Inquiry into racism, hate and violence
The National Commission has made 9 recommendations to an inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs began an inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People on 4 March 2026.
Our 9 recommendations are listed below – you can read more detail about our recommendations and why we made them by downloading our full submission using the link at the bottom of the page.
Recommendation 1: Ensure the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 is applied to end racist hate speech against First Nations people in the media.
Recommendation 2: The Government should fully incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law and ensure it is upheld for children in the youth justice system.
Recommendation 3: The Government should address public narratives that encourage racism, hate, and violence against First Nations children and young people.
Recommendation 4: That the Government legislate a national minimum age of criminal responsibility of 14 and enforceable minimum standards for youth justice.
Recommendation 5: The Government should fully incorporate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into domestic law.
Recommendation 6: The Government should adopt all the recommendations from the Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Anti-Racism Framework.
Recommendation 7: The Government should ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure.
Recommendation 8: That the Government implement the recommendations from the Statutory Review of the Online Safety Act 2021.
Recommendation 9: The Parliament should investigate whether existing transparency frameworks are sufficient to manage the risk of legislating according to ‘community expectations.’
Public hearings
The Joint committee will be travelling around the country to hear from people at public hearings.
Visit Inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – Parliament of Australia to find out more about the inquiry into racism, hate and violence and the public hearings.
Need support?
If you are unsafe or in immediate danger, please call 000. You can find information, links and telephone numbers for services that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on our resources page Resources | National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People