One in six Australians suffers from some degree of hearing loss, and this is forecast to grow to one in four Australians by 2050.1
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples suffer ear disease and hearing loss at up to ten times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians, and arguably at the highest rate of any people in the world.2
Hearing impairment can impact on an individual's language and behavioural development, leading to complex outcomes such as low educational attainment, social dislocation and high levels of unemployment.3
Limited engagement in education and employment are factors which have been recognised as contributing to increased engagement with the criminal justice system.4
Other factors linking early onset hearing impairment with criminal offending include the stigmatising effects of hearing impairment on self-concept and social skills.5
Research indicates that there are high levels of hearing impairment among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners across all jurisdictions.6 Hearing loss and its impact on education outcomes exacerbate the disadvantages generally faced by Indigenous peoples and increase their risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system.7
The potential relevance of evidence of hearing impairment in sentencing proceedings includes an assessment of
moral culpability; moderating the weight to be given to
general deterrence; and determining the weight to be given to
specific deterrence and
protection of the community. There may also be issues relating to the likelihood of
hardship in custody.
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[1] Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee, Parliament of Australia,
Hear Us – Inquiry into Hearing Health in Australia (Report, May 2010) xiii.
[2] Ibid xv.
[3] Ibid 41 [4.22].
[4] Ibid; Senate Select Committee on Regional and Remote Aboriginal Communities, Parliament of Australia,
Aboriginal Australians, Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System (Discussion Paper, 2010) 30–31.
[5] Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee, Parliament of Australia,
Hear Us – Inquiry into Hearing Health in Australia (Report, May 2010) 139.
[6] Law Council of Australia,
The Justice Project Final Report: People Who Experience Family Violence (Report, August 2018) 20, citing Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee, Parliament of Australia,
Hear Us – Inquiry into Hearing Health in Australia (Report, May 2010) 147 [8.103]; Troy Vanderpoll and Damian Howard, 'Investigation into Hearing Impairment among Indigenous Prisoners within the Northern Territory Correctional Services' (Report, 2011) 3.
[7] House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Parliament of Australia,
Doing Time – Time for Doing: Indigenous Youth in the Criminal Justice System (Report, June 2011) 108–9 [4.77]–[4.79].