New research shows that Indigenous courts are helping to address the over-representation of Aboriginal Australians in the criminal justice system.

A report from the Australian Institute of Criminology says statistics show that Indigenous adults are 15 times more likely to be in jail than non-Indigenous adults.

It details how different sentencing procedures, such as circle sentencing in New South Wales, have changed the way justice is carried out.

In circle sentencing, members of the community help to determine the sentence that is imposed on the person who has committed a crime.

The report's authors say that these types of courts also help to change an offender's attitudes and help to reduce the number of indigenous people going to jail.