Indigenous young People and the NSW children's court: Magistrates' perceptions of the courts criminal juisdiction

This article presents the findings of a component of the National Assessment of Australia's Children's Courts (the 'national study'). Specifically, this article focuses on the perceptions of magistrates in the New South Wales (NSW) Children's Court ('NSWCC or the 'Court') in relation to the issues facing Indigenous young people in the Court's criminal jurisdiction generally, and the potential of Indigenous youth courts more specifically. Part II outlines the method for the national study from which this article stems, as well as the method for the NSW component of the study. Part III provides an analysis of NSWCC magistrates' perceptions of challenges and reforms in the Court's criminal jurisdiction as they relate to Indigenous young people specifically, and discusses our analysis in light of findings from the national study from other states and territories. Finally, Part IV briefly considers the key findings of our analysis in light of the current Koori Youth Court pilot.