New data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) revealed the adult prison population in the state had risen to 13,103 since March 2025, the highest level since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Prisoner numbers saw a “sharp decline” during the COVID-19 outbreak, which remained stable through to late 2023, when the amount of prisoners again began to increase.
Since November 2023, the prison population in NSW has increased by 1055, or 8.8 per cent.
In a release, BOCSAR said a “concerning component” of this increase consisted of unconvicted Indigenous inmates.
In March 2025, there were 4244 Indigenous adults in NSW custody, about 32 per cent of the overall total.
But the increase is due to an rise in the number of Indigenous remandees – that is, unconvicted prisoners awaiting a court verdict.
In the five years to March 2025, the number of Indigenous remandees rose by 63 per cent.
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Domestic violence-related allegations accounted for a large proportion of the increase, with arrests more than doubling in that same time-frame.
“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,” BOCSAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said.
“These figures underscore the urgent need to consider policies, interventions and practice changes to reduce Aboriginal incarceration, 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.”
