There were various government restrictions in place across the states and territories due to COVID-19 from March 2020 to February 2022. The restrictions may have had an impact on criminal activity and the justice system.
Corrective Services, Australia
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National and state information about adult prisoners and community-based corrections, including legal status, custody type, Indigenous status, sex.
Reference period
December Quarter 2022
Released
14/03/2023
Key statistics
- 41,029 persons were in custody in the December quarter 2022.
- Unsentenced prisoners were up 2% for the quarter (up 275 persons) to 15,515.
- 78,927 persons were serving community-based corrections (CBC) orders, up 1% (1,066 persons) from the September quarter 2022.
Persons in custody
There were 41,029 (average daily number) prisoners up from:
- 40,907 in the September quarter 2022
- 40,862 in the December quarter 2021
Of the 41,029 prisoners, there were:
- 12,436 in New South Wales, stable for the quarter
- 9,632 in Queensland, up 1%
- 6,669 in Victoria, up 1%
- 6,174 in Western Australia, down 1%
- 3,116 in South Australia, up 1%
- 1,970 in the Northern Territory, up 1%
- 643 in Tasmania, up 3%
- 391 in the Australia Capital Territory, stable
(a) Based on average daily number
Imprisonment rates
The imprisonment rate was 202 persons per 100,000 adult population:
- stable from 202 persons in the September quarter 2022
- down from 204 persons in the December quarter 2021
The imprisonment rate per 100,000 adult population was:
- 1,044 persons for the Northern Territory, up 1% for the quarter
- 287 for Western Australia, down 2%
- 234 for Queensland, up 1%
- 216 for South Australia, stable
- 195 for New South Wales, stable
- 141 for Tasmania, up 2%
- 128 for Victoria, up 1%
- 109 for the Australian Capital Territory, down 1%
(a) Rate is the number of prisoners per 100,000 adult population. Based on average daily number.
Sex
Of all prisoners:
- 93% (38,027) were male
- 7% (3,002) were female
Of all male prisoners:
- 31% (11,624) were in New South Wales
- 23% (8,765) were in Queensland
- 17% (6,325) were in Victoria
Of all female prisoners:
- 29% (867) were in Queensland
- 27% (812) were in New South Wales
- 19% (568) were in Western Australia
The imprisonment rate for male prisoners was 382 persons per 100,000 adult male population, stable since last quarter.
The imprisonment rate for female prisoners was 29 persons per 100,000 adult female population, stable since last quarter.
Type of custody
Of all prisoners:
- 83% (34,133) were in secure custody
- 17% (6,897) were in open custody
Legal status
38% (15,515) of the 41,184 prisoners (first day of the month) were unsentenced up from:
- 15,240 in the September quarter 2022
- 14,250 in the December quarter 2021
Of all unsentenced prisoners:
- 31% (4,775) were in New South Wales
- 21% (3,241) were in Queensland
- 19% (2,927) were in Victoria
62% (25,565) of the 41,184 prisoners (first day of the month) were sentenced:
- up from 25,510 in the September quarter 2022
- down from 26,865 in the December quarter 2021
Of all sentenced prisoners:
- 30% (7,730) were in New South Wales
- 25% (6,319) were in Queensland
- 16% (4,175) were in Western Australia
(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners
There were 13,197 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners up from:
- 13,039 in the September quarter 2022
- 12,624 in the December quarter 2021
Of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners:
- 27% (3,592) were in New South Wales, 26% (3,484) were in Queensland, and 20% (2,587) were in Western Australia
- 91% (11,997) were male
- 61% (7,999) were sentenced
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rates
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate was 2,383 persons per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population up from:
- 2,354 in the September quarter 2022
- 2,325 in the December quarter 2021
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was:
- 3,662 for Western Australia, up 1% for the quarter
- 3,233 for the Northern Territory, up 2%
- 2,531 for South Australia, down 4%
- 2,285 for Queensland, up 1%
- 1,983 for New South Wales, stable
- 1,970 for the Australia Capital Territory, up 12%
- 1,944 for Victoria, up 8%
- 739 for Tasmania, up 5%
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate for male prisoners was 4,395 persons per 100,000 adult male Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, up from 4,349 persons last quarter.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate for female prisoners was 427 persons per 100,000 adult female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, up from 416 persons last quarter.
