Updated Queensland Sentencing Statistics Now Available

The Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council has launched a major update to its Sentencing DataHub, with 2023-24 data now available for more than 90 offences.

QSAC’s Sentencing DataHub went live in August and provides information on sentencing outcomes from Queensland’s criminal courts, including the number of cases sentenced and the penalties imposed, for both adults and children.

Seventeen new offences have been added to the DataHub as part of the first annual update, including dangerous operation of a vehicle and a number of drug related offences.

QSAC Chair, The Honourable Ann Lyons, said the Sentencing DataHub had become a useful and popular tool for accessing sentencing statistics.

“The Council is committed to providing accurate and up-to-date information about sentencing in Queensland and we know there is significant public interest in this area,” Ms Lyons said.

“The DataHub gives people, whether they are decision makers, lawyers, researchers or interested members of the community, reliable data on what is happening in our courts and how that might be changing over time.

“We have also published an update to our Sentencing Trends and one of the biggest shifts we’ve seen with the latest data is the number of children being sentenced for ‘justice and government’ offences in the Magistrates Courts.

“This increased by 73 per cent compared to the previous 12 months and was almost entirely driven by the introduction of breach of bail as an offence for children in March 2023,” she said.

Other notable trends include:

Adults

• In the higher courts, drug offences continued to decrease, with a further drop of 8.4%
• The number of imprisonment sentences increased by 5.9% in the higher courts
• Sentenced cases decreased in the Magistrates Courts by 3.5%, increased in the District Court by 2.7%, and decreased in the Supreme Court by 13.6%

Children

• In the higher courts, probation continued to be the most common penalty imposed but decreased by 13%. The second most likely outcome was a detention order, which increased by 11.6%.
• In the lower courts, reprimands remained the most common order, followed by orders of probation and court diversion referrals. Detention orders increased by 8%.

QSAC’s Sentencing DataHub is available at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.qld.gov.au/statistics/QSAC-DataHub