Explore our plan
- Rebalancing the justice system
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The justice system is failing many of us, with underfunded legal services leaving hundreds of thousands without the help they need.
There is an urgent need for independent oversight, better tracking of deaths in custody, and a fairer, more accessible justice system for all.
The Greens' plan:
- Ensure independent oversight in all prisons and places of detention by implementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, with $382 million over four years matched by state and territory funding to establish a culturally appropriate monitoring system.
- Improve transparency and accountability for deaths in custody by expanding the National Deaths in Custody Program with $1 million, ensuring real-time data collection, including police shootings, and publishing this data on a national dashboard.
- Establish independent police oversight in every jurisdiction by creating impartial bodies to handle complaints and misconduct, ending the inappropriate practice of police investigating themselves. The Commonwealth, states, and territories will share funding.
- Double federal funding for legal assistance services by increasing support under the National Legal Assistance Partnership to $490 million annually. This ensures Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, community legal centres, women’s legal services, and legal aid commissions can meet the growing demand.
- Establish a war crimes unit
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Australia must not be a safe haven for war criminals, yet the lack of a permanent body to investigate and prosecute war crimes has allowed some to escape justice.
Establishing an International Crimes Unit will ensure Australia upholds its international obligations, protects human rights, and holds war criminals accountable.
The Greens' plan:
- Establish a permanent and specialised International Crimes Unit to investigate and prosecute war crimes and other international law violations, ensuring both Australian citizens and non-citizens in Australia are held accountable for their actions.
- First Nations justice system
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First Nations people face systemic racism in Australia's justice system, leading to overrepresentation in prisons and devastating impacts on their communities.
The steps to address this injustice are clear in the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and other reports—what’s needed is the political will to act.
The Greens' plan:
- Implement all recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody by investing $100 million and partnering with First Nations communities, particularly families affected by deaths in custody.
- Address the over-imprisonment of First Nations people by adopting the recommendations from the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Pathway to Justice report, including establishing a justice reinvestment coordinating body.
- Work with affected communities to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in the Northern Territory, ensuring better outcomes for children in detention.
- A Legal Cannabis Scheme for Australia
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The war on drugs has failed, fuelling organised crime and putting people in the criminal justice system for minor cannabis use.
The Greens are working to legalise cannabis with a well-regulated market that prioritises public health, creates significant government revenue, and ends the criminalisation of cannabis users.
The Greens' plan:
- Establish a single national cannabis market by creating the Cannabis Australia National Agency (CANA) to regulate and license growers and retailers in the public interest.
- Improve health outcomes through accurate labelling, safe growing conditions, and public health information, ensuring people know what they are consuming.
- Generate $700 million a year in new federal revenue and hundreds of millions more for the states and territories —funding that could go straight to schools, hospitals, and climate action.
- Prohibit big pharma, big tobacco, and big alcohol from participating in the cannabis industry, focusing on not-for-profits, small businesses, and individuals to grow cannabis.
- Allow households to grow up to six plants for personal use without needing a licence or paying tax, making cannabis more accessible for everyday people.
- Provide legal and safe access to cannabis at specialty cafes and dispensaries, with accredited training for staff in responsible service and the option for on-site consumption or takeaway products.
- Protecting fundamental rights
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Australia is one of the few democracies without a Human Rights Act to ensure governments uphold the rights of all people, from free speech and access to housing to a safe environment.
The Greens are working to protect these rights and defend essential freedoms, by legislating a national Human Rights Act and strengthening institutions dedicated to human rights.
The Greens' plan:
- Legislate a National Human Rights Act based on the Parliament’s Human Rights Committee model to protect civil, political, environmental, and social rights such as the right to life, education, and a safe environment.
- Quadruple funding for the Australian Human Rights Commission with an additional $186 million over the forward estimates, ensuring it can advocate for human rights across all areas of life.
- Remove the need for Human Rights Commissioners to seek external funding by fully funding each commissioner equitably, allowing them to focus on their core work without corporate pressures.
- Protecting the truth tellers
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Whistleblowers in Australia face severe consequences for exposing wrongdoing, often losing their jobs, careers, and relationships.
The Greens are working to implement practical measures to support whistleblowers, improve government transparency, and restore public trust in our institutions so truth-telling is protected and rewarded.
The Greens' plan:
- Establish a fully empowered Whistleblower Commission with an annual budget of $10 million to provide whistleblowers with the support they need to expose wrongdoing.
- Legislate whistleblower reward laws to incentivise whistleblowing by offering fair compensation when government funds are recovered through whistleblower-identified fraud or misuse.
- Fix the FOI process by injecting $5 million to address backlogs, enforce compliance timelines, impose sanctions for non-compliance, and ensure adequate funding for the FOI Commissioner.
- Improve the National Anti-Corruption Commission by allowing public hearings in cases in the public interest, increasing transparency and rebuilding trust in the institution.
More information on this policy initiative will be released soon.