More than 80 per cent of Queensland children placed in solitary confinement in the past year were Indigenous, figures tabled in State parliament have revealed, sparking calls for an urgent inquiry.

Indigenous children accounted for 62 per cent of Queensland's youth detention population in the June 2021 to June 2022 period, almost 26,000 incidents of Indigenous children being placed in solitary for up to 12 hours at a time.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Service of Queensland principal legal officer Gregory Shadbolt said the figure was appallingly high.

"(It) is no doubt closely correlated with the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are held in detention at a disproportionately high level compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts," he said.

"Clearly by any acceptable standards, this is a totally unacceptable state of affairs."

Mr Shadbolt said ATSILS (Queensland) had lobbied for more than a decade to address drivers of youth incarceration such as health, housing, education and employment.

"Hopefully statistics such as (this) will assist in continuing to shine a torch on just how vital a seismic mind-shift is required," he said.

"It isn't about governments being soft on crime, it is rather about governments being smart on crime. Ultimately, addressing the upstream drivers of offending behaviour is a win-win - as aside from a reduction in incarceration rates, we will also have safer communities."

The data revealed 30,255 cases of children being placed in solitary confinement between six and 12 hours, 519 between 12 and 24 hours; and 83 for more than 24 hours.

Aboriginal-led coalition of advocacy groups Change the Record urged an inquiry into the sector and Amnesty International Australia Indigenous rights campaigner Maggie Munn called for an immediate end to the use of solitary confinement.

A Queensland Department of Youth Justice spokesperson said youth detention centres were complex.

"The safety of staff, young people and visitors is paramount," they said.

"We take our obligations under the Youth Justice Act and Human Rights Act very seriously, while also balancing our workplace health and safety obligations to staff.

"A separation is an event that requires young people to be secured (separated) in their rooms and can occur in response to a number of situations, including emergencies and other types of incidents, as well as health, safety and security requirements (for example, contraband searches and contingency testing)."

The spokesperson said the use of solitary confinement is subject to strict approvals, supervision protocols, time limits and record keeping, ensuring they are reasonable and justified and meet legislative requirements.

The figures were tabled after Greens MP Michael Berkman put questions to Children and Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard in August.