New South Wales Police Court Referrals Highlight Disparities for Indigenous Youth

New South Wales police officers issued court attendance notices in 68 per cent of criminal incidents involving Aboriginal children between 2022 and 2025, according to data published by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. By comparison, officers issued court notices in 38 per cent of criminal events involving non-Aboriginal children during the same timeframe.

Police diversion programs for children aged 10 to 17 years typically apply to first-time or low-level offenders. These alternatives avoid the formal criminal justice system by providing a warning, caution, or entry into a youth justice conference. Overall, Aboriginal children in New South Wales were found to be 30 percentage points less likely to receive a diversion from court when police discretion was available.

Bureau executive director Jackie Fitzgerald stated that the findings are concerning because one of the stated objectives of the Young Offenders Act is to address the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the criminal justice system. Recent data from 2025 indicates that Aboriginal young people make up 60 per cent of the total youth detention population in the state, despite representing eight per cent of young people overall.

The research report noted that a significant portion of the 30 percentage point gap can be attributed to factors such as offence seriousness, bail status, and prior contact with the justice system. However, the data showed that even after accounting for these observable characteristics, Aboriginal children remained approximately eight percentage points more likely to be directed to court.

Ms Fitzgerald pointed to racial discrimination and bias as a potential explanation for the remaining disparity, while noting that the analysis could not definitively determine whether bias shaped police interactions. The report also found that the diversion rate gap was smaller during a young person's initial formal police contact but widened as offenders grew older.

For children aged 10 and 11 years, 21 per cent of eligible Aboriginal children received a court attendance notice, compared to seven per cent of non-Aboriginal children in the same age bracket.