Aboriginal led custodial health service design
Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)
Who funded the project
Karabena Consulting worked with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS), Corrections Victoria, Justice Health and GEO to develop and document an Integrated Aboriginal Justice Health Model for implementation at Marngoneet Correctional Centre. The model supports the social, emotional, cultural, and physical wellbeing of Aboriginal people in custody through integrated care, continuity of support post-release, and lived-experience peer workforces.
This project responds to the need for culturally safe, community-led health responses in correctional settings. Through co-design with VAHS, the project produced a scalable and evidence-informed model that centres Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing, and supports reintegration back into community.
Summary
Support community-controlled health organisations to develop an integrated model of justice health care for Aboriginal people at Marngoneet Correctional Centre. This includes ‘wrap around services’ which seek to:
Strengthen cultural connection, family involvement and community reintegration through health services
Establish culturally safe pathways for pre-release and post-release continuity of care
Create and support an Aboriginal-led, lived-experience peer support workforce
Design monitoring, evaluation and governance frameworks to ensure quality, safety, and accountability.
Project Aims
The consultations occurred in correctional settings and community-controlled settings. Consultations included people with lived experience.
Co-design process with VAHS leadership and Aboriginal health practitioners
Consultations with people in custody, cultural mentors, family members and community members.
Literature and policy review to benchmark justice health innovations in Aboriginal and global contexts
Development of protocols for governance, evaluation, crisis management, and peer workforce integration
Modelling of infrastructure, workforce roles and weekly service delivery structure
Methodologies
Outputs
In preparation for budget announcements in the 2025 Victorian budget, the team worked to develop the following:
Integrated Aboriginal Justice Health Model documentation and protocols.
Draft Agreement Framework covering governance, accountability and evaluation.
Protocols for crisis management, out-of-hours health care, and peer support service delivery.
Weekly delivery model tailored to address SEWB, cultural connection and reintegration.
Presentation of the model to internal stakeholders, with pathway to formal endorsement and implementation.
A clear, community-led blueprint for culturally safe justice health care for Aboriginal people
Enhanced access to integrated health services during incarceration and after release
Design of a structured peer support workforce to improve wellbeing and reduce recidivism
Stronger cultural connection, improved mental health and strengthened family relationships
A model now positioned for implementation and replication across other correctional facilities in Victoria
Project Outcomes
• Aboriginal Justice Health
• Integrated Care
• Culturally Safe Health Services
• Lived-Experience Peer Support
• Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB)
• Post-Release Reintegration
• VAHS
• Aboriginal Health Workforce
• Family-Centred Support
• Cultural Connection in Custody