Youth justice in Australia 2024–25

National

Nationally, the rate of young people aged 10–17 under youth justice supervision on an average day fell over the 10 years to 2024–25, from 19 per 10,000 in 2015–16 to 12 per 10,000 in 2024–25 (Figure 9.3; Table S15a).

Similarly, the rate of young people under supervision during each year (rather than on an average day) fell steadily from 42 per 10,000 in 2015–16 to 30 per 10,000 in 2024–25 (Table S15b).

This trend decrease is largely associated with changes in the rate of community-based supervision, as 82% of all young people under supervision on an average day in 2024–25 were supervised in the community (Table 2.1). The rate of community-based supervision for young people aged 10–17 on an average day decreased over the years from 16 per 10,000 in 2015–16, to 10 per 10,000 in 2024–25 (Figure 9.3; Table S48a).

The rate of young people in detention was slightly lower in 2024–25 compared with 2015–16 (2.7 per 10,000 compared with 3.3 per 10,000) (Table S86a).

Rates of males under supervision were highest in 2015–16 (31 per 10,000). The rate dropped steadily to 18 per 10,000 in 2024–25. Rates for females under supervision fluctuated across the 10-years with an overall decline from 7.5 in 2015–16 to 5.3 per 10,000 in 2024–25 (Table S15a). 

States and territories

On an average day from 2015–16 to 2024–25, Victoria had the lowest rate of supervision each year, at fewer than 13 per 10,000 young people throughout the period (Figure 9.4; Table S15a)

The rate of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day declined over the 10 years in most states and territories. 

In the Northern Territory, the rate of supervision was 60 per 10,000 in 2015–16 before falling to its lowest point (39 per 10,000) in 2020–21, and then increasing substantially in 2022–23 (81 per 10,000) (note that Northern Territory average day data was not available in 2023–24 and 2024–25). In Tasmania, the rate fluctuated with a low in 2021–22 (12 per 10,000) and a high in 2018–19 (23 per 10,000). Prior to the increase of the minimum age of criminal responsibility in 2023–24, rates in the Australian Capital Territory fell relatively consistently from 2015–16 to 2022–23 (with the exception of 2017–18) (Figure 9.4; Table S15a).

The rate of supervision declined in each of the last 10 years in Victoria and New South Wales and Western Australia (with the exception of 2021–22 and 2022–23). Rates in South Australia and Queensland fluctuated over the 10-year period. For South Australia, rates were lowest in 2020–21 (9.7 per 10,000), and rates in Queensland were lowest in 2024–25 (20 per 10,000 (Figure 9.4; Table S15a).

Trends in the rate of young people aged 10–17 under community-based supervision on an average day followed similar patterns to those for all supervision in most states and territories. 

Over the 10-year period, there was an overall decline between 2015–16 and 2024–25 in the rate of young people aged 10–17 under community-based supervision on an average day in most states and territories (with data was available). There were some minor fluctuations in some states and territories, where rates:

• rose in Queensland in 2017–18 and 2018–19, before declining from 2019–20 onwards
• rose in Tasmania in 2017–18 and 2018–19, before falling again to a low in 2021–22, with a rise since 2022–23
• fell in South Australia in most years up to 2020–21, before rising since 2021–22 (Table S48a).

Trends in the rate of young people aged 10–17 in detention on an average day varied among the states and territories over the 10 years. 

Between 2015–16 and 2024–25, detention rates for young people aged 10–17 fell overall in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, and the Northern Territory, whilst they rose in Queensland and Tasmania (Table S86a).