MEDIA RELEASE – Just Reinvest NSW announces new Board of Directors following the transition from its status as an association to a Company Limited by Guarantee
Just Reinvest NSW Chair Blake Alan Cansdale
20/01/2026 REDFERN, Sydney: Just Reinvest NSW (JRNSW) today announced its new majority Aboriginal Board with new Chair Mr. Blake Alan Cansdale and Board Directors Paul Morris, Prof. Jack Beetson and Karlie Stewart. Gino Vumbaca and Paul Wright will be retained as Independent Directors.
“I am honoured and excited to become the new Chair of Just Reinvest NSW as it transitions from an association to a company limited by guarantee, allowing passage of our application to be recognised as an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO),” said Blake Alan Cansdale.
“As an organisation focused on reducing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ interactions with the NSW criminal legal system, it is essential that we have Aboriginal representation embedded throughout JRNSW, ensuring that we remain accountable to the communities that we serve,” he said.
According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) custody statistics as of May 2024, Aboriginal people remain dramatically overrepresented in the NSW justice system. Although they make up just 3.4% of the population, they represent 30% of the state’s prison population.
“I thank former Chair Professor Jack Beetson for his assured guidance over the past three years and for his continued support and ongoing membership of the Board of Directors – these changes represent our intention to apply for ACCO status and to become a member of the Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations (CAPO). These are necessary strategic changes if we are to have a meaningful Aboriginal and community-led impact on reducing the overincarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in NSW,” said Geoff Scott, CEO JRNSW.
For more information contact James Nichols, JR NSW, M: 0499 686 157 E: james@justreinvest.org.au
Just Reinvest NSW supports Aboriginal communities to explore and establish justice reinvestment initiatives and advocates for systemic changes that build safer and stronger communities. The aim of Just Reinvest NSW is to reduce Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ interactions with the NSW criminal justice system through Justice Reinvestment.