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

In 2023–24, 432,274 clients received completed legal assistance services from a Legal Aid Commission, Community Legal Centre and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service.

• Over half were female (52%, 224,390).
• Nearly a third of clients (32%, 139,193) received more than one completed service.
• There was a one percent (5,344) increase in clients from 2022-23.

• 8,723 federal defendants finalised in 2023–24, down 6%
• Harassment and threatening behaviour remained the most common principal federal offence (57%)
• Most judgements resulted in a guilty outcome (93%)
• Around one third of those with a guilty outcome received a fine (30%) and a further 18% were sentenced to custody in a correctional institution

As at 30 June 2024:

• there were 44,403 adult prisoners in Australia, up 6% from 2023 (2,474 prisoners)
• the imprisonment rate was 208 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, up from 202 prisoners in 2023
• three in five prisoners (60%) had experienced prior adult imprisonment
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners increased by 15% (2,019) to 15,871

• 515,460 defendants finalised in Criminal Courts in 2023–24, down 3%
• Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences accounted for 34%
• Most judgements resulted in a guilty outcome (97%)
• Just over half of those with a guilty outcome received a fine (52%)

• 1 in 10 Australians experienced card fraud in 2023-24
• Card fraud increased from 8.7% in 2022-23 to 9.9% in 2023-24
• Scam victimisation increased from 2.5% in 2022-23 to 3.1% in 2023-24

In 2023-24:

• 1.7% of persons (362,800) experienced physical assault
• 2.1% of persons (446,100) experienced face-to-face threatened assault
• 2.1% of households (217,600) experienced a break-in
• 0.7% of households (72,000) experienced motor vehicle theft

• 44,262 persons were in custody in the December quarter 2024, down 54 persons since the September quarter 2024, but up 1,988 persons (5%) from the December quarter 2023
• There were 17,774 unsentenced prisoners, down 82 persons from the September quarter 2024
• There were 82,832 persons serving community-based corrections (CBC) orders, up 1% (874 persons) from the September quarter 2024

In 2023–24:

• there were 340,681 offenders proceeded against by police across Australia – the lowest number in the time series which began in 2008–09
• the number of illicit drug offenders decreased to the lowest number in the time series (48,213 offenders)
• family and domestic violence offenders increased by 3% to 90,697 offenders

• 1 in 5 women (2 million) and 1 in 15 men (653,400) have experienced stalking since age 15
• Women were more likely to experience stalking by a male (19%) than by a female (2.5%)
• Men were about as likely to experience stalking by a male (3.5%) as by a female (3.6%)

• Sexual assault recorded by police increased by 11% from 2022 to 36,318 victims.
• Motor vehicle theft recorded by police increased by 10% from 2022 to 60,417 victims.
• Almost two in five of all homicide and related offences were family and domestic violence related (38%).

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

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

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 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 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

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

• 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