Completion of rehabilitative programmes among Australian Aboriginal people completing sentencing orders in custody and the community

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are substantially overrepresented in Australian prisons, and their unique needs have often been overlooked when establishing rehabilitation programmes. The Explore, Question, Understand, Investigated, Practice, Succeed (EQUIPS) suite of behaviour change programmes, offered by Corrective Service New South Wales (CSNSW), aims to reduce recidivism in custodial and community settings. This study examines the individual- and operational-level factors associated with completion of EQUIPS programmes amongst Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people (hereafter Aboriginal) completing correctional orders. Using CSNSW administrative data, four cross-classified stepwise logistic regression models were used to analyse EQUIPS referrals across custodial and community corrections settings from 4,666 Aboriginal participants. Individual-level factors affecting completion varied by correctional setting, with family/marital criminogenic needs and age influencing programme completion in custodial settings, and age, sex, relative social advantage, remoteness, criminal history, number of programme commencements and cumulative time in prison influencing programme completion in community settings. Operational-level factors affecting completion for custodial populations included having at least one other Aboriginal person in the programme group (odds ratio = 1.94), employment at referral, and timing of referral. In a community setting, operational factors included parole attached to sentence, needing to move location, and EQUIPS programme type. Understanding these factors, and implementing cultural considerations to enhance cultural safety, can enhance EQUIPS programme completion for the overrepresented and vulnerable Aboriginal population completing orders.