← Youth Justice
State Deep DiveWA
Western Australia Youth Justice
WA has 24x Indigenous overrepresentation and 78% of detained children are unsentenced. 145 children detained daily. $1.3B in 10-year spending with 4.2 per 10K detention rate.
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Limited data coverage
WA has 533 justice funding records across 9 sources (2015-16–2025-26). Sections below may appear sparse. More data sources are being added.
$1.3B
WA Youth Justice (ROGS 10yr)
145
Avg Daily Detention
24x
First Nations Overrepresentation
85%
Evidence Coverage
Key Outcomes
AIHW Youth Justice 2023-24 & ROGS 2026 data.
4.2
Detention rate per 10K
145
Avg daily detention
78%
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.
58%
Detention-based
$784.0M
21%
Community-based
$289.8M
21%
Group conferencing
$274.3M
DetentionCommunityConferencing
Funding by Program
Sangora Education Foundation — Grant for a peer mentoring project to train disadvantaged young people for furth1 grants—1 orgs
ALMA Interventions (52)
WA Youth Services (Mission Australia)
Mission Australia
Wraparound SupportPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)WA
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) Youth Programs
Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Co Operative Ltd
Wraparound SupportPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)VICWA
Aboriginal Youth at Risk Program
NSW GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
DiversionPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)WA
Youth Programs (Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation)
Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation
Community-LedPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)KimberleyWA
Aboriginal Legal Service of WA Youth Services
Aboriginal Corporation Legal Service South Coast
DiversionPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)WAStatewide
Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation Youth Programs
Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation
Cultural ConnectionIndigenous-led (culturally grounded, community authority)WA
Yued Aboriginal Corporation Youth Services
Yued Aboriginal Corporation
Community-LedUntested (theory/pilot stage)WAMooraDandaraganWheatbelt
Nulsen Disability Services Youth Programs
Disability Services Australia Limited
Wraparound SupportUntested (theory/pilot stage)WA
Ngnowar Aerwah Aboriginal Corporation Youth Services
Ngnowar-Aerwah Aboriginal Corporation
Cultural ConnectionUntested (theory/pilot stage)WA
Community Juvenile Justice Teams
NSW GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
Community-LedUntested (theory/pilot stage)WA
Banksia Hill Detention Centre
WA Department of Justice
Wraparound SupportUntested (theory/pilot stage)WA
Western Australia Community-Led Youth Initiative 2
WA Department of Justice
Community-LedWA
Western Australia Youth Diversion Program 2
WA Department of Justice
DiversionWA
Ngala Family Support Youth Services
Ngala Family Services
Family StrengtheningUntested (theory/pilot stage)WA
Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services Youth Programs
Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services Inc
Cultural ConnectionUntested (theory/pilot stage)KimberleyWA
Marr Mooditj Foundation Youth Programs
Mard Foundation
Cultural ConnectionIndigenous-led (culturally grounded, community authority)WA
Kimberley Juvenile Justice Strategy
Justice ReinvestmentPromising (community-endorsed, emerging evidence)DerbyKimberleyWA
Wirrpanda Foundation Youth Programs
Wise Foundation
Education/EmploymentUntested (theory/pilot stage)WA
Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre Youth Programs
Murdoch University
Education/EmploymentUntested (theory/pilot stage)MurdochWA
Yamatji Youth Services
Community-LedUntested (theory/pilot stage)Mid-WestWA
Western Australia Youth Housing Support 2
WA Department of Justice
Wraparound SupportWA
Western Australia Justice Reinvestment Project 2
WA Department of Justice
Justice ReinvestmentWA
Western Australia Youth Mental Health Services 2
WA Department of Justice
TherapeuticWA
Western Australia Youth Diversion Program 3
WA Department of Justice
DiversionWA
Western Australia Restorative Justice Conferencing 2
WA Department of Justice
DiversionWA
Evidence Coverage
44 of 52 interventions have formal evidence85%
44 with evidence8 without evidence
| Intervention | Type | Evidence | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allawah Youth | Community-Led | Gap | — |
| Western Australia Justice Reinvestment Project | Justice Reinvestment | Gap | — |
| Western Australia Restorative Justice Conferencing | Diversion | Gap | — |
| Western Australia Youth Diversion Program | Diversion | Gap | — |
| Western Australia Youth Housing Support | Wraparound Support | Gap | — |
| Western Australia Youth Mentoring Initiative | Wraparound Support | Gap | — |
| Western Australia Youth Mentoring Initiative 2 | Wraparound Support | Gap | — |
| Western Australia Youth Mentoring Initiative 3 | Wraparound Support | Gap | — |
| Aboriginal Legal Service of WA Youth Services | Diversion | Yes | Analysis of mandatory sentencing impact on youth justice outcomes |
| Aboriginal Legal Service of WA Youth Services | Diversion | Yes | Analysis of remand populations across Australian jurisdictions |
| Aboriginal Youth at Risk Program | Diversion | Yes | — |
| Aboriginal Youth at Risk Program | Diversion | Yes | Evaluation of culturally-specific youth justice diversion program |
| Aboriginal Youth at Risk Program | Diversion | Yes | — |
| Banksia Hill Detention Centre | Wraparound Support | Yes | Independent inspection of youth detention facility |
| Brisbane Youth Detention Centre | Diversion | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Broome Youth and Families Hub | Community-Led | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Centrecare WA Youth Services | Wraparound Support | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Communicare Youth Services | Wraparound Support | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Community Juvenile Justice Teams | Community-Led | Yes | — |
| Community Juvenile Justice Teams | Community-Led | Yes | — |
| Discovery Coast Youth Service | Wraparound Support | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation Youth Programs | Cultural Connection | Yes | — |
| Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation Youth Programs | Cultural Connection | Yes | Pilot evaluation with program development component |
| Fitzroy Crossing Justice Reinvestment | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Community-led evaluation across 28 on-country and cultural programs |
| Jacaranda Community Centre Youth Programs | Community-Led | Yes | Meta-analysis of 47 Australian mentoring programs |
| Juvenile Justice Team | Diversion | Yes | — |
| Juvenile Justice Team Referrals | Diversion | Yes | — |
| Juvenile Justice Team Referrals | Diversion | Yes | Cost-benefit analysis using Productivity Commission ROGS data 2023-24 |
| Kimberley Juvenile Justice Strategy | Justice Reinvestment | Yes | Independent review commissioned following Don Dale abuse revelations |
| Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre Youth Programs | Education/Employment | Yes | — |
Community-Controlled Funding Gap
Non-Indigenous
$4.0B
1 orgs, avg grant $60.2M
Funding by Remoteness
| Remoteness | Orgs | Total | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Cities of Australia | 1 | $4.0B | 67 |
Political Connections
No political connection data available for WA youth justice organisations.
Network Graph
Explore Western Australia Youth Justice funding flows
Interactive force-directed graph showing programs, recipients, and evidence links