Crime and justice

An estimated 8 million Australians (41%) have experienced violence (physical and/or sexual) since the age of 15, including:

• 31% of women and 42% of men who have experienced physical violence
• 22% of women and 6.1% of men who have experienced sexual violence

• 42,215 persons were in custody in the September quarter 2023, stable since the June quarter 2023
• Unsentenced prisoners were down 1% (166 persons) for the quarter to 16,182
• 81,348 persons were serving community-based corrections (CBC) orders, up 2% (1,364 persons) from the June quarter 2023

An estimated 22% of adults have experienced childhood abuse and/or witnessed parental violence before the age of 15, including:

• 7.5% who experienced sexual abuse
• 9.1% who experienced physical abuse
• 13% who witnessed violence towards a parent by a partner

An estimated 4.2 million adults (21%) have experienced partner violence or abuse since the age of 15, including:

• 17% of women and 5.5% of men have experienced partner violence
• 23% of women and 14% of men have experienced partner emotional abuse
• 16% of women and 7.8% of men have experienced partner economic abuse

In the most recent incident of physical assault by a male:

For women

• 87% knew the perpetrator
• 70% experienced the incident in a residential location
• 63% experienced anxiety or fear

For men

• 42% knew the perpetrator
• 74% experienced the incident in a non-residential location

In 2021-22:

• 77% of women and 93% of men who used public transport alone after dark felt safe
• 85% of women and 94% of men who walked alone in their local area after dark felt safe
• 93% of women and 99% of men who were home alone after dark felt safe

1.3 million women have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months. Of these women:

• 70% experienced face-to-face harassment 
• 57% experienced harassment electronically
• 97% were harassed by a male perpetrator

426,800 men have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months.

In women’s most recent incident of sexual assault by a male:

• 53% of the perpetrators were an intimate partner
• 69% of the incidents occurred in a home
• 67% of women experienced anxiety or fear after the incident
• 57% of women sought advice or support after the incident, most often from family and friends

• Motor vehicle theft recorded by police increased by 11% from 2021 to 55,037 victims.
• Sexual assault recorded by police increased by 3% from 2021 to 32,146 victims.
• More than a third of homicide and related offences were family and domestic violence related (36%).

From 30 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, Australian prisoners decreased by 6% (2,379) to 40,591.  The imprisonment rate also decreased by 6% from 214 to 201 prisoners per 100,000 adult population.

• 8,092 federal defendants finalised in 2021–22, up 2% from the previous year
• Harassment and threatening behaviour remained the most common principal federal offence (56%)
• Most judgements resulted in a guilty outcome (95%)
• Almost one-third of those with a guilty outcome received a fine (31%)

• 488,936 defendants in 2021–22, down 4% from the previous year

• Traffic offences accounted for a third of defendants (35%)

• Most judgements resulted in a guilty outcome (97%)

• Over half of those with a guilty outcome received a fine (55%)

• Card fraud increased from 6.9% in 2020-21 to 8.1% in 2021-22
• Scam exposure increased from 55% in 2020-21 to 65% in 2021-22
• Scam victimisation rate decreased from 3.6% in 2020-21 to 2.7% in 2021-22

In 2021-22:

• 386,000 persons (1.9%) experienced physical assault
• 441,900 persons (2.2%) experienced face-to-face threatened assault
• 194,100 households (2.0%) experienced break-in
• 374,400 households (3.8%) experienced malicious property damage

In 2021–22:

• there were 369,488 offenders proceeded against by police in Australia, up 3% from 2020-21
• 68,791 offenders were proceeded against for COVID-19 related offences, most were in New South Wales (68% or 46,986 offenders)
• illicit drug offences decreased for the sixth consecutive year to 50,920 offenders

• 5.9% of women and 5.6% of men living with disability or a long-term health condition experienced violence in 2016
• The risk of violence was greater for adults with intellectual/psychological disability than those with physical disability

A report on findings exploring potential options to develop national family and domestic violence statistics for correctional services agencies

Identifies the key data items and recording formats required to improve reporting of family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia

Outlines the strategies and actions required to address critical data gaps and improve the evidence base for family, domestic, and sexual violence

Presents statistical conceptual information relating to family, domestic and sexual violence and describes the main concepts, sources and priorities