Incarceration Nation is playing a central role in the way that Cunnamulla’s First Nations population – roughly half its 1200 residents – are partnering with the local justice system. 

The transformation is not just felt on the law enforcement side. Paroo Nebine Aboriginal Corporation leader Brian Shillingsworth says the screening they hosted of Incarceration Nation with local law enforcement, child protection and housing agencies acted as an icebreaker after decades of effort to strengthen community relations. In fact, as a result of the film, Paroo Nebine Aboriginal Corporation and the local police have taken steps to develop a memorandum of understanding. 

The impacts of the film don’t stop there. Under a nationwide Documentary Australia impact campaign, Incarceration Nation has been screened widely to senior law enforcement leaders, frontline police officers, members of the legislature, government departments, corporates and frontline organisations as well as mainstream audiences across Australia.  

Although a confronting watch, the film has motivated action and been incorporated as a workplace and cultural competency training tool in a variety of settings. For example, Courts Victoria Senior Executives are now adopting the Koori Engagement Framework in their policy as a result of a screening, and the film has been embedded as a component of police induction training across a number of patrols.