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National Agreement on Closing the Gap
The Closing the Gap framework is an Australian government strategy that aims to reduce disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The objective of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap (the National Agreement) is to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and governments to work together to overcome the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.
The over-representation of Aboriginal Australians in the Criminal Justice System is a matter of long-standing and justified public concern. Latest figures indicate that the Aboriginal imprisonment rate in NSW is nearly 10 times the non-Aboriginal imprisonment rate (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020). The National Agreement has 17 national socio-economic targets across areas that have an impact on life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Three of the targets relate to crime and justice.
- Target 10: Adults are not over-represented in the criminal justice system
- Target 11: Young people are not over-represented in the criminal justice system
- Target 13: Aboriginal female and young victims of violence
Statistics representing the progress towards each of these targets can be explored in the sections below with interactive dashboards:
Reduce the rate of Aboriginal adults held in incarceration by at least 15%.
Reduce the rate of Aboriginal young people in youth detention by at least 30%
The rate of family violence against Aboriginal women and children is reduced by at least by 50%
Aboriginal over-representation
Aboriginal people are disproportionately represented at each stage of the Criminal Justice System. Aboriginal people constitute just 3.4% of the NSW adult population and 6.2% of the NSW population aged 10-17 years but comprise more than 30% of the adult prison population and 50% of the youth detention population.
Data files
Adults - Aboriginal adult over-representation in the justice system (PDF, 165.5 KB)
Aboriginal young people - Aboriginal youth over-representation in the justice system (PDF, 168.8 KB)
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.