The principal legal officer with the North Australian Justice Agency says justice targets are a good way to encourage progress on incarceration rates but as part of a broader strategy.
The comment comes as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull continues to receive calls to set justice targets to address the over representation of Indigenous people in the country's justice system.
First Nations adults are currently 15 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-indigenous people, with that rate increasing to 31 times for those under the age of 18, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2012.
The Justice Agency’s Jonathon Hunyor says first there needs to be a discussion on what we are trying to measure and achieve.