Sydney, November 14, 2026.- Australia must urgently translate its commitments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples into enforceable protections and meaningful self-determination, a UN expert said today, warning that incarceration and child removal policies are worsening.
“The challenge is not a lack of recommendations, but a failure to implement them,” said Albert K. Barume, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, at the end of an official visit undertaken at the Government’s invitation.
Barume acknowledged the commitments in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and advances in some jurisdictions of the Commonwealth, but said that fragmented laws, policy reversals and weak accountability continue to undermine First Peoples’ rights.
“First Peoples’ rights cannot remain dependent on political goodwill, discretionary programmes or the political agenda of changing state and territorial governments,” he said.
In his end of mission statement, the expert called for an enforceable national framework to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, with consistent standards, independent monitoring and effective participation across all jurisdictions.
Barume expressed alarm at the overrepresentation of First Peoples adults and children in detention and the continuing high rates of removal of indigenous children from their families, communities and Country.
“First Peoples’ children require culturally appropriate care, protection, education, family and community support – not criminalisation,” the expert said.
He urged Australia to establish a national minimum age of criminal responsibility of at least 14 years, without exceptions, and invest in community-controlled prevention, diversion and legal assistance. He called for the full implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle, stronger family support and genuine Indigenous authority over child and family welfare systems.
Barume warned that the rejection of ‘the Voice’ in the 2023 referendum must not be interpreted as a mandate to deny Indigenous Peoples’ rights. He called for a First Peoples’ self-determined and adequately funded representative body at the national level.
Nearly two decades after the National Apology to the Stolen Generations, the expert urged a truth-telling and treaty-making process, led by First Peoples and protected against changing political priorities.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples feel at the brink of a new Stolen Generation,” Barume said.
“Persistent inequalities in housing, essential services, health, education and employment demand more than isolated programmes.”
He praised Aboriginal community-controlled organisations and youth-led initiatives, while urging governments to transfer meaningful authority and sustained resources to First Peoples’ organisations.
“Without such a shift, Closing the Gap remains an unfulfilled promise, while the very inequalities it seeks to overcome continue to deepen,” he said.
Barume will present his report on the visit to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2027.