Abstract
While there have been some progressive changes in Australia juvenile justice in recent years including developments in youth justice conferencing, more consistent and widely available diversionary options, and a longer term decline in juvenile incarceration rates, these changes have not tended to affect the contact of Indigenous young people with the justice system. The paper analyses why more punitive approaches to law and order (such as a greater reliance on custodial remand) and a greater bifurcation between less serious offenders and repeat offenders is having a particularly negative impact on Indigenous youth. It concludes with a consideration of some of the more promising developments concerning Indigenous young people in youth justice.