Youth justice in Australia 2023–24

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

Number and rate

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

• 46 young people aged 12 and over were in detention (Table S140c)
• 22 per 10,000 young people aged 12–17 were in detention (Table S141c).

Age and sex

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

• 95% of those in detention were aged 12–17, and the rest were 18 and over
• 94% of those in detention were male
• males and females in detention were most likely to be aged 17 (Figure 18.1; Table S140c).

Figure 18.1: Number of young people in detention on an average day, by age, sex and Indigenous status, Northern 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. 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 small numbers, confidentiality, and/or reliability concerns.
5. In August 2023, the Northern Territory raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12.
6. The population for the Northern 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 Northern Territory First Nations young people made up 43% of those aged 12–17 in the general population, but 95% (or 42) of those of the same age in detention (tables S140c and S150).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

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

• nearly all (99%) 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
• 65% of young people in detention were serving a sentence (Table S108a).

The proportion of unsentenced and sentenced young people on an average day does not sum to 100% as periods of sentenced detention in the Northern Territory have been backdated to take into account periods of unsentenced detention already served.

Trends to 2023–24

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

• the number of young people aged 12–17 who were in detention rose from 24 in 2019–20 to 46 in 2023–24 (Table S140c)
• note that the rates in 2023–24 are not directly comparable with the rates in previous years due to the increase in the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Northern Territory to 12 years old (from 10) in 2023–24.

Trends to 2022–23

Over the 5 years to 2022–23, on an average day in the Northern Territory:

• the number of young people aged 10–17 rose from 36 in 2018–19 to 54 in 2022–23 (Table S140c), while the rate increased from 14 to 20 per 10,000 (Figure 18.2; Table S83a)
• the rate for First Nations young people in detention rose from 29 to 42 per 10,000.

Figure 18.2: Rate of young people under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, Northern 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 August 2023, the Northern Territory raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. The population for the Northern 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.
8. Rate of young people under all supervision and community-based supervision were not available for 2023–24.

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.