This report outlines the growing youth crisis in New South Wales and highlights three case studies of evidence-based early intervention programs. It advocates for funding place-based, early intervention programs as a long-term strategy, rather than relying on short-term, reactive solutions.

The report on government services (RoGS) provides information on the equity, effectiveness and efficiency of government services in Australia. This report provides performance reporting for aged care services, services for people with disability, child protection services and youth justice services. It includes a summary of government expenditure in the sector.

This report analyses the youth detention population in Australia, aged 10 and over, for the four year period from the June quarter 2020 to the June quarter 2024. It presents states and territory trends, including the impact of changes to the minimum age of criminal responsibility introduced in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern...

Australia’s imprisonment rate has increased sharply in the last four decades and governments are spending increasingly large amounts on overburdened prison systems. This essay draws lessons from criminal justice reforms in the United States to propose alternative approaches to sentencing and community safety.

This paper examines the effects of family support and an enriched preschool program on serious youth offending. It finds that family support alone was associated with a higher risk of offending, but that family support in combination with early intervention programs correlated with very low offending rates. The research suggests that the benefits of family...