Youth justice in Australia 2022–23

This fact sheet summarises key findings of young people under youth justice supervision for the Northern Territory, including the number and rate of young people under community-based supervision and in detention. It also summarises data on young people by age, sex, Indigenous status, legal status, time under supervision and contains trends. 

Number and rate 

On an average day in 2022–23, in the Northern Territory:

• 306 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision; most were Indigenous (282) (Table S140a)
• more than 4 in 5 (84%) were supervised in the community (Table S140b), and the rest (17%) in detention (Table S140c) (proportions might not sum to 100%, as young people may be under  community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
• the rate of supervision was 79 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S141a)
• 61 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (Table S141b), and 19 per 10,000 were in detention (Table S141c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2022–23, in the Northern Territory:

• 69% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
• 85% of those under supervision were male 
• males under supervision were most likely to be aged 18 and females aged 17 (Table S140a).

Number of young people under supervision (any type) on an average day, by age, sex and Indigenous status, Northern Territory, 2022–23

Notes: 

1. Age categories are not presented where they represent averages that are equal to or rounded to 0.0. 
2. Total includes young people of unknown age, sex and Indigenous status. 
3. Number of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to total number under supervision as young people may be under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day and may be in different age groups. 
4. 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, then the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable to Youth justice in Australia releases prior to 2019–20. 
5. The equivalent 'during the year' table or unique counts of young people is not published due to small numbers, confidentiality, and/or reliability concerns.

Source: Youth Justice National Minimum Data Set 2022–23

First Nations young people

On an average day in 2022–23, in the Northern Territory:

• First Nations young people made up 42% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 93% (or 197) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S140a and S143)
• similar proportions of First Nations young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (92% or 151) and detention (94% or 49) (tables S140b and S140c).

Time under supervision

In 2022–23, in the Northern Territory:

• completed periods of supervision lasted a median length of 23 days (about 3 weeks) (Table S29)
• when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 219 days (31 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2022–23, in the Northern Territory:

• more than 9 in 10 (93%) 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
• 47% of young people in detention were serving a sentence (Table S108a).

The proportion of unsentenced and sentenced young people on an average day does not sum to 100% as periods of sentenced detention in the Northern Territory have been backdated to take into account periods of unsentenced detention already served.

Trends to 2022–23

Over the 5 years to 2022–23, on an average day in the Northern Territory:

• the number of young people aged 10 and over who were under supervision rose from 195 in 2018–19 to 306 in 2022–23 (Table S140a), while the rate rose overall from 54 to 79 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S12a)
• in community-based supervision, the number of young people aged 10 and over rose by 60% (Table S140b), while the rate rose from 41 to 61 per 10,000 (Table S45a)
• in detention, the number rose by 45% (Table S140c), while the rate increased from 14 to 19 per 10,000 (Table S83a).

Rate of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, Northern Territory, 2018–19 to 2022–23

Notes: 

1. Total includes young people of unknown age, sex and Indigenous status. 
2. Number of young people under community-based supervision and in detention may not sum to total number under supervision as young people may be under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day and may be in different age groups. 
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, then the average daily number under supervision will reflect this. Average daily data broken down by age will not be comparable to Youth justice in Australia releases prior to 2019–20. 
4. The equivalent 'during the year' table or unique counts of young people is not published due to due to small numbers, confidentiality, and/or reliability concerns. 
5. Rates are number of young people per 10,000 relevant population. 

Source: Youth Justice National Minimum Data Set 2022–23

More information

This fact sheet is part of the Youth justice in Australia 2022–23 release, which includes a report, state and territory fact sheets, and supplementary data tables.

Together, these provide comprehensive information about young people under youth justice supervision in Australia due to their involvement, or alleged involvement, in crime.

For more information see the Youth justice topic.