Oceania · Australia and New Zealand

Australia

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 30 Jun 2025

Fresh · 9d ago

Eight state/territory systems. Indigenous Australians over-represented at ~32% of the prison population (~3% of national population).

Compare Australia World Prison Brief page

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

Prison population

46,998

Year: 2025

Rate per 100,000

170

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

112.2%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

42.2%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

8.2%

Foreign nationals

13.9%

Conditions risk — across 232 facilities

Average of our computed Conditions Risk Score across the country's facilities. Methodology · Browse highest-risk

5/100

national average

2 low 230 unknown

How Australia compares

vs regional & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 170 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 112% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 42% · global: 32%

The vertical ticks mark the global (grey) and regional (amber) means. Bars are clipped at the high end for readability.

Prison population over time

Annual figures, latest survey year

2000: 21,714+86.9% over 22y2022: 40,591

Reform in Australia

All reform →

Laws, programmes, and pilots changing how Australia incarcerates — plus relevant research.

Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project (Bourke, NSW)2013–ongoing
alternatives · active
Aboriginal-led project in the town of Bourke that redirects criminal-justice spending into community-driven prevention. Began 2013 with deep community partnership and data sharing with police, courts, and child-protection services.

Prisons in Australia

Browse all 232 →

232 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Acacia Prison

Australia · Wooroloo, Perth

Medium

Type

Medium security

Capacity

—

Held

—

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Allambie Reception Centre

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Amber Laurel Correctional Centre

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre

Australia · Wacol, Brisbane

Maximum

Type

Remand

Capacity

890

Held

—

Ashendene Boys Home

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Ashley Youth Detention Centre

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Australian internment camps in World War I

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Ballarat Gaol

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bandyup Women's Prison

Australia · Middle Swan, Perth

Maximum

Type

Closed female

Capacity

—

Held

—

Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barkly Work Camp

Australia

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Barwon Prison

Australia · Lara, Victoria

Maximum

Type

State maximum-security

Capacity

540

Held

500

Under capacity (93%)Low

Barwon Prison

Australia · Lara, Victoria

Maximum

Type

Maximum security

Capacity

—

Held

—

Bathurst Correctional Centre

Australia · Bathurst

Mixed

Type

Multi-level

Capacity

—

Held

—

100%

Score based on how many fields are populated. We surface this so you know where the gaps are.

National population: 27,610,0002025
Source-verified: 20 May 2026
Source links: 1 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

Primary reference
World Prison Brief (ICPS, Birkbeck) — Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research
See /data-sources for our methodology.