Record surge in youth detention exposes Minns Government’s failed bail laws
The latest custody figures from BOCSAR reveal the Minns Labor Government’s controversial bail law changes are driving a crisis in youth detention, with the number of young people in custody surging by 34% in just two years.
As of June 2025, 234 young people were in detention, up from 175 in June 2023, and more than 70% of them are being held on remand without having been found guilty of anything. Almost one in four are detained for a break and enter offence.
The figures also expose the ongoing over-incarceration of Aboriginal young people. In June 2025, 140 Aboriginal children were in detention, making up almost 60% of the youth prison population.
Greens MP and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said “Premier Chris Minns’ youth bail laws are doing exactly what he designed them to do, locking up more children and young people, for longer, before they have even been found guilty of anything. This is not justice, it is demonic political theatre at the expense of vulnerable young people.”
“We warned that these laws would disproportionately target First Nations young people and fuel a surge in youth imprisonment, and the data confirms it. Nearly 60% of the young people in detention are First Nations, and most are being held on remand. That means they are being torn away from family, community and Country before they have been found guilty or convicted of charges.”
“This is a devastating and predictable outcome. We know that locking up kids is the most criminogenic thing we can do to them, it increases the likelihood of reoffending, entrenches disadvantage and drives higher crime rates. The Minns Government has ignored the evidence and the advice of health and social science experts, youth advocates, legal experts, the Aboriginal Legal Service, the NSW Bar Association and the Law Society, and instead they have doubled down on a failed tough on crime agenda.”
“The only way to make our communities safer is to invest in diversion, prevention, and community-led programs, not more prison beds for kids. Every dollar spent on detaining a child, which is currently over $1 million per year to keep a young person, is a dollar stolen from the services that could keep them out of the criminal justice system in the first place.” Ms Higginson said.