dale Youth Detention Centre and replace with community-based therapeutic alternatives following Royal Commission.
Led by Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT, Human Rights Law Centre, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency
detention-conditionsindigenous-rightsyouth-justice - Australia (National)· 2016active
Raise the Age National Campaign
Raise minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 nationally, in line with UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommendations.
Led by National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Change the Record, Amnesty International, UNICEF Australia, Law Council of Australia, Australian Medical Association
age-of-responsibilityindigenous-rightsyouth-justice - Australia (National)· 2015active
Change the Record Coalition
Reduce Indigenous incarceration and violence through justice targets, policy reform, and community-led solutions.
Led by Change the Record (coalition of 20+ Aboriginal, legal, health orgs)
closing-the-gapcommunity-ledindigenous-rightsyouth-justice - Australia - NSW· 2013active
Justice Reinvestment - Bourke (Maranguka)
Redirect justice spending from incarceration to community-led programs in Bourke, NSW. Aboriginal community-controlled model.
Led by Just Reinvest NSW, Maranguka Community Hub
community-ledindigenous-rightsjustice-reinvestmentyouth-justice - Australia - NSW· 2000active
Youth Justice Coalition NSW
Systemic advocacy for youth justice reform in NSW. Against raising penalties, for therapeutic responses.
Led by Youth Justice Coalition (30+ member organisations)
advocacydiversionyouth-justice - Australia (National)· 1991active
Decriminalise Public Drunkenness
Decriminalise public intoxication nationally — #1 recommendation of Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991). Still criminalised in QLD, WA, NT.
Led by Aboriginal Legal Services, Public Health Association, civil liberties groups
deaths-in-custodydecriminalisationindigenous-rights