Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children Roundtable
19 August 2026
On 9 July 2026, a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children Roundtable initiated by Dr Hannah McGlade, member of the Law Council's Indigenous Legal Issues Committee, was held at Government House. The Roundtable was hosted by Governor-General Sam Mostyn AC and was convened by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Katie Kiss, and the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner, Micaela Cronin.
The Roundtable brought together a significant number of First Nations women’s advocates and other stakeholders to consider Australia’s response to the ongoing crisis of Murdered and Missing First Nations women and children. In its final report, the Roundtable made the following calls to action:
- National Cabinet to provide a community update on actions taken to address this issue since 2024.
- Address Murdered and Missing First Nations Women and Children as a key priority across government.
- Improve national data collection on violence against First Nations women and children and commit to greater government transparency on this issue.
- Establish mechanisms of remembrance and recognition.
The Law Council supports the critical importance of the issues raised at the Roundtable as underlined by its report. The Law Council has longstanding concerns about First Nations women and children in the justice system, as recognised in our Justice Project of August 2018, and our submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s inquiry into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children. Several recommendations in that submission were reproduced in the Roundtable calls to action, including with respect to national data collection and commitments by Federal, State and Territory governments to improve the justice system for First Nations women and children experiencing violence. The Law Council has written to Government to reiterate its support for action on this issue and will continue to take this up in its advocacy, including in relation to the Second National Action Plan to Address Violence against Women and Girls.
The Roundtable also considered the implementation of existing national strategies, including the Our Ways - Strong Ways - Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026-2036 launched in February this year, acknowledging however that these issues "cannot be understood or addressed solely through the lens of domestic, family and sexual violence". The Law Council will also highlight that Plan in its future advocacy on these matters.
Last Updated on 19/08/2026