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The number of First Nations people losing their lives while in custody in Australia has climbed to its highest point since official data started in 1980.

Fresh figures show that 33 of the 113 people who passed away in custody in the 12-month period leading up to June were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This marks an rise from 24 deaths in the preceding corresponding period.

Indigenous Australian people are severely overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They constitute over 33% of all prisoners, despite comprising less than four per cent of the national population.

These sobering statistics come to light more than three decades after a landmark royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which put forward hundreds of proposed changes.

Detailed Analysis of the Recent Figures

Of the 33 Indigenous deaths in custody logged between last July and this June, 26 occurred while in prison custody, which is an increase from 18 in the previous year.

A single death occurred in a juvenile facility, and the vast majority of the individuals were men.

The remaining six fatalities took place in the custody of law enforcement, defined as a situation where someone dies while police are detaining them.

The primary reason of First Nations deaths was categorised as "self-inflicted," with "natural causes." The data found that asphyxiation was the method in eight of the cases.

Geographic Breakdown

The Australian state of New South Wales had the highest number of Aboriginal deaths in correctional facilities with nine, followed by Western Australia with six. Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory all recorded three deaths.

The growing number of Indigenous deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "deeply distressing tragedy," the state's coroner recently said.

In October, Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward pattern was not "just statistics" and that these deaths required "thorough and careful scrutiny, dignity and responsibility."

Profile Information and Expert Response

The mean age of those who died was 45 years, and eleven of the deceased were awaiting a court sentencing.

A criminal law expert, Amanda Porter, described the figures as representing a "national emergency" that requires "decisive action and political action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at multiple coronial inquests with grieving families, said very little has improved since the 1991 national inquiry that was established to address this issue.

"It's infuriating to see the quantity of investigations I attend, the many funerals families have to attend, and the reality that we are 30 years after the inquiry, and the problem is getting increasingly worse," she noted.

From the time of the royal commission, a total of 600 First Nations people have died in custody, which includes six in juvenile detention centers, according to the findings.