Youth detention population in Australia 2025

Overview

The AIHW uses 'First Nations people' to refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this report.

First Nations young people are over-represented in the youth justice system. The over-representation of this population must be understood alongside the broader historic, political and social context of First Nations people and their experiences of colonialism. See First Nations young people for more information.

The number of First Nations young people in detention

On an average night in the June quarter 2025:

• there were 495 First nations young people aged 10 and over in detention 
• First Nations young people made up more than half (56%) of all those in detention aged 10 and over (Supplementary tables S1 and S11).
• 26 per 10,000 young First Nations people aged 10–17 were in detention
• First Nations young people aged 10–17 were 21 times as likely as non‑Indigenous young people aged 10–17 to be in detention (Supplementary table S18).

Trends in detention by Indigenous status

Between an average night in the June quarter 2021 and the June quarter 2025:

• the number of First Nations young people aged 10 and over in detention has been increasing steadily, with a slight decrease in September 2024 and December 2024 quarters
• the percentage of young people aged 10 and over in detention who were First Nations increased from 51% to 61% (Supplementary tables S1 and S11)
• the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in detention increased slightly to 26 per 10,000 in the June quarter 2025.First Nations young people were 21 times as likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous young people in June quarter 2024, compared to 17 times as likely in the June quarter 2021 (Supplementary table S18).

The age of First Nations young people in detention

First Nations young people experience detention at relatively younger ages than non-Indigenous young people, with a higher number, rate, and rate ratio for those aged 10–13 and 14–17. Conversely, fewer First Nations young people in detention were aged 18 or over (Figure 2.2) than non-indigenous young people aged 18 and over.

Nationally, on an average night in the June quarter 2025, for young people aged 10–13 in detention:

• 35 in 44 (or 79%) were First Nations
• the rate for First Nations young people was 4.0 per 10,000
• the rate for non-indigenous young people was 0.1 per 10,000 (Supplementary table S16).

For young people aged 14–17 in detention:

• 418 in 718 (or 58%) were First Nations
• the rate of detention (47 per 10,000) was markedly higher for First Nations than the rate for non-Indigenous young people (2.4 per 10,000) (Supplementary table S17).

First Nations young people aged 14–17 were 20 times as likely as non‑Indigenous young people to be in detention in the June quarter 2025 (Supplementary table S17).

For young people aged 18 and over in detention, around 1 in 3 (42 or 34%) were First Nations.

Of the 495 First Nations young people in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2025:

• 35 (7.0%) were aged 10–13 (Supplementary table S2)
• 418 (84%) were aged 14–17 (Supplementary table S3)
• 42 (8.5%) were aged 18 and over (Supplementary table S5).

On an average night over the 4–year period from the June quarter 2021 to June quarter 2025:

For those aged 10–13:

• the number of First Nations young people ranged from 23 to 36. (Figure 2.2)
• the rate of First Nations young people in detention ranged between 2.6 and 4.0 per 10,000, while for non-Indigenous the rate remained at 0.1 per 10,000 (Supplementary table S16)
• the rate ratio ranged from 26 to 40, indicating that the rate of detention for First Nations young people was between 26 and 40 times higher than for non-Indigenous young people.

For those aged 14–17:

• the number of First Nations young people in detention ranged from 340 to 435, while for non-Indigenous young people the number ranged between 219 and 295 (Figure 2.2).
• the rate of First Nations young people in detention ranged from 41 to 49 in 10,000, while for non-Indigenous people the rate was 1.8 to 2.6 in 10,000 (Supplementary table S17)
• the rate ratio ranged from 18.8 to 22.8, indicating that the rate of detention for First Nations young people was between 18.8 and 22.8 times higher than for non-Indigenous young people.

For those aged 18 and over:

• the number of First Nations young people in detention ranged from 29 to 44. For non-Indigenous young people the number ranged from 70 to 97 (Figure 2.2).

Females in detention by Indigenous status

On an average night in the June quarter 2025, of the 45 First Nations young people in detention who were female, the proportion who were aged:

• 10–13 was lower (12%) than the proportion of non-Indigenous young people who were female (54%)
• 14–17 was slightly higher (9.3%) than the proportion of non-Indigenous young people who were female (8.4%)
• 18 or over was similar (4.2%) to the proportion of non-Indigenous young people who were female (4.4%)
• proportions for young people aged 10–17 were very similar to those aged 14–17 (Supplementary tables S4 and S9).

Males in detention by Indigenous status

On an average night in the June quarter 2025, of the 451 First Nations young people in detention who were male, the proportion who were aged:

• 10–13 was higher (88%) than the proportion of non-Indigenous young people who were male (46%) (Supplementary tables S2 and S7)
• 14–17 was similar (91%) to the proportion of non-Indigenous young people who were male (92%) (Supplementary tables S3 and S8)
• 18 or over was the same (96%) as the proportion of non-Indigenous young people who were male (96%) (Supplementary tables S5 and S10).

First Nations young people in detention by legal status

On an average night in the June quarter 2025:

• Almost 4 in 5 (78% or 353) First Nations young people in detention were unsentenced
• the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention was 21 per 10,000
• First Nations young people made up two-fifths (41% or 97) of all young people in sentenced detention and 59% (353) in unsentenced detention (Supplementary tables S1, S19, S29, S36, S37 and S47).

On an average night over the 4-year period (June quarter 2021 to June quarter 2025), for those in unsentenced detention:

• the proportion of First Nations young people increased from 71% (269) to 78% (353) (Supplementary tables S1 and S19)
• the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 has been increasing steadily. The rate was at its lowest in the September quarter 2021 at 15 per 10,000 and highest in the March quarter 2025 at 22 per 10,000 young people (Supplementary table S36).

On an average night over the 4–year period (June quarter 2021 to June quarter 2025), for those in sentenced detention:

• the number of First Nations young people fell by 7% from 108 (29%) to 97 (22%) (Supplementary table S37)
• the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 fell slightly from 4.9 to 4.2 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)

First Nations young people in detention by state and territory

On an average night in the June quarter 2025, First Nations young people aged 10–17 were more likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous young people across most states and territories. Of the states and territories:

• the Northern Territory and Queensland had the highest rates of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in detention (39 and 40 per 10,000, respectively)
• Victoria had the lowest rate (9.2 per 10,000) of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in detention

The rate of First Nations young people aged 12–17 in detention in the Australian Capital Territory was 71 per 10,000. Among the states and territories for which rate ratios could be calculated, the rate ratio for First Nations young people aged 10–17 in detention ranged from 7.7 times the non-Indigenous rate in Victoria to 25 times in Western Australia (Figure 2.4). 

Rates were not calculated due to small numbers for First Nations young people aged 10–17 in Tasmania, and for non-Indigenous young people aged 10–17 in the Northern Territory.

On an average night over the 4–year period (June quarter 2021 to June quarter 2025) the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in detention:

• increased in Queensland (from 33 to 40 per 10,000), New South Wales (11 to 18 per 10,000), and South Australia (15 to 18 per 10,000)
• fell in Western Australia (from 39 to 25 per 10,000) 
• fluctuated for Victoria and the Northern Territory.