Numbers

Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up more than half (461 or 56%) of all those in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2022 (tables S1 and S11). Over the 4-year period, young Indigenous Australians made up about 6% of the Australian population aged 10–17 (Table S55c).

The number of young Indigenous people in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2022 was lower than in the June quarter 2018 (531) but higher than the June quarter 2021 (396) (tables S1 and S11). The number of young Indigenous Australians in detention on an average night was at its lowest level in the September quarter 2020 (330).

There were 353 non-Indigenous young Australians in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2022 (Table S6).

On an average night in each quarter, 46%–56% of young people in detention were Indigenous, and 43%–54% of young people were non‑Indigenous (tables S1, S6 and S11).

The number of young Indigenous Australians in detention was slightly lower than young non‑Indigenous Australians on an average night from the December quarter 2019 to the December quarter 2020. This difference was greatest in the September quarter 2020 (Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1: Young people in detention on an average night, by Indigenous status, Australia, June quarter 2018 to June quarter 2022 (number)

This line graph shows 2 lines comparing the average nightly detention population for Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people. The proportion of young Indigenous Australians in detention was slightly higher than young non‑Indigenous Australians on an average night in almost every quarter throughout the 4-year period but between the December quarter 2019 and the December quarter 2020, the proportion was greater for non-Indigenous young people.

Age group

A higher proportion of young Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 10–13, 14–17 and 10–17 than young non‑Indigenous Australians. Conversely, fewer Indigenous young people were aged 18 or over (Figure 4.2).

In the June quarter 2022:

  • 7.2% of young Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 10–13 and 3.0% of young non-Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 10–13 (tables S1, S2, S6 and S7)
  • 86% of young Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 14–17 and 75% of young non-Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 14–17 (tables S1, S3, S6 and S8)
  • 94% of young Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 10–17 and 78% of young non-Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 10–17 (tables S1, S4, S6 and S9)
  • 6.3% of young Indigenous Australians and 22% of young non-Indigenous Australians in detention were aged 18 and over (tables S1, S5, S6 and S10).

The proportion of young people in detention who were Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people aged 10–17 has fluctuated over the 4 years. Among young people aged 10–17, 61% of those in detention in the June quarter 2022 were Indigenous. This was similar to the June quarter 2018 (60%), but higher than the June quarter 2021 (54%) (tables S4 and S14). This pattern was similar for young people aged 14–17 (tables S3 and S13).

However, for those young people aged 10–13 a higher proportion of those in detention in the June quarter 2022 were Indigenous (76%). This is lower than the June quarter 2018 (82%) and slightly higher than the June quarter 2021 (73%) (tables S2 and S12).

Figure 4.2: Young people in detention on an average night, by Indigenous status and age group, Australia, June quarter 2018 to June quarter 2022 (number)

This line graph presents 2 lines in its initial view, comparing the number of young people in detention, by Indigenous status and by age group. For the 10–17 age group which is presented, Indigenous young people consistently outnumbered non-Indigenous young people over the 4-year period except during the September quarter 2020. Other age groups that can be selected include: 10–13, 14–17, 18 and over, and 10 and over.

Sex

The proportion of young Indigenous Australians in detention who are male were generally similar to the proportion of non-Indigenous young males. On an average night in the June quarter 2022, the proportions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people aged 10–17 in detention who were male were similar (90% and 89%, respectively) (tables S4 and S9). This was similar for those young people aged 14–17 (91% and 89%, respectively) (tables S3 and S8).

However, of those young people aged 10–13 in detention there was a lower proportion of males who were Indigenous (81%) and a higher proportion of females (19%). For non-Indigenous young people aged 10–13 the proportions of males were similar across age groups (91%) (tables S2 and S7).

Legal status

On an average night in the June quarter 2022, 367 (or 58%) young people in unsentenced detention and 94 (or 51%) young people in sentenced detention were Indigenous (tables S19, S29, S37 and S47).

Over the 4-year period, young Indigenous Australians made up a higher proportion of those in unsentenced detention (48%–59% each quarter) than in sentenced detention (41%–53%) which is consistent with the overall trend (tables S19, S29, S37 and S47).

The number of young Indigenous Australians in sentenced detention has continued to trend downward over the 4-year period, falling from 210 in the June quarter 2018 to 94 in the June quarter 2022 (Table S37). While for young Indigenous Australians in unsentenced detention, there was no clear trend despite a slight rise in numbers (from 321 to 367).

Previous page
Next page