Media releases Archives - Jesuit Social Services

Plan to jail even more children won’t reduce youth crime
- 15 April 2026
The Victorian Opposition's plan to expand the already concerning ‘adult time for violent crime’ laws to cover twice as many offences, should it win November’s state election, would be a backwards step and fail to reduce youth crime from occurring in the first place.
Stop It Now! Australia works to keep children free from harm
- 13 April 2026
A major milestone has been reached with the launch of Stop It Now! Australia, the nation’s first federally funded and nationally available child sexual abuse offending prevention service, operated by Jesuit Social Services. This initiative delivers on a key recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and forms part of…
New report highlights lessons from frontline organisations responding to extreme weather events and public health emergencies in Melbourne’s west
- 23 March 2026
A new report, published today by Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places, highlights how community service and health organisations in Melbourne’s west have responded to recent crises including floods, heatwaves and the COVID-19 pandemic, with key recommendations on the need for investment in grassroots collaboration and preparedness activities.
Misguided ‘tough on crime’ policies leading to Closing the Gap failures
- 19 March 2026
As Australia marks National Closing the Gap Day, new data released by the Productivity Commission’s Closing the Gap dashboard shows that Australia is on track to meet only four of the 19 targets and that Australia is going backwards on key targets - the rate of suicide, adult imprisonment, the number of children developmentally on…
The Victorian Government’s bail reforms are creating unsafe and unacceptable conditions
- 24 February 2026
Severe and dangerous overcrowding in Victoria’s police cells is a result of bail reforms introduced last year and there is an urgent need for a change in direction from the Government.
More beds at Malmsbury a sign of failure, not success
- 19 February 2026
The expansion of Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre is a significant investment at the wrong end of the system using money that would be far better spent on evidence-based solutions that prevent crime from occurring.
Jesuit Social Services calls for NT Government to end the transportation and imprisonment of children far away from their families
- 6 February 2026
Jesuit Social Services is calling on the Northern Territory Government to end the practice of imprisoning children from Central Australia in facilities in Darwin and to accept the five recommendations from a new report from the NT Office of the Children’s Commissioner.
New eSafety report shows tech companies need to do much more to disrupt and prevent child sexual abuse
- 5 February 2026
Jesuit Social Services commends eSafety on its new transparency report, which makes it clear that some of the world’s biggest tech companies must do more to disrupt the access to and sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and ensure their platforms keep children safe.
New data highlights the shocking impact of costly and ineffective of tough on crime policies on First Nations peoples
- 4 February 2026
New data released by the Productivity Commission as part of its annual Report on Government Services shows that Australia’s over reliance on incarceration is costly, ineffective, and is disproportionately impacting First Nations Australians.
Extreme heat rapidly making the Northern Territory unliveable, says Climate Justice Alliance NT
- 4 February 2026
Extreme heat and weather caused by climate change are rapidly making the Northern Territory an unliveable environment for people, requiring urgent response from government, says the Climate Justice Alliance NT (CJA NT).