← Youth Justice
State Deep DiveNSW
New South Wales Youth Justice
NSW detains 200 children on an average day with 22x Indigenous overrepresentation. $2.8B in 10-year ROGS spending, 72% unsentenced. The state with the highest Indigenous detention rate per 10,000 (32).
$2.8B
NSW Youth Justice (ROGS 10yr)
200
Avg Daily Detention
22x
First Nations Overrepresentation
97%
Evidence Coverage
Key Outcomes
AIHW Youth Justice 2023-24 & ROGS 2026 data.
3.6
Detention rate per 10K
200
Avg daily detention
72%
Unsentenced (remand)
Detention rate per 10,000 young people
| Metric | QLD | NSW | VIC | WA | NT | National |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detention rate (per 10K) | 5.1 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 4.2 | 17 | 3.4 |
| Avg daily detention | 317 | 200 | 120 | 145 | 62 | 950 |
| Indigenous overrepresentation | 26x | 22x | 14x | 24x | 5x | 17x |
| % unsentenced (remand) | 86% | 72% | 65% | 78% | 80% | 75% |
| Cost per day (detention) | $2,162 | $3,200 | $7,123 | $2,573 | $4,800 | $3,635 |
| 5-year trend | +53% | +86% | +37% | -10% | 0% | +19% |
Sources: AIHW Youth Justice in Australia 2023-24, ROGS 2026 Table 17A.
Where the Money Goes (ROGS)
Productivity Commission ROGS 2026 — 10-year expenditure breakdown.
67%
Detention-based
$1.9B
33%
Community-based
$927.6M
0%
Group conferencing
$12.6M
DetentionCommunityConferencing
Funding by Program
Australian Childhood Foundation — Funding to expand trauma-informed services for children and young people in the 1 grants—1 orgs
Grant Thornton Foundation — Headspace (National Charity Partner) for mental health support for young people1 grants—1 orgs
| →young people | 1 | — |
Grant Thornton Foundation — Support for Whitelion for young people at risk of homelessness1 grants—1 orgs
| →Whitelion | 1 | — |
Law And Justice Foundation Of New South Wales — Past grants (ceased in 2018) focused on areas such as educating young people wit1 grants—1 orgs
LEGENDS LIFE FOUNDATION LIMITED — 34 young people supported through pilot boxing program across 7 community gyms1 grants—1 orgs
The Trustee for Foyer Central SIB Trust — Outcome payments are made to Uniting for successfully supporting young people in1 grants—1 orgs
| →Uniting | 1 | — |
UNCOMMODIFY FOUNDATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED — Community Spirit Foundation (now Murrup, supporting First Nations young people o1 grants—1 orgs
ALMA Interventions (63)
Mission Australia Youth Services NSW
Mission Australia
Wraparound SupportPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Youth on Track (YoT)
DEPT OF COMMUNITIES & JUSTICE
Early InterventionPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSWStatewide
Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT Youth Justice Program
Aboriginal Corporation Legal Service South Coast
DiversionPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSWACTStatewide
Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women's Legal Centre Youth Program
Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Womens Legal Centre
DiversionPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project (Bourke)
Just Reinvest NSW Inc.
Justice ReinvestmentEffective (strong evaluation, positive outcomes)NSW
NSW Youth Drug and Alcohol Court (YDAC)
icourts
TherapeuticPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Mount Druitt Justice Reinvestment
Just Reinvest NSW Inc.
Justice ReinvestmentEffective (strong evaluation, positive outcomes)NSW
Cowra Justice Reinvestment
Just Reinvest NSW Inc.
Justice ReinvestmentEffective (strong evaluation, positive outcomes)NSW
Nowra Justice Reinvestment
Just Reinvest NSW Inc.
Justice ReinvestmentEffective (strong evaluation, positive outcomes)NSW
Moree Justice Reinvestment
Just Reinvest NSW Inc.
Justice ReinvestmentEffective (strong evaluation, positive outcomes)NSW
Redfern Youth Connect (Aboriginal Corporation)
Redfern Aboriginal Corporation
Community-LedUntested (theory/pilot stage)NSW
Balund-a Aboriginal Corporation Youth Services
Binalup Aboriginal Corporation
Cultural ConnectionIndigenous-led (culturally grounded, community authority)NSW
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation Youth Services
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation
Cultural ConnectionUntested (theory/pilot stage)NSW
Justice Reinvestment Mechanism
Just Reinvest NSW Inc.
Justice ReinvestmentEffective (strong evaluation, positive outcomes)NSW
Designing a Justice Reinvestment Mechanism for New South Wales
Just Reinvest NSW Inc.
