Youth justice in Australia 2023–24

National

The number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision (including those aged 18 and over) on an average day fell overall between 2019–20 and 2023–24 (Table S11a).

Overall, over the 5 years from 2019–20 to 2023–24, the number of young people under supervision on an average day fell by 18% (from 5,158 to 4,227) (Table S11a). The total number of individual young people who were supervised was lower over the 5 years in all states and territories except South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory where the number rose.

Overall, the national rate of young people aged 10–17 under youth justice supervision on an average day fell from 16 to 12 per 10,000 young people over the 5-year period to 2023–24 (Figure 9.1).

Compared to the previous year, the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision fell by 0.6% (from 4,250 to 4,227) and the rate of young people aged 10–17 decreased marginally from 13 to 12 per 10,000.

Between 2019–20 and 2023–24, the total number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision during the year fell by 10% (from 10,250 to 9,224) (Table S11b). The average total time young people spent under supervision during the year declined over the 5-year period, from 190 days in 2019–20 to 182 days in 2023–24 (Table S30).

The decrease in the number of young people under supervision is partly due to a fall in the numbers of young people who have been the subject of legal action by police and who had charges finalised in the children’s courts in recent years. COVID-19 restrictions, beginning in March 2020, also led to temporary closures of courts and the deferral of cases which may have had an impact.

Between 2018–19 and 2022–23, the number of young people aged 10–17 who had their matters finalised in court fell by 11%, with an increase of 6.8% in the most recent year (ABS 2024a).

Figure 9.1: Trends in young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, 2019–20 to 2023–24

Notes

1. Trend data might differ from those previously published due to data revisions.
2. 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, the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable with data in Youth justice in Australia releases before 2019–20.
3. The number and rate of young people in the Northern Territory is not available for 2023–24 for all supervision and community-based supervision.
4. Rates for the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory in 2023–24 are for young people aged 12–17 due to the increase to the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 in those jurisdictions.

Source: tables S15a, S48a and S86a.

Between 2019–20 and 2023–24, the number of young people aged 10 and over under community-based supervision on an average day fell by 20% (from 4,353 to 3,471) (Table S44a). The rate dropped from 14 to 10 per 10,000 for those aged 10–17 (Figure 9.1). In the most recent year, the number under community-based supervision fell by 0.7% (from 3,496 to 3,471) and the rate remained stable at 10 per 10,000.

Between 2019–20 and 2023–24, the number of young people aged 10 and over in detention on an average day fell by 3.7% (from 858 to 827) (Table S82a). The rate declined from 2.8 to 2.7 per 10,000 for those aged 10–17 between 2019–20 and 2023–24 (Figure 9.1). In the most recent year, the number of young people decreased marginally (from 835 to 827) and the rate remained stable at 2.7 per 10,000.

States and territories

Between 2019–20 and 2023–24, the rate of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day fell overall in most states and territories, except for South Australia. The largest fall was in Western Australia (from 23 to 17 per 10,000) (Figure 9.2).

The rates of young people aged 10–17 under community-based supervision on an average day decreased overall in most states and territories, except for South Australia. The largest fall was in Queensland (from 21 to 16 per 10,000) (Table S48a).

The rates of young people aged 10–17 in detention over the 5-year period varied across the states and territories, with the largest declines in Victoria (1.9 to 0.8 per 10,000) and Western Australia (from 3.9 to 2.9 per 10,000). The largest increases in the rates of young people aged 10–17 in detention were in the Northern Territory (from 9.2 to 22 per 10,000) and Queensland (from 3.6 to 5.1 per 10,000) (Table S86a). Note that the rate in the Northern Territory for 2023–24 is for young people aged 12–17 due to the increase to the minimum age of criminal responsibility and is not directly comparable with previous years.

Figure 9.2: Trends in young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day, by state and territory, 2019–20 to 2023–24

Notes

1. Trend data might differ from those previously published due to data revisions.
2. 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, the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable with data in Youth justice in Australia releases before 2019–20.
3. In Queensland, legislation to increase the age limit in the youth justice system from 16 to 17 was enacted in February 2018. This change resulted in an increase in the number and rate of young people aged 17 under youth justice supervision from 2017–18 onwards.
4. The number and rate of young people in the Northern Territory is not available for 2023–24 for all supervision.
5. Rates for the Australian Capital Territory in 2023–24 have been removed, as they are for young people aged 12–17 due to the increase to the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 and are not comparable to previous years.

Source: Table S15a.

Footnotes and notes are provided following Table 9.1c.

Footnotes and notes are provided following Table 9.1c.

(Footnotes and notes for tables 9.1a, 9.1b and 9.1c)

Notes

1. Arrows indicate an overall change between 2019–20 and 2023–24. Unchanged arrows (↔) indicate a change of +/-0.4 over the 5-year period. Trends might have fluctuated between these years, particularly for smaller jurisdictions.
2. Data might differ from those previously published due to data revisions.
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, the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable with data in Youth justice in Australia releases before 2019–20.
4. The number and rate of young people in the Northern Territory is not available for 2023–24 for all supervision and community-based supervision.
5. Rates for the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory in 2023–24 are for young people aged 12–17 due to the increase to the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 in those jurisdictions.

Source: tables S12a, S15a, S45a, S48a, S83a and S86a.

Age and sex

Over the 5 years to 2023–24, the rates of young males and females under supervision fell. For males aged 10–17 on an average day, the rate fell from 24 to 19 per 10,000; for females, it fell overall from 7.4 to 5.7 per 10,000 (Table S15a). On an average day each year, males aged 10–17 were 3–4 times as likely as females aged 10–17 to be under supervision.

The rate of males aged 10–17 under community-based supervision on an average day fell over the 5-year period from 20 to 15 per 10,000, while the rate of young females fell from 6.8 to 5.2 per 10,000 (Table S48a). For detention, the rate of males aged 10–17 on an average day fell from 4.9 to 4.7 per 10,000, while the rate of females remained at 0.6 per 10,000 (Table S86a).

On an average day each year, young males aged 10–17 were about 3 times as likely as young females aged 10–17 to be under community-based supervision, and about 8 times as likely to be in detention (tables S48a and S86a).

The fall in rates of young males under supervision on an average day occurred for all ages, with the largest fall being for those aged 17 (from 76 to 54 per 10,000 over the 5-year period) (Table S9a).

Among young females, rates fell overall for most ages, with the largest fall being for those aged 17 (from 18 to 13 per 10,000) (Table S9a).

Time under supervision

Over the 5 years from 2019–20 to 2023–24, the average amount of time young people spent under youth justice supervision during the year declined from 190 days in 2019–20 to 182 days in 2023–24 (Table S30).

A similar trend was seen for young people under community-based supervision, with a decline from 182 days in 2019–20 to 173 days in 2023–24 (Table S63).

The average amount of time spent in detention fluctuated over the years, but overall remained the same at 66 days (Table S102).

The average amount of time young people spent under youth justice supervision varied among the states and territories, with the largest overall rise in South Australia (from 164 to 171 days). The largest overall fall was in Tasmania (from 220 to 199 days) (Table S30).