Criminal justice system statistics

Sentence types

The volume and complexity of offending patterns when reporting on all offences for which each individual is prosecuted and sentenced is too great for meaningful commentary throughout the publication of these data. For this reason, unless otherwise stated, each offender is reported only against the most severe sentence or order given for their principal offence (i.e. the principal sentence).

For futher information, please refer to the technical guide which accompanies the linked publication(s).


Offenders sentenced to immediate custody

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Period Offenders sentenced to immediate custody
Jan - Dec 2014 91,313
Jan - Dec 2015 90,348
Jan - Dec 2016 89,862
Jan - Dec 2017 86,354
Jan - Dec 2018 78,876
Jan - Dec 2019 75,971
Jan - Dec 2020 62,006
Jan - Dec 2021 64,907

Jan - Dec 2021 64,907

Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

In the 12 months to Sep 2022 there were 64,090 offenders sentenced to immediate custody.

Data source Criminal justice system statistics quarterly

Published: 16 February 2023. Next publication: 18 May 2023 9:30am.


Offenders sentenced to suspended sentence

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Period Offenders sentenced to suspended sentence
Jan - Dec 2014 52,979
Jan - Dec 2015 57,072
Jan - Dec 2016 56,401
Jan - Dec 2017 53,262
Jan - Dec 2018 42,699
Jan - Dec 2019 39,885
Jan - Dec 2020 35,954
Jan - Dec 2021 44,478

Jan - Dec 2021 44,478

Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

In the 12 months to Sep 2022 there were 41,724 offenders sentenced to a suspended sentence.

Data source Criminal justice system statistics quarterly

Published: 16 February 2023. Next publication: 18 May 2023 9:30am.


Offenders sentenced to community sentence

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Period Offenders sentenced to community sentence
Jan - Dec 2014 112,638
Jan - Dec 2015 114,286
Jan - Dec 2016 103,250
Jan - Dec 2017 95,639
Jan - Dec 2018 91,423
Jan - Dec 2019 87,328
Jan - Dec 2020 61,073
Jan - Dec 2021 71,138

Jan - Dec 2021 71,138

Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

In the 12 months to Sep 2022 there were 69,493 offenders sentenced to a community sentence.

Data source Criminal justice system statistics quarterly

Published: 16 February 2023. Next publication: 18 May 2023 9:30am.


Offenders sentenced to a fine

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Period Offenders sentenced to a fine
Jan - Dec 2014 853,336
Jan - Dec 2015 891,922
Jan - Dec 2016 913,152
Jan - Dec 2017 904,892
Jan - Dec 2018 929,866
Jan - Dec 2019 926,993
Jan - Dec 2020 616,193
Jan - Dec 2021 736,892

Jan - Dec 2021 736,892

Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

In the 12 months to Sep 2022 there were 789,896 offenders sentenced to a fine.

Data source Criminal justice system statistics quarterly

Published: 16 February 2023. Next publication: 18 May 2023 9:30am.


Offenders sentenced to compensation order

A criminal compensation order (CCO) requires a person convicted of an offence to pay money to the victim of that offence for personal injury, loss or damage arising from it. The underlying purpose of a CCO is that offenders pay for the damage that they have caused, as a form of reparation.

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Period Offenders sentenced to compensation order
Jan - Dec 2014 6,230
Jan - Dec 2015 5,239
Jan - Dec 2016 4,744
Jan - Dec 2017 4,920
Jan - Dec 2018 5,008
Jan - Dec 2019 4,589
Jan - Dec 2020 3,534
Jan - Dec 2021 3,878

Jan - Dec 2021 3,878

Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

In the 12 months to Sep 2022 there were 3,501 offenders sentenced to a compensation order.

Data source Criminal justice system statistics quarterly

Published: 16 February 2023. Next publication: 18 May 2023 9:30am.


Offenders sentenced to other disposal

Other disposals include restriction orders, hospital orders, guardianship orders, police cells, and other disposals.

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Period Offenders sentenced to other disposal
Jan - Dec 2014 99,201
Jan - Dec 2015 88,082
Jan - Dec 2016 73,561
Jan - Dec 2017 65,919
Jan - Dec 2018 56,661
Jan - Dec 2019 54,096
Jan - Dec 2020 36,156
Jan - Dec 2021 40,232

Jan - Dec 2021 40,232

Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

In the 12 months to Sep 2022 there were 39,911 offenders sentenced to other disposals.

Data source Criminal justice system statistics quarterly

Published: 16 February 2023. Next publication: 18 May 2023 9:30am.


Average custodial sentence length (months)

Excludes life and indeterminate sentences.

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Period Average custodial sentence length (months)
Jan - Dec 2014 15.6
Jan - Dec 2015 16.2
Jan - Dec 2016 16.4
Jan - Dec 2017 16.9
Jan - Dec 2018 17.3
Jan - Dec 2019 18.8
Jan - Dec 2020 18.6
Jan - Dec 2021 21.9

Jan - Dec 2021 21.9

Oct 2021 - Sep 2022

In the 12 months to Sep 2022 the average custodial sentence length was 21.7 months.

Data source Criminal justice system statistics quarterly

Published: 16 February 2023. Next publication: 18 May 2023 9:30am.