Australia has recorded the highest number of Indigenous deaths in custody in 45 years of reliable data, amid growing calls from Indigenous leaders and organisations for the federal government to hold states and territories accountable for punitive laws.
Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) released on Wednesday night shows that 33 of the 113 deaths in custody in 2024-25 were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — the highest number since reliable record-keeping commenced in 1979-80.
Independent Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe described the figures as a "national disgrace," calling them a shocking indictment "in a country that claims to be Closing the Gap".
"In these horrific figures, I see violent colonialism perpetrated by hollow politicians desperate for votes and power," the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman said. "How many more of our people do we need to bury before governments stop sacrificing our lives for political gain?"
Broken into deaths in prison custody and deaths in police custody, the figures present a disturbing picture, emerging alongside several high-profile cases and a wave of new laws in multiple jurisdictions that experts warn will only increase the number of deaths in custody.
Since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, there have been at least 617 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody.
There were 26 deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison custody — up from 18 the previous year. The proportion of Indigenous deaths in prison custody in 2024-25 exceeds the average of 19 per cent recorded since 1979-80 for the third consecutive year.
Of the available data, an equal number of deaths were attributed to natural causes as to self-harm and other complications, with self-harm and other complications representing the highest figure since 1979-80.
Ninety-six per cent of the deaths were male — the largest number of Indigenous men to die in prison custody since national reporting began — with nine deaths in NSW marking the highest number in the state's history.
The troubling data from NSW — home to the country's largest Indigenous population, who make up less than four per cent of the population but roughly one-third of the state's prison population — prompted State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan to describe it in October as a "profoundly distressing milestone" in a rare public statement.
"These are not mere statistics. Each of these deaths represents a person whose life mattered and whose loss is felt deeply by families, loved ones and communities across the state," she said. "They are individuals whose deaths demand independent and careful scrutiny, respect and accountability."
On the revelation of the NSW Data in October, Dharug woman and social justice lawyer Karen Iles told National Indigenous Times that while the figures were shocking, many Indigenous people "wouldn't be surprised that this has occurred".
"Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been warning governments that these types of policies may increase the risk and vulnerability for First Nations people when they come into contact with the justice system. So, I think sadly, many will not be surprised," she said.
"However, that doesn't make it okay."
Despite the Royal Commission urging that imprisonment be a last resort, 42 per cent of the First Nations people who died in custody were unsentenced prisoners.
Six Indigenous people — all male — also died in police custody in 2024-25, consistent with the average number of annual deaths since 1989-90.
NSW recorded three deaths, with one death each in Victoria and Western Australia. The death of disabled Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White was recorded in the Northern Territory. According to the AIC, five of the six deaths occurred "during the process of detaining or attempting to detain the person".
There has been widespread outrage over the laws introduced across the country — by Labor and conservative governments — which experts have argued will increase the likelihood of more Indigenous deaths in custody.
"The racist 'tough on crime' laws we're seeing nationwide were always going to lead to more deaths," Senator Thorpe said.
"We warned that this would happen. When prisons are full, more of our people die.
"We know that prisons do not make communities safer — they create more crime in the long term. This is not about safety. It is about punishment, control, politics and power. 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."
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In Victoria, despite a coroner noting that previous bail laws were an "unmitigated disaster" that contributed to the death of Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri, and Yorta Yorta woman Veronica Nelson, the state government "backflipped" this year and reintroduced new bail laws, claiming in the process that changes made following Ms Nelson's death were wrong.
In the Northern Territory, incarceration rates have surged since the CLP took office last year on a community-safety platform. Corrections data shows the average prison population has increased by 15 per cent over the past year.
With the age of criminal responsibility lowered to 10 and bail laws tightened, more than one per cent of Territorians are now behind bars on any given day. Almost 90 per cent of NT detainees are Aboriginal.
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This week, CEO of Change the Record — a not-for-profit advocating to address the over-representation of Indigenous people in prison — Jade Lane, said governments across Australia were embracing "punitive and discriminatory 'tough on crime' lawmaking that targets children" while simultaneously shutting down scrutiny, citing the NT blocking UN inspectors into their prisons.
"This pattern is entrenched, racialised, and escalating," she said.
Senator Thorpe said the Albanese government must move beyond treating deaths in custody as solely a state and territory responsibility, urging the government to "step in and pull" them into line to "stop these deaths".
"The Commonwealth has the constitutional power to legislate national minimum standards across the criminal legal system," she said.
"They must also follow through with their commitment to impose funding restrictions on states and territories that are increasing incarceration. The Minister for Indigenous Australians has said she is looking at this. Now is the time to act."
