On a 38-degree December day in the middle of the desert, 15 people incarcerated at Alice Springs Correctional Centre used t-shirts and pedestal fans to rip a hole in a ceiling, in a desperate attempt to escape the stifling heat of their overcrowded cells. The incident reignited calls to air-condition the prison – one recommendation of the Northern Territory Ombudsman, and firmly in step with the Territory’s human rights obligations to people deprived of their liberty.

Jesuit Social Services supports a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament and throughout 2023, we are advocating for a YES vote in the upcoming referendum. We were honoured to welcome Amanda Watkinson, who is an Aboriginal woman and former Jesuit Social Services staff member, to speak to staff at our recent All Staff Day in June about what a YES vote would mean for Indigenous peoples and for Australia as a whole.

Read Andy Hamilton SJ's reflection on community led justice reinvestment to support our submission to the Justice Reinvestment Design Project.

A recent report found Victoria’s prison system is rife with bullying, harassment, sexism and racism – creating an unsafe workplace for staff and impacting on the ability for prisoners to turn their lives around. Victoria must look at international best practice and ensure its staff are equipped and supported to perform challenging work.

Raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years has been a key policy focus for Jesuit Social Services for almost a decade, and 2022 has seen us increase our advocacy to achieve this goal.

Our Victorian election platform advocates for funding for initiatives that enable people to re-engage with education, training and employment, such as our Navigator and JVES programs.