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The number of Indigenous people losing their lives while in custody in Australia has climbed to its highest point since records started in 1980.

Fresh figures show that 33 of the 113 people who died in detention in the year ending in June have been identified as Indigenous. This represents an increase from 24 fatalities in the previous corresponding period.

Indigenous Australian people remain severely overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They make up more than one-third of all incarcerated individuals, even though comprising less than four per cent of the national population.

These sobering figures emerge over three decades after a seminal inquiry into First Nations deaths in custody, which made numerous of proposed changes.

Breakdown of the Recent Statistics

Of the 33 Indigenous deaths in custody recorded between last July and this June, 26 occurred while in prison custody, which is an rise from 18 in the prior year.

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

The other 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-inflicted," followed by "illness." The report noted that hanging was the cause in eight of the cases.

Geographic Distribution

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

The growing number of First Nations deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "profoundly distressing tragedy," the state's chief medical examiner recently stated.

In a recent statement, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward pattern was not "just statistics" and that these deaths required "thorough and careful examination, respect and responsibility."

Profile Information and Expert Reaction

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

A criminal law expert, Amanda Porter, described the figures as representing a "national crisis" that needs "decisive action and government action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at multiple coronial inquests with bereaved families, stated little has improved since the 1991 royal commission that was established to address this issue.

"It's heartbreaking to witness the quantity of investigations I attend, the many funerals families have to attend, and the fact that we are 30 years past the royal commission, and the problem is getting increasingly more severe," she noted.

Since the landmark inquiry, a approximately 600 First Nations people have died in custody, which includes six in juvenile detention centers, according to the report.