34 Aboriginal community leaders, human rights experts, justice advocates and other notable Western Australians have issued a call for urgent reforms in an open letter to the state's government on the anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

The signatories to the letter include Dr Hannah McGlade, Professor Jocelyn Jones, Dr Fiona Stanley, former senator Patrick Dodson, Professor Cheryl Kickett-Tucker, Professor Patricia Dudgeon, chair of the WA Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation Jim Morrison, Aboriginal Legal Service of WA chief executive Wayne Nannup, and many more.

The Royal Commission, which began in 1987, issued its findings and made over 300 recommendations on April 15, 1991. Many of the recommendations have not been implemented and since the Royal Commission completed its work, at least 630 Indigenous people have died in custody.

The open letter calls for the WA Government to "act immediately" and: Fully implement all outstanding recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody; End the use of imprisonment as a default response, particularly for Aboriginal women and people with disability, ensuring custody is only used as a last resort; Invest in Aboriginal community-controlled, culturally safe diversion, healing, and throughcare programs; Ensure all people in custody receive timely, appropriate, and trauma-informed medical, mental health, and disability care; and Embed Aboriginal self-determination and leadership in the design, delivery, and evaluation of justice and custodial services

National Indigenous Times has contacted WA Premier Roger Cook, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Don Punch, and Minister for Corrective Services Paul Papalia for comment.

The full letter is below. Note - it contains the name of an Aboriginal person who has died.

Letter to the WA State Government on Aboriginal deaths in custody

It's 35 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its report investigating the deaths of Aboriginal people in custody.

The Royal Commission identified the serious issue of Aboriginal over-incarceration and called for imprisonment to be imposed only as 'a measure of last resort'. This has not happened as Aboriginal incarceration continues to rise, every year, along with deaths in custody.

The inquiry also identified the importance of Aboriginal self-determination as a necessary response to colonisation and Aboriginal deaths in custody.

This is also the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Too often Aboriginal people are denied their right to self-determination and experiencing systemic discrimination, including in the criminal justice system.

These ongoing failures constitute a breach of fundamental human rights, including the right to life, dignity, and culturally safe care.

Aboriginal women in West Australia have been described as 'the most incarcerated group of people in the world'! This is a shameful reflection on the state and its treatment of First Nations women and families.

Aboriginal women are also at very high risk of family and domestic violence and 17.5 times more likely as mothers to be a victim of homicide than non-Aboriginal women.

Aboriginal women in prison have complex, intersecting health needs. These include chronic illness, mental health conditions, disability, substance dependence, and intergenerational trauma caused by colonisation, child removal and systemic racism. Yet prison healthcare systems treat these issues in isolation, if at all.

Prison healthcare is built on Western medical frameworks that fail to recognise Aboriginal concepts of health. These systems overlook the cultural, historical, social and spiritual dimensions that are central to Indigenous wellbeing. Aboriginal women are treated as problems to be managed rather than people to be cared for. The responses to Aboriginal women evidence neglect and failures to address the violence, which underlines Aboriginal women's incarceration.

We cannot change what happened in the past, but we must do better today.

Patricia Howell was a 35-year-old Noongar woman who recently died in Bandyup, she was a young mother who had a history of family violence and child sexual abuse. Given Patricia's significant cognitive impairment, complex mental health conditions, history of trauma, and recent stroke, she was at high risk of harm and required immediate and ongoing medical, psychological, and custodial support to ensure her safety while in custody.

Prior to her death, Patricia's mother formally wrote to authorities outlining her daughter's severe cognitive impairment, complex health needs, and vulnerability, and requested urgent support and intervention.

Patricia Howell's death was not an isolated incident - it reflects systemic failures in custodial care, disability and mental health support, and responses to Aboriginal women in crisis. Her calls for help were not met with care, or urgency. This should never happen in a system responsible for the safety of those in its custody.

We, the undersigned, call on the WA Government to act immediately and,

· Fully implement all outstanding recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

· End the use of imprisonment as a default response, particularly for Aboriginal women and people with disability, ensuring custody is only used as a last resort

· Invest in Aboriginal community-controlled, culturally safe diversion, healing, and throughcare programs

· Ensure all people in custody receive timely, appropriate, and trauma-informed medical, mental health, and disability care

· Embed Aboriginal self-determination and leadership in the design, delivery, and evaluation of justice and custodial services

Thirty-five years on from the Royal Commission, the continued deaths of Aboriginal people in custody represent not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of political will.

The Western Australian Government must act now to prevent further loss of life. Aboriginal people, families, and communities have long called for change.

It is time to listen, to act, and to be held accountable.

We call on the Premier and his government to end this violence, stop Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and respect the lives of Aboriginal women today!

Signatories

Hannah McGlade

Associate Professor, Curtin University Law School

Lorraine Pryor

Voices of Hope

Jocelyn Jones

Associate Professor, Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University

Fiona Stanley

Distinguished Research Professor, The Kids Research Institute, UWA

Patrick Dodson

Former Senator, Australian Labor Party

Dawn Wallam

Chair, Noongar Family Safety and Wellbeing Council

Barbara Henry

Noongar Family Safety and Wellbeing Council

Cheryl Kickett-Tucker

Professor, Aboriginal Education, Community & Wellbeing, Curtin University

Patricia Dudgeon

Professor, Bilya Marlee, School of Indigenous Studies, UWA

Corina Martin

CEO, Western Australian Family Violence Prevention Legal Service Aboriginal Corp

Devon Cuimara

Aboriginal Males Healing Centre, Strong Spirit, Strong Family, Strong Culture Inc

Laurel Sellers

CEO, Yorgum Healing Services

Stella Tarrant

Associate Professor, UWA, Law School

Hayley Passmore

Lecturer, UWA Law School

Emma Tufuga

Research Fellow, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University

Joanne Della Bona,

CEO, Coolabaroo Community Services

Hilde Tubex

Professor, UWA Law School

Jamie Walvisch

Senior Lecturer, UWA Law School

Jim Morrison

Chairperson, West Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation

Alison Evans

CEO, Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing

Glenda Kickett

Karla Kuliny

Louise Fischer

Research Fellow, Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University

Heather Douglas

Professor, Melbourne University, Law School

Victoria Hovane

Professor and Psychologist, Centre for Social Impact, UWA

Wayne Nannup

CEO, Aboriginal Legal Service, WA

Jennie Gray

Principal Legal officer, Women's Legal Service WA

Stephanie Monck

Principal Legal officer, Women's Legal Service WA

Carol Dowling

Lecturer Centre for Aboriginal Studies, Curtin University

Anna Copeland

Associate Professor, Law and Social Sciences, Murdoch University

Carol Bahemia

Legal practitioner

Betsy Buchanan

Legal Advocate, Daydawn Advocacy Centre

Kathryn Sharpe

Redgum Justice

Paul Flatau

Director, Centre for Social Impact UWA

Narelle Guest

Prison Outreach Project Officer, Curtin University