Youth justice in Australia 2023–24

Due to the increase in the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, 2023–24 rates are presented for young people aged 12–17. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have been removed from any rates trend commentary, as 2023–24 rates are not comparable to previous years.

Recent trends

On an average day over the 5-year period between 2019–20 and 2023–24 under youth justice supervision:

• the number of First Nations young people (including those aged 18 and over) declined overall by 5.7% from 2,361 to 2,226 – and the number of non-Indigenous young people aged 10 and over fell by 28% – from 2,733 to 1,960 (Table S11a)
• the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 fell from 127 to 113 per 10,000. In the most recent year, the rate increased from 109 to 113 per 10,000
• the rate of non-Indigenous young people fell from 8.5 to 5.6 per 10,000
• First Nations over-representation increased. In 2019–20, First Nations young people aged 10–17 were about 15 times as likely as their non-Indigenous counterparts to be under supervision, rising to about 20 times as likely in 2023–24 (Table S12a).

On an average day over the same 5-year period under community-based supervision:

• the number of First Nations young people aged 10 and over fell by 9.4% – from 1,970 to 1,786 – and the number of non-Indigenous young people aged 10 and over fell by 29% – from 2,321 to 1,646 (Table S44a)
• the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 fell from 105 to 88 per 10,000 and the rate of non-Indigenous young people fell from 7.2 to 4.7 per 10,000
• First Nations over-representation increased. In 2019–20, First Nations young people aged 10–17 were about 15 times as likely as their non-Indigenous counterparts to be under community-based supervision, rising to about 19 times as likely in 2023–24 (Table S45a).

On an average day over the 5-year period in detention:

• the number of First Nations young people aged 10 and over increased by 16% (from 428 to 499) and the number of non-Indigenous young people fell by 24% (from 428 to 325) (Table S82a)
• the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 increased from 23 to 27 per 10,000 and the non-Indigenous rate declined from 1.4 to 1.0 per 10,000
• First Nations over-representation increased. In 2019–20, First Nations young people aged 10–17 were about 16 times as likely as their non-Indigenous counterparts to be in detention, rising to about 27 times as likely in 2023–24 (Table S83a).

On an average day over the 5-year period, when comparing states and territories:

• the rates of First Nations young people under supervision fell in all states and territories where data was available except for South Australia (Table 9.1c)
• the largest falls in First Nations rates were in Victoria (69 to 34 per 10,000), Western Australia (184 to 152 per 10,000) and Queensland (176 to 159 per 10,000)
• the rates for non-Indigenous young people fell in all states and territories where data was available, except for South Australia. Victoria (7.8 to 3.4 per 10,000) and New South Wales (8.0 to 4.8 per 10,000) had the largest falls over the 5-year period (Table S12a). Note that rates in the Australian Capital Territory for 2023–24 are for young people aged 12–17 following the increase to the minimum age of criminal responsibility and are not directly comparable with rates in previous years
• the rates for First Nations young people aged 10–17 under community-based supervision fell in most states and territories (except for South Australia) with Victoria (56 to 27 per 10,000) and Queensland (148 to 119 per 10,000) showing the largest declines (Table S45a)
• there was a decline in the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 in detention for some states and territories, with Western Australia (from 39 to 28 per 10,000) and Victoria (from 13 to 7.3 per 10,000) experiencing the largest declines. Queensland (29 to 41 per 10,000) had the largest rises over the 5-year period (see Table 9.1b).

Longer trends

On an average day over the 8-year period between 2016–17 and 2023–24, the rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17:

• under youth justice supervision fell from 150 to 113 per 10,000, while the non-Indigenous rate fell from 9.5 to 5.6 per 100
• under community-based supervision fell from 122 to 88 per 10,000, while the non-Indigenous rate fell from 8.2 to 4.7 per 10,000
• in detention fell from 29 to 27 per 10,000, while the non-Indigenous rate fell from 1.4 to 1.0 per 10,000.

Between 2016–17 and 2023–24, the drop in the rate of young people under supervision on an average day for non-Indigenous young people was proportionally greater than that for First Nations young people. This means that First Nations over-representation increased (from 16 to 20 times the non‑Indigenous rate) (Table S12a).

The over-representation of First Nations young people under youth justice supervision (as measured by the rate ratio) on an average day increased overall in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania between 2016–17 and 2023–24 and declined overall in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia (Table S12a). Results for the smaller states and territories should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of First Nations and non-Indigenous young people under youth justice supervision.

The rate of First Nations young people aged 10–17 under supervision fell overall in most states and territories between 2016–17 and 2023–24, except for Tasmania where rates fluctuated over the period. The largest falls were seen in Western Australia (from 251 to 152 per 10,000) and Victoria (from 106 to 34 per 10,000).