First Nations young people in detention by legal status

Northern Territory youth detention data for legal status are unavailable between September quarter 2023 and June quarter 2024, so the Australia total excluding the Northern Territory has been used for national reporting.

On an average night in the June quarter 2024:

  • over 3 in 4 (77% or 360) First Nations young people in detention were unsentenced – 68% of non-Indigenous young people in detention were unsentenced
  • the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention was 21 per 10,000
  • the rate of non-Indigenous young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention was 0.8 per 10,000
  • First Nations young people made up half (51% or 107) of all young people in sentenced detention and 61% (360) in unsentenced detention (Supplementary tables S1, S19, S29, S36, S37 and S47).

On an average night over the 4-year period (June quarter 2020 to June quarter 2024), for those in unsentenced detention:

  • the proportion of First Nations young people increased from 68% (248) to 77% (360) (Supplementary tables S1 and S19)
  • the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 has been increasing since the September quarter 2020. The rate was at its lowest in the September quarter 2020 at 13 per 10,000 and highest in the March quarter 2024 at 21 per 10,000 young people (Supplementary table S36)
  • the rate of non‑Indigenous young people aged 10–17 was relatively stable over time ranging from 0.8 to 1.1 per 10,000 (Supplementary table S36).

On an average night over the 4-year period (June quarter 2020 to June quarter 2024), for those in sentenced detention:

  • the number of First Nations young people fell by 9.7% from 119 (32%) to 107 (23%) (Supplementary table S37)
  • the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 rose from 5.2 to 5.5 per 10,000. The rate was at its lowest in the March quarter 2022 at 3.6 per 10,000 (Supplementary table S54, Figure 2.3)
  • the rate of non-Indigenous young people aged 10–17 declined slightly from 0.3 per 10,000 in the June quarter 2020 to 0.2 per 10,000 in the June quarter 2024 (Supplementary table S54, Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3: First Nations young people in detention, by legal status, June quarter 2020 to June quarter 2024 (number, rate and rate ratio)

The rate of First Nations young people was usually highest in March and June quarters, and lowest in September and December quarters.

The rate of First Nations young people was usually highest in March and June quarters, and lowest in September and December quarters.

Notes

  1. Data for the figures presenting numbers includes those young people aged 10 and over, data for the rate and rate ratio figures includes young people aged 10–17.
  2. Figures presenting data excluding the Northern Territory, exclude Northern Territory data for the entire 4-year period.
  3. Northern Territory data for legal status is unavailable for 2023–24.
  4. Trend data may differ from those previously published due to data revisions.
  5. Rates are the number of young people per 10,000 relevant population.
  6. Rate ratio is calculated by dividing the First Nations rate by the non-Indigenous rate.
  7. Rates for the 10–17 age group in 2023-24 are calculated using the sum of the 12–17 population (Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory) and the 10–17 population (all remaining jurisdictions) due to these jurisdictions increasing the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 during 2023.

Source: Supplementary tables S18, S36, S24.

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