Justice Action is a not-for-profit

community organisation Community organization or Community Based Organization refers to organization aimed at making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically, psychosocially, ...

based in Sydney, Australia. Justice Action focuses on

abuses of authority Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

in the

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

systems in Australia. Founded in 1979 as Prisoner Action, Justice Action is independent of the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

and is funded by voluntary donations and the work of the

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...

, Breakout Media Communications. Justice Action's coordinator is Brett Collins, an ex-prisoner who began with the organisation in 1979 as co-founder. Alongside Collins, Justice Action is run by a team of interns who are university students in law and other degrees.

Campaigns and activities

In operation since 1979, Justice Action is one of the oldest independent

prisoners' rights The rights of civilian and military prisoners are governed by both national and international law. International conventions include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the United Nations' Minimum Rules for the Treatment ...

and advocacy services in Australia, and has had a significant impact on the development of criminal justice policy in Australia. It led the creation of various other agencies and organisations, including the Prisoners Legal Service in 1979, following the Nagle Royal Commission into New South Wales Prisons, and the Australian Prisoners Union in 1999. Justice Action provides ongoing support to prisoners and involuntary mental health patients on a case-by-case basis, with an emphasis on cases that deal with issues of abuse, mistreatment or human rights. Justice Action has mounted recent high-profile campaigns on prison education and access to computers in cells, visitation rights for women prisoners, the prisoners' right to vote, the potential of a prison-based Needle Syringe Program, and the right of involuntary mental health patients to access educational programs, and make decisions concerning their treatment. Justice Action is regularly invited to attend and present at conferences in Australia and internationally on issues of

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes ...

, prisoners' rights, and

policy. As a community organisation focused on

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

issues in the justice and mental health sector, Justice Action works with partners nationally and internationally to share information, research, coordinate and conduct campaigns. In Australia, Justice Action works on campaigns in conjunction with other community groups and industry peak-bodies such as the New South Wales Council of Social Services, the

New South Wales Teachers Federation The New South Wales Teachers Federation (also known simply as the Federation) is the registered trade union that covers New South Wales (NSW) public school teachers. The New South Wales Teachers Federation represents all teachers in NSW public ...

, and is a member of the Community Justice Coalition, an Australian community coalition focused on reform in the Justice and Prison Systems. Internationally, the organisation is a member of the International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA), a bi-annual international conference for activists and academics, which Justice Action hosted in 2006 for ICOPA 11 Tasmania.

Publications

Justice Action publishes research and policy papers on issues related to criminal justice reform and mental health policy. Until 2004 the organisation published a newspaper entitled ''Framed''. ''Framed'' was published quarterly for 44 issues and was Australia's only inmate's newspaper. The newspaper was composed of edited contributions from serving Australian prisoners and was distributed to prisons Australia-wide. In 2002, ''Framed'' was banned for distribution in New South Wales (NSW) Prisons by Corrective Services NSW, after it claimed the content of ''Framed'' would create "disharmony and conflict" within the prison. In 2012, Justice Action published research papers on Restorative Justice, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Remission, and Computers in Cells which were launched at ICOPA 14 in Trinidad and Tobago.

References

External links

* {{Official, https://justiceaction.org.au
Justice Action YouTube channel

The International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA)

Breakout Media Communications
Non-profit organisations based in New South Wales Organisations based in Sydney Political advocacy groups in Australia Prison-related organizations Prison abolition movement

Campaigns and activities

Publications

See also

References

External links