Youth justice in Australia 2022–23

This fact sheet summarises key findings of young people under youth justice supervision for Western Australia, 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 Western Australia:

• 622 young people aged 10 and over were under youth justice supervision (Table S132a)
• more than 4 in 5 (85%) were supervised in the community (Table S132b), and 16% in detention (Table S132c) (proportions may not sum to 100% as some young people were under community-based supervision and in detention on the same day)
• the rate of supervision was 19 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S133a)
• 16 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (Table S133b), and 3.0 per 10,000 were in detention (Table S133c).

Age and sex

On an average day in 2022–23, in Western Australia:

• 86% of those under supervision were aged 10–17, and the rest were 18 and over
• 80% of those under supervision were male
• males and females under supervision were most likely to be aged 17 (Table S132a).

Number of young people under supervision (any type) on an average day, by age, sex and Indigenous status, Western Australia, 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 Western Australia:

• First Nations young people made up 6.3% of those aged 10–17 in the general population, but 65% (or 344) of those of the same age under supervision (tables S132a and S143)
• a slightly lower proportion of First Nations young people aged 10–17 were under community-based supervision (63% or 285) and a higher proportion in detention (73% or 63) (tables S132b and S132c)
• First Nations young people aged 10–17 were about 27 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision (189 per 10,000 compared with 7.0 per 10,000) (Table S133a)
• First Nations over-representation was lower in community-based supervision (25 times the non-Indigenous rate) compared with detention 40 times the non‑Indigenous rate) (tables S133b and S133c).

Time under supervision

In 2022–23, in Western Australia:

• completed periods of supervision lasted a median length of 50 days (about 7 weeks) (Table S29)
• when all time spent under supervision during the year is considered, young people spent an average of 149 days (21 weeks) under supervision (Table S30).

Sentenced and unsentenced detention

On an average day in 2022–23, in Western Australia:

• more than 3 in 5 (62%) 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
• 38% of the young people in detention were serving a sentence (Table S108a).

Trends to 2022–23

Over the 5 years to 2022–23, on an average day, in Western Australia:

• the number of young people under supervision fell by 19% (from 772 in 2018–19 to 622 in 2022–23) (Table S132a), while the rate fell from 26 to 19 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17 (Table S12a)
• in community-based supervision, the number fell by 17% (Table S132b), while the rate fell from 21 to 16 per 10,000 (Table S45a)
• in detention, the number fell by 29% (Table S132c), and the rate fell from 4.8 to 3.0 per 10,000 (Table S83a)
• the rate for young First Nations people under supervision fell from 240 to 189 per 10,000 (Table S12a).

Rate of young people aged 10–17 under supervision on an average day, by supervision type, Western Australia, 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.