(a) Rate is the number of prisoners per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Based on average daily number.
Federal sentenced prisoners
There were 1,094 federal sentenced prisoners:
- up from 1,084 in the September quarter 2022
- down from 1,128 in the December quarter 2021
74% (812) of all federal sentenced prisoners were held in New South Wales and Victoria.
Prisoner receptions
The total number of prisoner receptions was 16,805, up from:
- 16,720 in the September quarter 2022
- 15,094 in the December quarter 2021
Of all prisoner receptions:
- 29% (4,889) were in New South Wales, 23% (3,909) were in Queensland, and 16% (2,750) were in Victoria
- 87% (14,677) were male
- 79% (13,263) were unsentenced
(a) Total number of prisoner receptions.
Prisoner releases
The total number of prisoner releases was 16,964 up from:
- 16,251 in the September quarter 2022
- 16,648 in the December quarter 2021
Of all prisoner releases:
- 30% (5,081) were in New South Wales, 22% (3,803) were in Queensland, and 17% (2,821) were in Victoria
- 88% (14,861) were male
- 53% (8,988) were sentenced
(a) Total number of prisoner releases.
Community-based corrections
Persons in community-based corrections
There were 78,927 persons serving CBC orders:
- up from 77,861 in the September quarter 2022
- down from 79,869 in the December quarter 2021
Of all persons serving CBC orders, there were:
- 34,220 in New South Wales, up 1% for the quarter
- 19,265 in Queensland, stable
- 10,450 in Victoria, up 5%
- 5,872 in Western Australia, up 3%
- 5,108 in South Australia, up 1%
- 1,972 in Tasmania, stable
- 1,271 in the Northern Territory, up 3%
- 770 in the Australian Capital Territory, stable
(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month
Rates for persons in community-based corrections
The rate of persons serving CBC orders was 389 persons per 100,000 adult population:
- up from 385 persons in the September quarter 2022
- down from 398 persons in the December quarter 2021
The rate of persons serving CBC orders per 100,000 adult population was:
- 674 persons for the Northern Territory, up 2% for the quarter
- 537 for New South Wales, up 1%
- 468 for Queensland, stable
- 432 for Tasmania, down 1%
- 353 for South Australia, stable
- 273 for Western Australia, up 2%
- 215 for the Australian Capital Territory, down 1%
- 201 for Victoria, up 5%
(a) Rate per 100,000 persons for the state/territory of interest.
Sex
Of all persons serving CBC orders:
- 81% (63,817) were male
- 19% (15,078) were female
The rate for male persons serving CBC orders was 641 persons per 100,000 adult male population, up from 634 persons last quarter.
The rate for female persons serving CBC orders was 146 persons per 100,000 adult female population, up from 145 last quarter.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons serving community-based corrections orders
There were 18,958 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons serving CBC orders up from:
- 18,331 in the September quarter 2022
- 18,600 in the December quarter 2021
Of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons serving CBC orders:
- 43% (8,148) were in New South Wales
- 29% (5,445) were in Queensland
- 10% (1,879) were in Western Australia
(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month.
Type of community-based corrections orders
There were 54,339 Sentenced probation orders:
- up from 53,643 in the September quarter 2022
- down from 55,255 in the December quarter 2021
(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month
There were 17,803 Parole orders:
- up from 17,572 in the September quarter 2022
- down from 18,233 in the December quarter 2021
(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month
There were 12,405 Community service orders:
- up from 12,258 in the September quarter 2022
- down from 12,835 in the December quarter 2021
(a) Based on average number on the first day of the month
For information about corrective services data, please refer to the Methodology.
Data downloads
Corrective Services datacubes
Data files
Guide to finding data in the Corrective Services Australia publication tables
Corrective Services, Australia - December quarter 2022
Corrective Services, Australia - Prisoner receptions and prisoner releases - December quarter 2022
Corrective Services, Australia - Time series - December quarter 2022
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 4512.0.