NSW prison population reaches five-year high

New data released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) reveals that the NSW adult prison population rose to 13,103 in March 2025. This marks the highest number of inmates since the COVID pandemic began in March 2020.

Following a sharp decline during the pandemic and a stretch of relative stability through to late 2023, the prison population has risen steadily. Since November 2023, the number of adults incarcerated increased by 1,055 or 8.8 per cent, reaching its highest level in the last five years.

A concerning component of this trend is the rise in Aboriginal adults in custody. In March 2025, there were 4,244 Aboriginal adults in custody, representing 32 per cent of the total adult custody population. Since November 2023 the number of Aboriginal prisoners increased 14.0 per cent (up 520 people) compared to just a 4.3 per cent rise in non-Aboriginal prisoners (up 359 people).

Commenting on the report BOCSAR’s Executive Director, Jackie Fitzgerald, said ‘unlike the overall prison population, which remains below pre-pandemic levels, the number of Aboriginal prisoners now well exceeds 2019 levels and continues to grow.’

Remand issue

The rise in the Aboriginal prison population is due to an increase in remandees, in other words unconvicted prisoners awaiting court.

In the five years to March 2025 the number of Aboriginal remandees grew by 63 per cent to 1,936 in March 2025.

Domestic violence (DV) offences account for a large proportion of the increase, with the number of Aboriginal adults on remand for DV-related offences more than doubling (up 381 people from 359 in March 2020 to 740 in March 2025).

‘These figures underscore the urgent need to consider policies, interventions and practice changes to reduce Aboriginal incarceration,’ said Jackie Fitzgerald, ‘as current trends contradict the Closing the Gap commitment to reduce Aboriginal over-representation in the criminal justice system by at least 15 per cent by 2031.’