Justice Action relies on volunteers and does not receive any government funding. Justice Action promotes awareness of the inadequacies and failures of the criminal justice system and assists those who suffer under oppressive criminal justice policies. Justice Action maintains ongoing communication with prisoners and monitors their complaints; these communications are the basis of Justice Action campaigns to prevent abuses from occurring. Over 30 years, Justice Action in conjunction with the Prisoners Action Group has developed the trust and respect required to represent prisoners' interests nationally and internationally. Among its many endeavors, Justice Action facilitated the creation of the Australian Prisoners Union (APU) in 1999. The APU acts as an advocate for prisoners' rights and interests in such areas as the lack of legal aid, the payment of proper employment entitlements, freedom of association for prisoners, visiting rights, biometrics identification, invasive searches of visitors, entitlement to computers, and prisoner control of prisoners' services.