About Blurred Borders

Blurred Borders - IPAA WA 2019 Gold Award Winner

'Best practice in collaboration between government and non-government organisations'.

The aim of Blurred Borders was to produce Resource Kits for legal and community service providers working with Aboriginal people in the NT/WA cross-border region. Many culturally connected Aboriginal communities span the Northern Territory/Western Australia border. As different laws apply on each side of the border, this can create confusion and misunderstanding for local Aboriginal people.

Blurred Borders was initially a three-year Commonwealth Government funded project that commenced in July 2016.

The Resource Kits use visual art and storytelling to help explain in a culturally accessible way key legal concepts. Initially the kits were developed for use in bail and criminal process, and family violence

Resources kits have now been developed for use in WA in other areas of law including Child Protection, Fines - WDP, and Tenancy. Also the original Bail and Criminal Process, and Family Violence kits have been updated for use only in WA. However they can be adapted for use in other jurisdictions including in a cross border context.

Legal Aid WA was the lead agency working in partnership with the NT Legal Aid Commission.

Other local legal services involved include:

• North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), Katherine
• North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS), Katherine
• Katherine Women’s Information & Legal Service (KWILS), Katherine
• Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA), Kununurra
• Aboriginal Family Legal Services (AFLS), Kununurra
• Kimberley Community Legal Services (KCLS), Kununurra.

The original Bail and Criminal Process, and Family Violence Resource Kits were created in consultation with the Blurred Borders Steering Committee, local legal service providers, community workers and Aboriginal people living in the cross-border region.

The cross-border region is the area in:

• the Northern Territory, from the Victoria River District (Timber Creek, Yarralin, Bulla) across to the WA border, Kalkarindji, Lajamanu, and surrounding areas.
• Western Australia, including communities between Wyndham, Kununurra and the NT border heading towards Timber Creek; the region between Halls Creek and the NT border; and Balgo, Billiluna, Mulan and surrounding areas.

The Blurred Borders project relied on the expertise of many individuals and service providers who generously gave their time to assist and guide us. We thank everybody who participated in Steering Committee and Legal Network meetings, community meetings, stakeholder consultations, local art and music festivals, and extensive focus testing, all of which have helped us to shape the project and the resources we have created.

We acknowledge and thank Northern Territory Community Corrections for sharing graphic design files and the wallet card concept from their Indigenous Language Resources. These elements provided an excellent foundation for creation of the Blurred Borders resources.

Reviewed: 11 January 2023

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