Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has doubled down on her criticism of Labor for voting against expanding reporting on reports on deaths, miscarriages, and incidents of self-harm in prisons, labelling it "shameful".

On Thursday, the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung Senator successfully passed a motion in the Senate with the support of all non-government Senators.

The motion read: "That there be laid on the table by the minister representing the Attorney-General, statements which detail, by state and territory, the number of: deaths in custody, including breakdown by age groups and cause of death; ongoing coronial inquests; incidents of self-harm in custodial settings; and miscarriages and stillbirths in custodial settings."

It said the statements would be due "not later than the tenth day after the end of the preceding three-month period commencing 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, and 1 October".

Labor voted against the motion, with Minister for women and Manager of Government Business in the Senate, Katy Gallagher, while accepting the rates of incarcerated First Nations people, as well as deaths in custody, was "unacceptable," argued a live database had already been set up, and prison were the responsibility for the states.

"States and territories, not the Commonwealth, hold the information Senator Thorpe is calling for in this motion," Senator Gallagher said.

"In addition, it is not a reasonable request, nor is it possible for the Attorney-General to table information about ongoing coronial inquests."

Senator Thorpe said any move to place responsibility solely on the state's was a "cop-out," arguing the Attorney-General regularly met with leaders from all jurisdictions where he "can and should require them to provide this data".

"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," she said.

"It was shameful that Labor voted against this motion. I was particularly disappointed to see the new Minister for Indigenous Australians [Malarndirri McCarthy] vote against it."

Labor MPs are bound to vote along party lines.

There have been 15 Indigenous deaths in custody since the start of the year. Last month, a 17-year-old boy became the second child to die in Western Australia's detention system in 10 months after Yamatji 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd took his own life last year.

The ongoing coronial inquest into Cleveland's passing has revealed a litany of errors, lies and misinformation from government departments and ministers surrounding youth justice in WA.

"We know that horrific things are happening in prisons, but these human rights abuses are kept hidden from public view," Senator Thorpe said on Friday. "People are dying preventable deaths, women are being denied proper care during pregnancy and childbirth, and self-harm is widespread."

In June this year, evidence was found of a pre-term miscarriage at Dillwynia women's prison in Sydney's west, whilst in Queensland, two severely disabled Indigenous children died in the immediate aftermath of being kept in long-term solitary confinement.

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.

Senator Thorpe said the issue required "strong, decisive federal response," with transparent reporting and oversights playing a crucial role.

"We want to see the federal government finally start taking responsibility for what is happening in this country's criminal legal system," she said.

"I expect that Labor will come up with an excuse to not provide these reports, despite the Senate mandate, but I'm not going to back down on this. Labor needs to listen to the majority of the parliament who support this.

"I am calling on the Prime Minister, the Indigenous Australians Minister, the Attorney General and the Health Minister to start leading positive change on these important issues."