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The count of Indigenous people losing their lives while in custody in Australia has reached its highest point since the beginning of official data started in 1980.

New statistics reveal that 33 of the 113 people who died in custody in the 12-month period leading up to June have been identified as of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This marks an increase from 24 deaths in the prior equivalent period.

Indigenous Australian people are severely overrepresented in the justice system. They constitute over 33% of all incarcerated individuals, even though representing under 4% of the country's population.

These sobering statistics come to light over three decades after a pivotal royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which made numerous of proposed changes.

Breakdown of the Recent Statistics

Of the 33 Indigenous deaths in custody logged between last July and this June, twenty-six occurred while in prison custody, which is an rise from 18 in the previous year.

A single death occurred in youth detention, and the vast majority of the individuals were male.

The remaining six fatalities happened in police custody, defined as a situation where someone dies while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The primary cause of Indigenous deaths was categorised as "self-harm," followed by "natural causes." The report noted that asphyxiation was the method in eight of the cases.

Geographic Distribution

The Australian state of New South Wales had the greatest number of Indigenous deaths in prison custody with nine, then Western Australia with six. Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory all recorded three deaths.

The growing number of Indigenous deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "deeply distressing reality," the state's chief medical examiner has said.

In October, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan emphasised that this upward pattern was not "just statistics" and that these deaths required "independent and careful scrutiny, dignity and responsibility."

Profile Information and Expert Response

The average age of those who died was 45 years, and eleven of the individuals were still waiting for a court sentencing.

A university associate professor, Amanda Porter, characterised the data as representing a "country-wide crisis" that requires "decisive action and political action."

Ms. Porter, who has attended multiple coronial inquests with grieving families, said very little has improved since the 1991's national inquiry that was established to tackle this issue.

"It's infuriating to witness the quantity of inquests I attend, the many memorials families have to attend, and the reality that we are 30 years after the inquiry, and the situation is getting progressively worse," she commented.

From the time of the royal commission, a approximately 600 First Nations people have lost their lives in detention, which includes six in juvenile detention centers, as per the report.