Youth detention population in Australia 2023

How many young people were in unsentenced detention?

On an average night in the March quarter 2023:

• more than 3 in 4 (649 or 77%) young people in detention were unsentenced
• the rate of young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention was 2.3 per 10,000.

Over the 4-year period from the June quarter 2019 to the March quarter 2023:

• the proportion of those in unsentenced detention increased from 63% (589) to 77% (654) (Supplementary tables S11 and S29)
• the rate of young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention remained relatively stable, ranging between 1.7 and 2.3 per 10,000
• the rate of young people in unsentenced detention tended to be higher in the March and June quarters each year, and lower in the September and December quarters. The exception was the June quarter 2020 when the rate was lower (Figure 3.1).

Over the 1-year period from March quarter 2022 to March quarter 2023:

• the number of young people in unsentenced detention increased from 617 to 649
• the rate of young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention increased slightly from 2.2 to 2.3 per 10,000) (Figure 3.1).

How many young people were in sentenced detention?

On an average night in the March quarter 2023:

• almost 1 in 4 (192 or 23%) young people in detention were sentenced
• the rate of young people aged 10–17 in sentenced detention was 0.5 per 10,000 (Figure 3.1).

Over the 4-year period from the June quarter 2019 to the March quarter 2023:

• the number of young people in sentenced detention fell by 45% from 352 to 192, with a low in the June quarter 2022 (181, or 23%) (Supplementary tables S11 and S47, Figure 3.1)
• the rate of young people in sentenced detention has declined steadily from 0.9 to 0.5 per 10,000 young people (Figure 3.1).

Over the one-year period from March quarter 2022 to March quarter 2023:

• the number of young people in sentenced detention remained steady (193 in 2022 and 192 in 2023) (Figure 3.1)
• the rate of young people aged 10–17 in sentenced detention remained the same (0.5 per 10,000 young people) (Supplementary table S54, Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1 Young people in detention on an average night, by legal status, June quarter 2019 to March quarter 2023 (number and rate)

Notes

1. Trend data may differ from those previously published due to data revisions.
2. Rates are the number of young people per 10,000 relevant population.
3. Data for the figures presenting numbers includes those young people aged 10 and over, data for the rate figures includes young people aged 10–17.
4. Figures presenting data excluding the Northern Territory, exclude Northern Territory data for the entire 4-year period.
5. Figures that present data excluding the Northern Territory include the June quarter 2023. For those that include data for the Northern Territory, the June quarter 2023 is excluded.
6. Northern Territory data for legal status is unavailable for the June quarter 2023.

Source: Supplementary tables S29, S36, S47 and S54.

What were the age groups of young people in sentenced and unsentenced detention?

On an average night in the March quarter 2023:

• a higher proportion of those in unsentenced detention were aged 10–17 (92%) than in sentenced detention (64%) (Supplementary tables S29, S32, S47 and S50)
• in unsentenced detention, 8.4% were aged 18 or over; in sentenced detention the proportion was 36% (Supplementary tables S29, S33, S47 and S51).

The proportion of young people aged 10–17 in unsentenced detention was consistently higher than in sentenced detention throughout the 4-year period (from June quarter 2019 to March quarter 2023):

• in unsentenced detention, 89%–93% were aged 10–17
• in sentenced detention, 55%–71% were aged 10–17, with a low in the September quarter 2020 and a high in the September quarter 2022 (Supplementary tables S29, S32, S47, and S50).

Additionally, in the March quarter 2023, 6.4% of young people in unsentenced detention were aged 10–13 and less than 0.1% in sentenced detention were aged 10–13. These proportions fluctuated over the 4-year period from the June quarter 2019 to the March quarter 2023 for unsentenced detention (5.5%–8.3%) and sentenced detention (0.0%–1.3%) (Supplementary tables S29, S30, S47, S48).

One reason more young people aged 18 and over are in sentenced detention than in unsentenced detention is that some may continue serving a sentence in a youth facility once they turn 18. Whether they remain in youth detention or are moved to the adult justice system depends on different policies and practices in the states and territories.

For example, in Victoria, 65% to 78% of young people in sentenced detention were aged 18 or over in each quarter over the 4-year period (from June quarter 2019 to March quarter 2023), compared with 29% to 45% in Australia overall. This is in part due to the ‘dual track’ sentencing system operating in Victoria, which results in a relatively large proportion of young people aged 18 and over in sentenced detention (see Age limits for more details).

Were there any sex differences in the numbers of young people in sentenced compared with unsentenced detention?

On an average night in the March quarter 2023, comparatively more females (83%) than males (77%) were in unsentenced detention (Supplementary tables S29 and S11). This was the case in each quarter throughout the 4‑year period (from June quarter 2019 to March quarter 2023), with:

• 71% to 83% of females in detention unsentenced
• 61% to 77% of males in detention unsentenced.

Conversely, males (23%) were more likely than females (17%) to be in sentenced detention on an average night in the March quarter 2023 (Supplementary tables S47 and S11). These results should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of females in detention.

Over the 4-year period, the proportion of males in sentenced detention declined from 39% in the June quarter 2019 to 23% in the March quarter 2023, while the corresponding proportion of females fluctuated, with an overall decrease from 23% to 17%.