Australia is facing a sobering reality with the highest number of deaths among Indigenous people in custody recorded in 46 years, a situation being condemned as a “national disgrace.”

A recent report from the Australian Institute of Criminology reveals that in the 2024-25 period, 33 out of 113 deaths in prison or police custody were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander individuals. This marks the largest tally since such records began in 1979-80, nearly doubling the average seen since the late 1980s.

Despite representing just 3.8 percent of the national population, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people disproportionately constitute over 36 percent of the prison population. This disparity highlights systemic issues within the justice system that urgently need addressing.

Among the 33 deaths, 26 occurred in prison custody, six in police custody, and tragically, one involved a child. These statistics underline a critical need for reform and accountability within the custodial institutions.

New South Wales reported the highest incidence of Indigenous deaths in custody with 12 cases, closely followed by Western Australia, which recorded seven cases. These numbers reflect a broader, distressing trend across the nation that demands immediate action from policymakers and justice authorities.

New South Wales had the highest rates of Indigenous deaths in custody across Australia with 12, followed by Western Australia with seven.

Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT each had three Indigenous deaths in custody, while the Northern Territory had one.

“The government takes this issue seriously, and we are working hard to reduce all preventable deaths in custody,” a NSW government spokesperson said.

The NSW government said the increase in Indigenous people in custody was largely being driven by rising remand rates as a result of reforms targeting violent offending, including domestic violence.

Indigenous organisations and advocates blamed the increase on the wave of tough crime laws sweeping the country, which had resulted in the minimum age of criminal responsibility being lowered and tougher penalties for youth offenders.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services acting chair Nerita Waight said Indigenous people were paying for those policies with their lives, and the only way to end deaths in custody was to stop mass incarceration.

“Every single one of these people has a name, a story, people who loved them,” she said.

“These politicians know their policies are not only costing lives – they’re making people less safe.

“When someone spends even a small time behind bars, it increases their chance of becoming trapped in an ongoing cycle of crime, imprisonment and trauma, which only harms our communities.”

Independent Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe called the tough crime laws racist and said the record figures were a “national disgrace”.

“This is not about safety. It is about punishment, control, politics and power,” she said.

“Every piece of evidence shows it would be cheaper, safer, and more effective to invest in housing, bail services, income support, disability services and community-led services, not cages.

“We’ve known what works for decades. What’s missing is the courage from Canberra to follow the evidence, stop this violence and protect our people.”

The damning statistics come 34 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its report, finding Indigenous people were more likely to die in custody as they were overrepresented in the justice system.

The report made 339 recommendations, but some have yet to be fully implemented, which Waight said was ”completely unacceptable”.

There have been 617 Indigenous deaths in custody since the Royal Commission. 

For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).