Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience disproportionately high incarceration rates. The growing remand population across Australia contributes to the high imprisonment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and young people. This study examines the current literature to understand the factors driving bail refusal as it relates to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander defendants.

Increasingly restrictive amendments to bail laws have been criticised as driving remand rates, particularly in relation to show cause/compelling reason offences and exceptional circumstance provisions. Legal factors, such as prior offending and the seriousness of the offence, as well as extra-legal factors including Indigenous status, gender and housing insecurity, were noted in the literature as contributing to higher rates of bail refusal. Lastly, the over-policing of Indigenous communities, and of bail conditions, was found to be contributing to the over-representation of Indigenous people on remand in the criminal justice system.

Spending time on remand and the experiences faced during incarceration can increase the risk of further involvement in the criminal justice system for both adults and young people, perpetuating the cycle of disadvantage.