The WA Justice Association (WAJA) was conceived by founders Tom Penglis and Julian Sanders following Tom’s release from Acacia Prison in April, 2020. Motivated by the inefficacy and injustice he witnessed in the WA prison system, Tom sought to channel his discontent into positive action. Tom and Julian soon enlisted fellow law students to establish and launch WAJA, an organisation with the aim of reducing incarceration rates and improving outcomes for people coming into contact with WA’s criminal justice system.
WAJA’s operating model was closely informed by Tom’s experiences in WA’s prison system. First, he observed that there are already numerous social justice organisations and service providers who are well-positioned to effect meaningful change and support, but are poorly resourced. Secondly, Tom’s conversations during prison visits with his father, Steven Penglis SC, made it clear that there are many lawyers who are passionate and supportive of social justice issues, but are unsure of how to provide support to these causes. Thirdly, there is an untapped reservoir of talent and passion in the form of university students, especially law students, within the social justice space. These three groups – social justice organisations, lawyers and students – comprise the core elements of our operating model.
By engaging these groups in collaborative and focused reform efforts, we aim to achieve our purpose by effecting law/policy reform and promoting engagement between students, social justice organisations and the legal community. Our vision is of a fair criminal justice system focussed on rehabilitation, which provides all Western Australians the support they need to turn their lives around, and where imprisonment is a genuine last resort. Critically, we envision an end to the gross overrepresentation of First Nations people in WA’s criminal justice system. Moving forward, we hope to further engage academics, students, lawyers and the broader community to help us achieve our mission.
