Australia is imprisoning higher rates of First Nations children and unsentenced children, with most cycling in and out of the youth justice system for years—highlighting the urgent need for a national shift away from punitive policies that drive up incarceration without breaking cycles of crime.
New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals that in 2023-24, an average of 80% of children in detention were unsentenced, with rates increasing in almost every state and territory over the past five years. In Queensland and the Northern Territory, these figures reached alarming highs of 90% and 99% respectively.
The data also underscores the revolving-door nature of youth detention: almost two-thirds (64%) of children in the system had been previously supervised, First Nations children remain disproportionately affected, making up 65% of all children detained by state and territory governments in 2023-24. First Nations children are also pulled into the justice system at a younger age than non-Indigenous children, compounding the risk of long-term system involvement.
The alarming increase comes as Australia's child incarceration costs surpassed $1 billion for the first time in 2023-24, up from $908 million the previous year.
Justice Reform Initiative Executive Director, Dr Mindy Sotiri, said Australia is paying the price for politically motivated 'tough on crime' policies that fail to prevent crime and entrench disadvantage.
"Across the country, we are seeing a troubling shift towards politicised law-making —especially when it comes to more restrictive bail legislation. While punitive policy approaches might be effective when it comes to scoring political points, there is absolutely no evidence that this approach is effective when it comes to reducing crime," she said.
"The AIHW figures show the direct consequences of those failed policies. When children can't access bail, we see increasing numbers of children on remand which in turn leads to increased community disconnection, and increased likelihood of future entrenched justice system involvement."
"The evidence is very clear that imprisonment, as it currently operates, makes reoffending more likely, causes significant harm to children, and fails to improve community safety—all while placing a growing financial burden on taxpayers."
Dr Sotiri urged governments to redirect funding from incarceration to evidence-based community programs that prevent crime and reduce reoffending.
"The Senate Inquiry into Australia's Youth Justice and Incarceration System has already highlighted the chronic lack of diversionary and bail support programs, particularly in regional and remote areas. Instead of funnelling more children into detention, we need all sides of politics to recognise that incarceration does not work to deter children from committing crime. What works is investment in programs, including First Nations-led programs, outside of prison that address the underlying drivers of why children come into contact with the youth justice system."
"This doesn't mean excusing crime or minimising its impact—it's about ensuring children have access to the right support within their communities and real opportunities to break cycles of justice system contact."
"We need parliamentarians from all sides of politics to refrain from engaging in law-and-order politics and prioritise legislative and policy settings that are based on the evidence about what actually works to reduce crime and build safer communities, not on political competitions about who can appear to be tougher on crime."
The Justice Reform Initiative has recently published a series of position papers on key reform areas including youth justice, as well as reports outlining the success of evidence-based alternatives to prison.
