News

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service stated it supports the Custodial Inspector’s recommendation, tabled today in State Parliament, to extend voting rights to all people in prison.

TALS CEO Jake Smith said in Tasmania, the Tasmanian Electoral Act allows only individuals serving sentences of three years or less to vote.

April, 2025

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service today called out the Premier’s comments regarding “Adult Crime - Adult Time” laws as unacceptable.

“These comments are a knee-jerk reaction by Premier Jeremy Rockliff in relation to incidents of crime in Glenorchy,” TALS CEO Jake Smith said.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service has welcomed the development of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Youth Justice Strategy.

The Custodial Inspector today released its Adult Wellbeing Inspection Report 204, citing the Department of Justice has supported 15 of the 18 recommendations and in part the remaining three.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service stated today funding announced at National Cabinet for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services across Australia doesn’t go far enough.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service today welcomed the State Government decision to not build a Northern prison.

TALS CEO Jake Smith said Minister for Corrections Minister Madeleine Ogilvie’s announcement not to build the Northern Prison and divert funding was significant.

August 2024

The Gap between Aboriginal people in Tasmania and across the country, compared to others, is getting wider.

Aboriginal people are becoming more disadvantaged with a lack of progress towards Closing the Gap as detailed in the recently released Annual Data Compilation report by the Productivity Commission.

The Custodial Inspector’s Adult and Youth Health Care Reports were released this month - highlighting the severe lack of mental and physical health supports for all Adults and Youths in our prison and remand settings.

From the last set of Reports, the Custodial Inspector stated only 12 of 46 recommendations made in the five years between inspections have been implemented in the adult settings.

Every year, NAIDOC Week is celebrated around the country.

There are awards, concerts and feature pieces throughout various media platforms celebrating outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country.

But at the end of the week, we are still faced with the grim figures of over-representation in the Australian prison system.

14th June 2024

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service stated today it is seeing an increased demand for civil legal assistance.

“We are seeing an increase in community members seeking legal advice and assistance on a range of civil issues,” TALS CEO Jake Smith said.

Violence against women continues to be an unaddressed and significant issue across the country and here in Tasmania, for all women.

For Aboriginal Women in Tasmania, the perpetrated violence is more severe and disproportionate.

Aboriginal women are 11 times more likely to lose their lives to assault than non-Aboriginal Women, and three in five Aboriginal women experience violence by a male intimate partner.

On the 25th January 2024 the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service launched its Bail Support program pilot.