Age and sex
The majority of young people under supervision on an average day in 2024–25 were male (80%) (Figure 4.1; Table S2a). This proportion was higher among those in detention (90%) than among those supervised in the community (77%) (Tables S35a and S73a).
Among young people aged 10–17, males (18 per 10,000) were 3 times as likely as females (5.3 per 10,000) to be under supervision on an average day (Table S4a).
Males under supervision substantially outnumbered females in all states and territories. The proportion of young males under supervision on an average day ranged from 70% of young people under supervision in Tasmania to 90% in Victoria (Table S2a).
Almost 3 in 4 (73%) young people under supervision on an average day were aged 14–17 (Figure 4.1; Table S7a). The number of young people under supervision was highest among those aged 17 (1,051 young people) (Figure 4.1; Table S5a). Of young people aged 10–17, the rate of young people under supervision was highest among those aged 17 (31 per 10,000) (Table S6a). About one quarter (23%) of young people under supervision on an average day were aged 18 and over and 3.4% were aged 10–13 (Table S7a).
Similarly, most young people under community-based supervision were aged 14–17 (72%) and 18 and over (25%), while a small proportion were aged 10–13 (3.1%) (Table S40a). This was also the case for young people in detention, although there were higher proportions of young people aged 10–13 (4.7%) and 14–17 (81%), and a lower proportion aged 18 and over (15%) (Table S78a).
Figure 4.1: Young people under supervision on an average day, by age and sex, 2024–25 (number)
The age distribution of males and females was broadly similar, however males under supervision were slightly older on average than females.
Notes
- 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. - The number of young people on an average day not available for the Northern Territory in 2024–25 for all supervision.
Source: table S5a.
The age profiles of young people under supervision varied among the states and territories. Queensland had the largest proportion of young people aged 10–13 under supervision on an average day (5.5%), followed by Western Australia (5.2%) (Table S7a).
In Victoria, some young people aged 18–20 may be sentenced to detention in a youth facility (known as the ‘dual track’ system), which results in a comparatively older population compared with other states and territories, on average (45% aged 18 and over and 0.3% aged 10–13) (Table S7a).
A greater proportion of males were in the older age groups (aged 18 and over) than females (Figure 4.1). In 2024–25, 25% of males under supervision were aged 18 and over, compared with 18% of females (Table S5a).