Justice ReinvestmentEffective (strong evaluation, positive outcomes)NSW
Justice Reinvestment Research Framework - NSW
Justice ReinvestmentPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Justice Reinvestment
Justice ReinvestmentPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSWNational
BackTrack Youth Works
BackTrack Youth Works Ltd
Community-LedIndigenous-led (culturally grounded, community authority)NSWArmidaleNew England
Barnardos Australia Youth Programs NSW
Barnardos Australia
Family StrengtheningUntested (theory/pilot stage)NSWStatewide
Youth off the Streets
Youth Off The Streets Limited
Wraparound SupportPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Youth Justice Conferencing (NSW)
Community Justice Centres NSW
DiversionPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSWQLDStatewide
Frank Baxter Youth Justice Centre
NSW Youth Justice
Education/EmploymentUntested (theory/pilot stage)NSW
Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project
MARANGUKA LIMITED
Justice ReinvestmentPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Nowra Justice Reinvestment - Yuin Nation
Justice ReinvestmentPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Maranguka Justice Reinvestment - Bourke
MARANGUKA LIMITED
Justice ReinvestmentPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)NSW
Evidence Coverage
61 of 63 interventions have formal evidence97%
61 with evidence2 without evidence
| Intervention | Type | Evidence | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allawah Youth | Community-Led | Gap | — |
| Youth Justice NSW Aboriginal Employment Plan 2024-2026 | Community-Led | Gap | — |
| Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT Youth Justice Program | Diversion | Yes | Independent inspection and review of ACT youth detention |
| Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT Youth Justice Program | Diversion | Yes | Performance audit of Youth Justice Conferencing program |
| Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT Youth Justice Program | Diversion | Yes | Evaluation of family support program for parents with justice history |
| Acmena Youth Justice Centre | Education/Employment | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Anglicare Youth Support Program | Wraparound Support | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Aruma Interchange Youth Programs | Wraparound Support | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| BackTrack Youth Works | Community-Led | Yes | Longitudinal evaluation of intensive youth engagement program |
| BackTrack Youth Works | Community-Led | Yes | Longitudinal cohort study tracking 500+ participants over 4 years |
| Balund-a Aboriginal Corporation Youth Services | Cultural Connection | Yes | — |
| Balund-a Aboriginal Corporation Youth Services | Cultural Connection | Yes | — |
| Balund-a Aboriginal Corporation Youth Services | Cultural Connection | Yes | — |
| Barnardos Australia Youth Programs NSW | Family Strengthening | Yes | Data analysis of placement and restoration outcomes |
| Barnardos Australia Youth Programs NSW | Family Strengthening | Yes | — |
| Child and Youth Behaviour Support | Family Strengthening | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Cobham Youth Justice Centre | Education/Employment | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Communities and Justice | Prevention | Yes | Systematic evidence review and scan of Aboriginal-led programs |
| Coordinated Youth Engagement | Early Intervention | Yes | Longitudinal community data + participant tracking |
| Coordinated Youth Engagement | Early Intervention | Yes | Difference-in-differences analysis comparing Bourke with matched regional towns |
| Cowra Justice Reinvestment | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Evaluation of community-led justice reinvestment in Bourke NSW |
| Cowra Justice Reinvestment | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Economic analysis of Maranguka justice reinvestment initiative |
| Cowra Justice Reinvestment | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Pre-post comparison with matched control communities, 5-year follow-up |
| Cowra Justice Reinvestment | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | — |
| CPL Youth Education and Employment Support | Education/Employment | Yes | Review of 45 education-focused interventions in justice settings |
| Designing a Justice Reinvestment Mechanism for New South Wales | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Economic analysis of Maranguka justice reinvestment initiative |
| Designing a Justice Reinvestment Mechanism for New South Wales | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Pre-post comparison with matched control communities, 5-year follow-up |
| Designing a Justice Reinvestment Mechanism for New South Wales | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | — |
| Designing a Justice Reinvestment Mechanism for New South Wales | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | — |
| Designing a Justice Reinvestment Mechanism for New South Wales | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Evaluation of community-led justice reinvestment in Bourke NSW |
Community-Controlled Funding Gap
Non-Indigenous
—
3 orgs, avg grant —
Funding by Remoteness
| Remoteness | Orgs | Total | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Cities of Australia | 2 | — | 2 |
| Outer Regional Australia | 1 | — | 1 |
Political Connections
No political connection data available for NSW youth justice organisations.
Network Graph
Explore New South Wales Youth Justice funding flows
Interactive force-directed graph showing programs, recipients, and evidence links