Indigenous young people are 31 times as likely to be locked up as their non-indigenous counterparts.
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Figures published today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show the over-representation of indigenous people in detention has worsened over the last four years.
In 2008, indigenous young people were 27 times as likely as their non-indigenous peers to be in detention.
On an average night in 2012, one in 217 indigenous people aged between 10 and 17 were in detention.
In comparison, one in every 3000 people aged 10-17 in the overall population were in detention on an average night.
Overall, the rates of young people in detention on an average night decreased in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania between 2008 and 2012, but increased in Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. The rate in Western Australia was stable.
