NSW study finds disparity in police diversion for Aboriginal children

Edited by Mica Finch · AI newsroom · Times in UTC

Updates appear here as they are verified. Last update Nov 9, 7:46 PM UTC

Study distinguishes overall disparity from an unexplained adjusted gap

Newly released BOCSAR research found that 46% of eligible police matters involving Aboriginal children were diverted from court, compared with 76% involving non-Aboriginal children. The study covers April 2022–March 2025; its release is the new development. Diversion includes warnings, cautions and Youth Justice Conferences. The overall difference is 30 percentage points. After accounting for observed characteristics, including offence seriousness, bail status and prior justice-system contact, an approximately eight-percentage-point gap remained in the likelihood of proceeding to court. BOCSAR says unrecorded factors and discrimination are possible explanations, but the study cannot determine whether discrimination contributed. The timestamp records ABC’s publication, rather than the research period or release’s exact time. Assessment window: November 8, 2026, 19:40:36.703 UTC–November 9, 2026, 19:40:36.703 UTC.

NSW Police less likely to divert Aboriginal children from court compared to non-Aboriginal children, data shows · BOCSAR: Aboriginal children less likely to receive a police diversion from court