Youth justice in Australia 2024–25

National

Overall, over the 5 years from 2020–21 to 2024–25, the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision on an average day fell by 9.6% (from 4,590 to 4,147) (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, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory, where numbers rose.

Overall, the national rate of young people aged 10–17 under youth justice supervision on an average day fell from 14 to 12 per 10,000 young people over the 5-year period to 2024–25 (Figure 9.1; Table S15a).

Compared to the previous year, the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision fell by 1.68% (from 4,218 to 4,147) (Table S11a) and the rate of young people aged 10–17 remained steady at 12 per 10,000 (Table S15a).

Between 2020–21 and 2024–25, the total number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision during the year rose slightly by 1.5% (from 9,437 to 9,579) (Table S11b). The average total time young people spent under supervision during the year declined over the 5-year period, from 185 days in 2020–21 to 177 days in 2024–25 (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 2019–20 and 2023–24, the number of young people aged 10–17 who had their matters finalised in court increased by 8.8%, with an increase of 0.7% in the most recent year (ABS 2025a).

Between 2020–21 and 2024–25, the number of young people aged 10 and over under community-based supervision on an average day fell by 13% (from 3,857 to 3,358) (Table S44a). The rate dropped from 11 to 10 per 10,000 for those aged 10–17 (Figure 9.1) (Table S48a). In the most recent year, the number under community-based supervision fell by 2.9% (from 3,460 to 3,358) (Table S44a) and the rate remained stable at 10 per 10,000 (Table S48a).

Between 2020–21 and 2024–25, the number of young people aged 10 and over in detention on an average day rose by 8.5% (from 792 to 859) (Table S82a). The rate rose from 2.6 to 2.7 per 10,000 for those aged 10–17 between 2020–21 and 2024–25 (Figure 9.1; Table S86a). In the most recent year, the number of young people increased marginally (from 829 to 859) (Table S82a) and the rate remained stable at 2.7 per 10,000 (Table S83a).

States and territories

Between 2020–21 and 2024–25, the rate of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day fell overall in some states and territories. The largest fall was in Victoria (from 7.3 to 4.5 per 10,000) (Figure 9.2; Table S15a).

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 and Tasmania. The largest fall was in New South Wales (from 11 to 8.9 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 absolute decline in Western Australia (from 3.5 to 2.5 per 10,000), and the largest percentage decline over this time in Victoria (from 1.7 to 1.1 per 10,000) (Table S83a).

The largest increases in the rates of young people aged 10–17 in detention were in the Northern Territory (from 12 to 15 per 10,000) and Tasmania (from 1.5 to 2.6 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.

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 2024–25, the rates of young males and females under supervision fell. For males aged 10–17 on an average day, the rate fell from 21 to 18 per 10,000; for females, it fell marginally overall from 5.8 to 5.3 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 17 to 15 per 10,000, while the rate of young females fell from 5.3 to 4.7 per 10,000 (Table S48a). For detention, the rate of males aged 10–17 on an average day increased slightly from 4.5 to 4.8 per 10,000, and the rate of females rose marginally from 0.5 to 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 66 to 50 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 14 to 12 per 10,000) (Table S9a).

Time under supervision

Over the 5 years from 2020–21 to 2024–25, the average amount of time young people spent under youth justice supervision during the year declined from 185 days in 2020–21 to 177 days in 2024–25 (Table S30).

A similar trend was seen for young people under community‑based supervision, with a decline from 176 days in 2020–2021 to 168 days in 2024–25 (Table S63).

The average amount of time spent in detention fluctuated over the years, with a slight decrease from 67 days in 2020–21 to 66 days in 2024–25 (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 Tasmania (from 189 to 223 days). The largest overall fall was in Western Australia (from 156 to 131 days) (Table S30).