Australia must count people who pass away in state care in data on Indigenous deaths in custody, the former ACT Indigenous children commissioner has said.
While there is a well-documented pipeline from children placed in out-of-home care to those later placed in custody, trauma data for people who die in state care, or in the aftermath of leaving that care, is less clear than the Indigenous deaths in custody dashboard.
The latest Closing the Gap data, released on Wednesday night, shows an increase in the number of First Nations children in out-of-home care, as well as an increase in suicide among First Nations people across the country.
Speaking at a youth justice forum in Sydney, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a human rights lawyer and former ACT Indigenous children commissioner, argued: "Too often, we neglect the interests of children [and] young people, and fail to acknowledge the alarming rates of deaths in state care".
"We have formal evidence and documentation that is highlighting the harm of exploitation that exists within this system, and yet we are refusing to enact independent oversight and safeguard mechanisms that allow our children and young people to access and reach safety where necessary," she said.
The Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul woman said "independent oversight, transparency, and best practice" are crucial for First Nations children.
"We continue to see poverty punished, children and young people's rights not upheld to safe standards, and the ongoing impacts of intergenerational state systems harm — including the forcible removal of children and young people," she said.
In 2025, the United Nations Rapporteur highlighted the risk of child sexual exploitation in residential care facilities and for children who are placed in out-of-home care.
Ms Turnbull-Roberts called for a recalibration of the system to better address "how we protect our most vulnerable children and young people".
"Until we protect children and young people, we will continue to see a pipeline into Aboriginal deaths in custody," she said. Of those death in custody numbers, she added, "We must include children who die in the statutory out-of-home care system."
Ms Turnbull-Roberts, who has written about her own experience of being removed from her family and placed in state care, said the foster and family policing system is one of the key reasons behind the violence and harm against First Nations families and communities.
"Whilst we argue it is a broken system, it is in fact a designed system to do exactly what we are seeing today," she argued.
Addressing young people in custody, she added they must receive "independent holistic assessments" when they are incarcerated, preferably before entering detention.
"It does not mean anybody has the right to take away your disability support," Ms Turnbull-Roberts said.
Submissions to a Senate youth justice inquiry highlighted the high prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) among children in detention.
Nationally, around one in three young people in youth detention is estimated to have FASD, with most cases remaining undiagnosed.
A 2024 report from the WA Children's Commissioner found many children in custody "could not associate their actions with consequences," and that many had "complex needs... including intellectual disability, cognitive impairment, developmental delay, neurodivergence or challenges" — including FASD.
Ms Turnbull-Roberts argued the separation of the youth justice and children safety portfolios meant there is "no adequate coordination" between the departments and the Ministers, despite the irrefutable pipeline from state care to youth prison.
"We need to be working together to ensure there is an adequate response," she said. "Because if all your children are ending up in prison...If that was us and our communities, we'd be considered pretty neglectful."
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