This report considers the exercise and enjoyment of human rights by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including progress to date, barriers impeding enjoyment, and approaches required to uphold and protect rights. The report focuses on how the rights of First Peoples, as affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, can be better realised in Australian law, policy and practice. 

The report identifies racism as a major barrier to equality, affecting outcomes across health, justice and social systems. It emphasises that First-Peoples-led solutions already exist and highlights the need for long-term investment, rather than short-term, fragmented funding approaches.

The report reveals systemic inequality for First Peoples, calling for urgent reform, stronger rights protections and genuine, community-led solutions. It includes a Blueprint for a fair and just future for First Peoples and 25 recommendations. Together they:

• set out a vision where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can fully and freely exercise and enjoy their human rights and where they are supported by systems that uphold self-determination, dignity and equality
• provides a pathway for governments to move beyond rhetoric, to act with integrity, and to ensure the strength, courage and determination of First Peoples is met with structural reform and genuine accountability.

Key findings

• Overrepresentation of First Peoples in the criminal justice system, particularly among young people. 
• Disproportionate child removal and ongoing intergenerational trauma. 
• Unequal access to safe housing, healthcare, education and infrastructure. 
• Failure to implement previous recommendations and commitments.