Newly appointed Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has said there needs to be a thorough examination into how a 17-year-old boy who identified as Indigenous was able to take his own life at Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre last week.

The death was the second child to die in 10 months in the care of the state, after 16-year-old Yamatji boy Cleveland Dodd died last year at Unit 18, the notorious youth wing of WA's adult, maximum security Casuarina prison.

The minister visited Banksia Hill on Monday, where the boy was found unresponsive in his cell by staff last week, two days after entering the facility.

Speaking to National Indigenous Times, Minister McCarthy, said it was "terribly tragic" to have any death in custody, "whether in adult prisons or certainly with our youth".

"It was important to visit Banksia. I have been asking to do that for the last 12 months, to be able to enter the facility, especially when I had the role of Assistant Minister for Indigenous health," the Saltwater woman from the Yanyuwa Garrawa people said.

"I did want to have a look at our corrections areas across the country in terms of adequate health within the custodial system for First Nations people in particular."

The WA government has been slammed by Indigenous, human rights, medical and legal organisations for their handling of youth justice inmates in the state, and this was only exacerbated in the wake of the death last week.

Commissioner for Children and Young People, Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, was forced to reject claims by Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia only an hour before that she had given a "glowing" recent review of Banksia Hill, while Kurin Minang human rights expert and law academic, Dr Hannah McGlade, argued Mr Papalia was not up to the job of changing the youth justice system — lacking the knowledge, experience, and commitment.

Senator McCarthy said in her visit to Banksia Hill, she did believe the "leadership of First Nations people really showed the care and concern for the young people in there," as well as for the staff in having to navigate the "incredibly difficult time".

"There does need to be a coronial inquest," she said.

"There needs to be an examination - a thorough examination - of what actually did occur here that led to the tragic loss of this young man's life, and what are the systems that need to change and to ensure that it just never happens again."

Every death in custody is subject to a coronial inquest, with the ongoing hearings into the death of Cleveland Dodd revealing a litany of errors, lies and failures on behalf of the WA government and the department.

Organisations have been calling for greater input by the Commonwealth to fix the system, which after not seeing a child die in WA custody up until last year, has now seen two deaths away in 10 months.

On Monday, despite calls for a federal intervention by Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, the Prime Minister said the Commonwealth wasn't about to take over the justice system of the states.

Speaking on ABC Breakfast on Monday morning, Senator Thorpe said too many children were incarcerated in Australia, and "state governments need to be held accountable".

Highlighting the push by the federal government to eliminate vaping, the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator said: "There needs to be national leadership - just like there was on vaping. They got the states together for vaping, but they won't get states together to save children's lives in this country."

"He [the PM] needs to resource these self-determined programs that Elders and community are talking about…communities are crying out for youth programs so that our young people are looked after and loved and cared for by community.

"Yet the government are funding more prisons and more police to lock up more children. It's not only a travesty, but it's also a waste of taxpayers' money."