Number of young people in detention

This figure shows the number of young people in detention on an average night in Australia. It includes data for the June quarter 2016, 2019 and 2020 and each state and territory. Additionally it presents the proportion of young people in detention by legal status, Indigenous status and sex.

This figure shows that there were 798 young people in Australia that were in detention on an average night in the June quarter 2020. New South Wales had the highest number of young people in detention on an average night, while Tasmania had the lowest (221 compared with 14 young people). Nearly two-thirds (64%) of young people in detention were in unsentenced detention; just under half were Indigenous (48%); and 9 in 10 (91%) were male.