Summary
Aim
BOCSAR releases a series of products aimed to monitor the progress towards Closing the Gap targets 10 and 11.
- Target 10 – In March 2025, there were 4,244 Aboriginal adults in custody, which is 32.4% of the adult custody population. Unlike the overall prison population, which remains below the level seen at the beginning of the pandemic, the number of Aboriginal prisoners has surpassed pre-pandemic levels and continues to grow. The number of Aboriginal inmates has increased by 459 adults or 12.1% in two years from 3,785 in March 2023 to 4,244 in March 2025. Both the number of Aboriginal men (up 416 or 12.0%) and Aboriginal women (up 43 or 13.0%) increased from March 2023 to March 2025. The increase in the prison population is mainly due to an increase in remand. In March 2025, the number of Aboriginal people held on remand in NSW was 1,936, up 25.9% since March 2023. The most common offences for which Aboriginal adults were on remand were DV assault (450 or 23.2% of the remand population) and non-DV assault (344 or 17.8% of the remand population). Both the number of Aboriginal adults proceeded against to court (up 2.4% or 832) and the number found guilty in court (up 5.7% or 2,015) increased over the last year.
- Target 11 – In March 2025 there were 139 Aboriginal young people in detention, which is 60.7% of the youth detention population. Currently, almost three-quarters (69.8%) of Aboriginal young people in detention are on remand (97 Aboriginal young people). The main offences for which Aboriginal young people are in custody are break and enter (32.4% or 45 young people), car theft (18.0% or 25 young people) and robbery (12.9% or 18 young people). The number of Aboriginal young people appearing in court also increased, up 7.3% or 266 young people over the last year. As at March 2025, the length of time Aboriginal young people are spending in custody has also increased, up 7 days from 19 days in the 12 months to March 2024 to 26 days in the 12 months to March 2025.
These two products provide insights into Aboriginal contact with the NSW justice system, with data current to March 2025.
1. Closing the Gap Quarterly Report
This report tracks progress against two key indicators of Aboriginal over-representation in the justice system:
- The number of Aboriginal people in custody
- The number of court appearances involving Aboriginal people
In addition to these primary indicators, the report also examines contributing factors such as police actions, bail decisions and breaches, court outcomes, and reoffending rates. Separate reports are available for: Aboriginal adults (Target 10) and Aboriginal young people (Target 11)
2. Aboriginal Contacts with the Justice System by Region
These Excel-based datasets provide regional-level insights into justice system interactions, disaggregated by: Region and LGA. The data covers youth diversion, court appearances, and custodial sentences. As with the quarterly report, separate datasets are available for Aboriginal adults and Aboriginal young people.