Measurement and Evaluation Framework for the National Justice Reinvestment Program

The Measurement and Evaluation Framework (MEF) is a guide to measuring and assessing the effectiveness of the National Justice Reinvestment Program and the Justice Reinvestment in Central Australia Program. It reflects how justice reinvestment programs are:

• creating change
• supporting community-led solutions.

The MEF sets out how the programs’ funded initiatives, and the Attorney-General’s Department, will listen, learn and reflect together. This includes understanding what is working well in the programs, what can be strengthened, and how the programs are supporting positive community outcomes. The MEF guides future evaluations by independent evaluators, ensuring that evaluations respect First Nations voices, knowledge and priorities. It helps justice reinvestment initiatives choose ways of measuring progress that make sense to their community.

The framework focuses on contribution, looking at how the programs support change in systems, justice outcomes and self-determination. It is a living document, shaped and updated through learning, evaluation findings and ongoing relationships.

The MEF is a starting point, not the final word. It will continue to grow and change as First Nations communities guide what success looks like and how it should be understood.

The MEF provides high-level guidance on how the programs should be evaluated. It does not replace community decision-making or co-design. It will not be used to evaluate, monitor or compare individual justice reinvestment initiatives or communities. Future evaluations will be developed in consultation with the justice reinvestment initiatives and key stakeholders.

Initiatives and communities do not have to use this MEF. Some communities may already have their own. You can choose the parts that are most relevant to your work.

The department has developed an overview document to highlight key takeaways from the framework.

Key topics

Some of the topics covered by the MEF include:

• understanding justice reinvestment and the programs
• the change the programs aim to create
• measurement and evaluation framework principles
• how the programs should be measured and evaluated over the next 10 years
• how justice reinvestment initiatives can measure and track their progress
• Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance
• how the MEF should be implemented.

If you are experiencing accessibility issues with the documents on this page, please contact jrunit@ag.gov.au for an alternate version up until 30 June 2026. After this date, please contact Justicereinvestment@ag.gov.au.