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The Australian Human Rights Commission has released a supplementary report to its 2024 report on child justice reform, , which details the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership’s Baulaarr Bagay Warruwi Burranba-li-gu (Two River Pathway to Change) youth diversion model. The report, , features six case studies grounded in research that provide evidence for alternative approaches to Australia's current punitive and harmful treatment of children and young people in contact with the justice system, with Yuwaya Ngarra-li’s model being only one of two featured from Australia.

The Two River Pathway to Change model has been developed in Walgett since 2018 through the local leadership of the Dharriwaa Elders Group. It effectively responds to the specific challenges around youth justice and wellbeing in the Walgett context, centring community-led priorities, recognising the inherent protective factors of family, Community, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) and Culture, and working to coordinate holistic, flexible, trauma-informed support for Aboriginal children and young people. The model aims to avoid further criminalisation and marginalisation, emphasising both systemic and individual actions for positive change.

The model has three interlinked strategies:

1. Influencing practices and services to support better outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people
2. Supporting engagement and leadership by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), parents and carers
3. Working intensively with Aboriginal children and young people in Walgett to improve their wellbeing and reduce contact with the criminal justice system.

Through the long-term Yuwaya Ngarra-li partnership, ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç researchers contribute data, research and evaluation of the model, which has provided evidence of significant outcomes for individuals as well as at a place-based and systemic level.

The Australian Human Rights Commission selected The Two River Pathway to Change as a case study because

The most effective and holistic services for First Peoples are those provided by Aboriginal-led organisations, who are more equipped to harness the strengths of First Peoples cultural and community knowledges to improve outcomes. Community-led and place-based initiatives, tailored to the needs and strengths of communities, are central to improving wellbeing outcomes and reducing child justice involvement. The leadership and commitment of the Dharriwaa Elders Group in Walgett is a key pillar sustaining Yuwaya Ngarra-li and the Baulaarr Bagay Warruwi Burranba-li-gu (Two River Pathway to Change) model. The model centres the leadership of ACCOs and has enabled a community-led approach that responds to the Walgett context to effect change.

Read Lessons from the Two River Pathway to Change Diversion Model 2018-2023Ìý³ó±ð°ù±ð