Youth justice in Australia 2023–24

This section summarises key findings of young people under youth justice supervision for the Australian Capital Territory, including the number and rate of young people under community-based supervision and in detention. It also summarises data on young people by age, sex, Indigenous status, legal status, time under supervision and contains trends. 

Impact of COVID-19 on youth justice data

This report includes data from March 2020 to June 2022, which coincides with the presence of COVID-19 in Australia. However, the direct impact of COVID-19 and related social restrictions on the number of young people under youth justice supervision is difficult to determine due to a range of factors and more research is required.

Number and rate

On an average day in 2023–24, in the Australian Capital Territory:

• 93 young people aged 12 and over were under youth justice supervision (Table S138a)
• 83% were supervised in the community (Table S138b), and 18% in detention (Table S138c) (proportions might not sum to 100%, as young people may be under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
• the rate of supervision was 21 per 10,000 young people aged 12–17 (Table S139a)
• 17 per 10,000 young people aged 12–17 were under community-based supervision, and 3.9 per 10,000 were in detention (tables S139b and S139c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2023–24, in the Australian Capital Territory:

• 73% of those under supervision were aged 12–17, and the rest were 18 and over
• 3 in 4 (75%) of those under supervision were male
• males under supervision were most likely to be aged 18 or over and females were most likely to be aged 16 (Figure 17.1; Table S138a).

Figure 17.1: Number of young people under supervision (any type) on an average day, by age, sex and Indigenous status, Australian Capital Territory 2023–24

Notes

1. Age categories are not presented where they represent averages that are equal to or rounded to 0.0.
2. Total includes young people of unknown age, sex and Indigenous status.
3. Number of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to total number under supervision as young people may be under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day and may be in different age groups.
4. Age on an average day is calculated based on the age a young person is each day that they are under supervision. If a young person changes age during a period of supervision, then the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable to Youth justice in Australia releases prior to 2019–20.
5. The equivalent 'during the year' table or unique counts of young people is not published due to small numbers, confidentiality, and/or reliability concerns.
6. In November 2023, the Australian Capital Territory raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. The population for the Australian Capital Territory in 2023–24 are young people aged 12–17.

Source: Youth Justice National Minimum Data Set (YJ NMDS) 2023–24

First Nations young people

On an average day in 2023–24, in the Australian Capital Territory:

• First Nations young people made up 3.3% of those aged 12–17 in the general population, but 25% (or 17) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S138a and S150)
• a slightly lower proportion of First Nations young people aged 12–17 were under community-based supervision (23% or 13) and a slightly higher proportion in detention (33% or 4.2) (Tables S138b and S138c)
• First Nations young people aged 12–17 were about 10 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (157 per 10,000 compared with 16 per 10,000) (Table S139a)
• First Nations over-representation was lower in community-based supervision (about 9 times the non-Indigenous rate) (Table S139b). First Nations over-representation in detention was higher at 14 times the non-Indigenous rate (Table S139c).

Time under supervision

In 2023–24, in the Australian Capital Territory:

• completed periods of supervision lasted a median length of 16 days (about 2 weeks) (Table S29)
• when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 187 days (about 27 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2023–24, in the Australian Capital Territory:

• about 4 in 5 (82%) young people in detention were unsentenced – that is, they were awaiting the outcome of their court matter, or had been found guilty and were awaiting sentencing
• 24% of young people in detention were serving a sentence (the number of unsentenced and sentenced young people on an average day may not sum to total number of young people in detention as young people may have been in both detention types on the same day) (Table S108a).

Trends to 2023–24

Over the 5 years to 2023–24, on an average day in the Australian Capital Territory:

• the number of young people under supervision rose from 71 in 2019–20 to 93 in 2023–24 (Table S138a)
• in community-based supervision, the number rose from 56 in 2019–20 to 78 in 2023–24 (Table S138b)
• in detention, the number rose from 16 to 17 (Table S138c).

Trends to 2022–23

Over the 5 years to 2022–23 on an average day in the Australian Capital Territory:

• the number of young people under supervision fell from 79 in 2018–19 to 72 in 2022–23 (Table S138a), while the rate fell from 16 to 13 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Figure 17.2; Table S15a)
• the number of young people under community-based supervision fell from 69 in 2018–19 to 56 in 2022–23 (Table S138b), while the rate fell from 14 to 9.6 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Figure 17.2; Table S48a)
• the number of young people in detention the number rose from 10 in 2018–19 to 18 in 2022–23 (Table S138c), while the rate rose from 2.0 to 3.2 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Figure 17.2; Table S86a)
• the rate for First Nations young people under supervision fell from 101 to 75 per 10,000 (Table S12a).

Figure 17.2: Rate of young people under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, Australian Capital Territory, 2018–19 to 2023–24

Notes

1. Total includes young people of unknown age, sex and Indigenous status.
2. Number of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to total number under supervision as young people may be under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day and may be in different age groups.
3. Age on an average day is calculated based on the age a young person is each day that they are under supervision. If a young person changes age during a period of supervision, then the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable to Youth justice in Australia releases prior to 2019–20.
4. The equivalent 'during the year' table or unique counts of young people is not published due to due to small numbers, confidentiality, and/or reliability concerns.
5. Rates are number of young people per 10,000 relevant population.
6. In November 2023, the Australian Capital Territory raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. The population for the Australian Capital Territory in 2023–24 are young people aged 12–17.
7. Rates for 2023–24 are a break in time series and are not comparable to previous years.

Source: Youth Justice National Minimum Data Set (YJ NMDS) 2023–24

More information

This overview is part of the Youth justice in Australia 2023–24 release, which includes a report and supplementary data tables.

Together, these provide comprehensive information about young people under youth justice supervision in Australia due to their involvement, or alleged involvement, in crime.

For more information see the topic Youth justice.