New South Wales

Quick facts

On an average day in 2018–19, in New South Wales:

  • 1,363 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
  • 17 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under supervision
  • Indigenous young people were 13 times as likely to be under supervision as non-Indigenous young people.

Of those under supervision in New South Wales on an average day:

  • 81% were supervised in the community, and the rest in detention
  • 79% were male
  • 44% of those aged 10–17 were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • 56% of those in detention were unsentenced (awaiting the outcome of their court matter or sentencing), and the rest were serving a sentence.

Young people spent an average of 25 weeks under supervision during the year.

Over the 5 years to 2018–19, the number of young people under supervision on an average day fell by 5%, while the rate for those aged 10–17 fell from 19 to 17 per 10,000.

Number and rate

On an average day in 2018–19, in New South Wales:

  • 1,363 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision
  • 4 in 5 (81%) were supervised in the community, and the rest (20%) in detention (the proportion of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to 100% as young people may have been under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
  • the rate of supervision was 17 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17
  • 14 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision, and 3 per 10,000 were in detention.

Age and sex

On an average day in 2018–19, in New South Wales:

  • 94% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
  • 79% of those under supervision were male
  • males under supervision were most likely to be aged 17, and females 16.
     

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people

On an average day in 2018–19, in New South Wales:

  • Indigenous young people made up 6% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 44% of those of the same age under supervision
  • Indigenous young people aged 10–17 were 13 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (119 per 10,000 compared with 9 per 10,000)
  • Indigenous over-representation was higher in detention (16 times the non-Indigenous rate).

Time under supervision

In 2018–19, in New South Wales:

  • the median total duration of individual periods of supervision that were completed during the year was 52 days (7 weeks)
  • when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 177 days (25 weeks) under supervision.

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2018–19, in New South Wales:

  • almost 3 in 5 (56%) young people in detention were unsentenced—that is, they were awaiting the outcome of their court matter, or had been found guilty and were awaiting sentencing
  • 44% of young people in detention were serving a sentence.

Trends to 2018–19

Over the 5 years to 2018–19, on an average day, in New South Wales:

  • the number of young people under supervision fell by 5% (from 1,440 in 2014–15 to 1,363 in 2018–19), while the rate fell from 19 to 17 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17
  • in community-based supervision, the number fell by 5%, while the rate fell from 16 to 14 per 10,000
  • in detention, the number fell by 8%, while the rate remained at 3 per 10,000
  • the rate for Indigenous young people under supervision fell, overall, from 104 to 95 per 10,000.
     

More information

For more information see Youth justice.