24 Indigenous people died in custody in 2023-24, new data has revealed.

The number of First Nations deaths in custody means at least 582 Indigenous people have died in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in Custody.

So far, no one has been found criminally responsible for any of the deaths.

It comes as 24 Indigenous people have died in custody in 2024, which prompted Change the Record's national director, Blake Cansdale, to tell Guardian Australia last month: "These deaths are not just numbers; they represent lives tragically lost, families grieving, and a national failure to uphold the rights and safety of First Nations peoples in Australia."

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) released its Deaths in Custody in Australia 2023–24 report on Tuesday.

Between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, there were 104 deaths in custody, 6 less than in 2022–23.

Despite making up less than four per cent of the population, 23 per cent of those who died in custody were First Nations peoples.

There were 76 deaths in prison custody and one death in youth detention—18 of whom were Indigenous.

This includes the tragic death of 16-year-old Yamatji boy, Cleveland Dodd, who took his own life in the Unit 18 youth detention facility at Perth's Casuarina Prison.

His death has sparked an inquest which has seen the entire WA Justice Department come under intense scrutiny due to accusations of lies and mistreatment of children in custody.

More than half of Indigenous deaths in prisons were of unsentenced prisoners, despite calls in the 1991 Royal Commission for Indigenous custody to be a last resort.

47 per cent of the known causes of death were people taking their lives, the equal highest on record.

Earlier this year, it was revealed at least 18 attempted suicides in WA's prison were misclassified as acts or threats of self-harm, whilst another 20 self-harm incidents which appeared to be attempted suicides did not include whether intent was stated when recorded by the WA Department of Justice.

There were five deaths in prison in both WA and Queensland, four in NSW, and two in both the NT and South Australia.

There were a further 27 deaths in police custody, of which 19 per cent were First Nations people.

Indigenous deaths in custody have been a focus of Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe this year, successfully moving a motion to have the Attorney-General provide quarterly reports on deaths in custody passed the Senate, despite government opposition.

"This is not about a few bad jurisdictions or a few bad facilities. This is a national human rights and public health crisis. It needs national attention," the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung Senator said in September.

Senator Thorpe said the federal government has for too long passed off the responsibilities to the states, when abuses of human rights were a federal concern.

"I'm furious," Senator Thorpe said. "I've raised these issues so many times with the Albanese government, and they just shrug their shoulders and say it's up to the states.

"I refuse to accept that excuse. It's an appalling abrogation of responsibility."

In the wake of the findings into the death of Yorta Yorta and Gunaikurnai man Joshua Kerr, which the coroner described as "preventable," Senator Thorpe said: "Deaths in custody are always preventable."

"The ongoing lack of action from governments shows a clear lack of value placed on First Peoples' lives in this country," she said.