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Four in five children in prison haven't been sentenced: new data shows alarming increase in locking up kids

Justice Reform Initiative

New national data shows that Australia is increasingly locking up children who have not been found guilty of a crime, with unsentenced detention now the overwhelming norm in youth justice.

The latest Youth justice in Australia 2024–25 report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals that four in five (80%) young people in detention on an average day are unsentenced, meaning they are being held on remand or pre‑court, not serving a sentence.

Justice Reform Initiative executive director Dr Mindy Sotiri said the data exposed a youth justice system that is relying increasingly on incarceration as a default response, introducing children to a ‘revolving door’ which is difficult to escape and carries lifelong impact.

“Detaining children who have not been sentenced should be an absolute last resort – instead, it has become business as usual,” said Dr Sotiri. “This is not only deeply harmful, it makes communities less safe in the long run.

“There is no evidence that incarcerating children on remand reduces crime or makes communities safer. Although laws that restrict bail for children sometimes have political appeal, the evidence is very clear that this is a failed policy approach. Sending children to prison entrenches harm, increases the risk of reoffending and ignores decades of evidence about what actually keeps communities safe.

“Imprisonment disrupts education, family connection and housing – and it increases the likelihood of further involvement with the criminal justice system.

“We are failing kids by defaulting to prisons instead of investing in concrete responses and pathways in the community including prevention, community-led supports and early intervention.  Detention should be a last resort. For far too many children who come into contact with the justice system, imprisonment has become the default.”

The data shows the impact is especially severe for First Nations children. Almost all (98%) First Nations children in detention had been in unsentenced detention at some point during the year, underscoring how frequently Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are locked up without a sentence.

Over the past five years, the situation has worsened:

• The number of children in detention on an average day rose by 8.5%, while the number under community-based supervision fell by 13%.
• The number of First Nations young people aged 10 and over in detention on an average day increased by 21%.
• First Nations over‑representation in detention grew sharply, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children rising from 16 times more likely to be detained than non‑Indigenous children in 2020–21 to around 23 times as likely in 2024–25.

“This data confirms that our youth justice system is deepening inequality rather than addressing it,” Dr Sotiri said. “First Nations children are being swept into custody earlier, more often, and for longer – despite overwhelming evidence that detention drives further contact with the justice system.”

Children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds are also disproportionately affected. On an average day in 2024–25 almost 2 in 5 (38%) young people under supervision came from the lowest socioeconomic areas, compared with just 5.9% from the highest.

Children from very remote areas were 10 times as likely to be under supervision as those in major cities, largely reflecting higher proportions of First Nations Australians under youth justice supervision living in these areas.

“Children should be held accountable for their actions – but real accountability means reducing the risk of harm happening again,” Dr Sotiri said. “Right now, governments are pouring millions into detention despite decades of evidence showing it doesn’t work.

“What does work is investing in strong bail support, diversion and community‑based programs – particularly First Nations‑led programs – that tackle the reasons children come into contact with the system in the first place. If we want safer communities, we need to stop investing in prisons and start investing in children.”

The Justice Reform Initiative has 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.

Contact details:

Pia 0412 346 746