Family and domestic violence offenders rise by 8 per cent
Offenders proceeded against by police for family and domestic violence (FDV) related offences rose by 8 per cent (+7,103 offenders), according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Samantha Hall, ABS head of crime and justice statistics, said: ‘There were 97,800 FDV offenders recorded by police in the 2024–25 financial year, up 8 per cent from about 90,700 offenders in 2023–24. This was the largest annual increase in FDV offenders since national reporting began in 2019–20.
2024–25 marked the highest recorded offender rate since national FDV data was first published in 2019–20, at 403 offenders per 100,000 people.’
More than three-quarters of FDV offenders were male (78 per cent), with a median age of 35 years. This was higher than the median age for total offenders (32 years).
The total number of offenders proceeded against by police (344,620) rose by 1 per cent nationally compared to the previous year.
The number of youth offenders (aged 10 to 17 years) fell by 5 per cent over the same period to 44,583. Five of the eight states and territories showed a decrease, with the largest falls in:
- New South Wales (-1,099 youth offenders or 6 per cent)
- Queensland (-945 youth offenders or 9 per cent)
- Victoria (-513 youth offenders or 6 per cent)
Further details can be found in Recorded Crime - Offenders 2024–25 available as a free download from the ABS website www.abs.gov.au.
Media notes
- If you or anyone you know is in need or crisis please call the National Domestic Family Violence and Sexual Assault, Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline 13 11 14.
- An offender is only counted once during the reference period irrespective of the number of offences committed or the number of separate occasions that police proceeded against that offender.
- Family and domestic violence offences relate to an offence involving at least two persons who are in a specified family or domestic relationship and which has been determined by police officers to be family and/or domestic violence related as part of their investigation. Further information on the FDV data and how it’s derived can be found in the methodology section of the publication.
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