You are here:

  • Print

released: 10 Aug 2007 author: AIHW media release

Juvenile justice in Australia 2005-06 provides data from the Juvenile Justice National Minimum Data Set (NMDS) developed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Australasian Juvenile Justice Administrators (AJJA). The Juvenile Justice NMDS includes information on all young people in juvenile justice supervision in Australia, both in the community and in detention. It is based on the experience of the young person within supervision, while making it somewhat different to other criminal justice collections that focus on legal orders. This is the third report on the collection and presents data for 2005-06, as well as analyses of trends in community-based supervision and detention over the six years since 2000-01 when the collection began. It includes data on the characteristics of the young people under supervision such as age, sex and Indigenous status, and their patterns of supervision over time.

ISSN 1833-3230; ISBN 978 1 74024 709 2; Cat. no. JUV 3; 146pp.; Out of print

 Summary

 Responsibility for juvenile justice rests at state and territory level and there is marked diversity in the legislation, policy and practices among jurisdictions. The age when young people are considered juveniles or adults by the justice system, key policy directions, diversionary options, possible court outcomes, and specific programs and services available to young people are all areas of variation throughout Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has worked with the Australasian Juvenile Justice Administrators (AJJA) to develop nationally consistent data on one part of this system, juvenile justice supervision.

 Responsibility for juvenile justice rests at state and territory level and there is marked diversity in the legislation, policy and practices among jurisdictions. The age when young people are considered juveniles or adults by the justice system, key policy directions, diversionary options, possible court outcomes, and specific programs and services available to young people are all areas of variation throughout Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has worked with the Australasian Juvenile Justice Administrators (AJJA) to develop nationally consistent data on one part of this system, juvenile justice supervision.

This report is based on two data collections of the Juvenile Justice National Minimum Data Set (NMDS):

  • young people under juvenile justice supervision
  • juvenile justice episodes (supervision periods).

These data, which include both community-based and detention-based supervision, are collected by the AIHW from the departments in each state and territory with particular responsibility for juvenile justice. The data in this report cover the period 2005–06.

Recommended citation

AIHW 2007. Juvenile justice in Australia 2005-06. Juvenile justice series no. 3. Cat. no. JUV 3. Canberra: AIHW.