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The number of Indigenous people dying while in detention in Australia has reached its peak point since official data started in 1980.

Fresh figures reveal that 33 of the 113 individuals who died in custody in the year leading up to June have been identified as of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This marks an increase from 24 deaths in the preceding equivalent period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are severely represented in the justice system. They constitute over 33% of all incarcerated individuals, even though representing less than four per cent of the country's people.

These sobering figures emerge over three decades after a seminal inquiry into First Nations deaths in custody, which made hundreds of recommendations.

Detailed Analysis of the Latest Statistics

Of the 33 Aboriginal deaths in custody recorded between last July and this June, twenty-six occurred while in prison custody, which is an increase from 18 in the prior year.

A single death occurred in youth detention, and the vast majority of the individuals were men.

The remaining six deaths happened in police custody, defined as when someone dies while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The main cause of First Nations deaths was categorised as "self-harm," with "natural causes." The data found that asphyxiation was the cause in eight of the deaths.

Geographic Breakdown

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

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

In a recent statement, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this rising trend was not "mere statistics" and that these deaths demanded "independent and careful scrutiny, respect and responsibility."

Profile Details and Academic Reaction

The average age of those who died was 45, and 11 of the individuals were still waiting for a sentence.

A university associate professor, Amanda Porter, described the figures as representing a "country-wide emergency" that needs "decisive action and government action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at multiple coronial inquests with bereaved families, said little has changed since the 1991 national inquiry that aimed to tackle this issue.

"It's maddening to see the quantity of inquests I attend, the number funerals families have to attend, and the fact that we are three decades past the inquiry, and the situation is getting progressively more severe," she noted.

Since the landmark inquiry, a approximately 600 Indigenous people have died in custody, which encompasses six in juvenile detention centers, according to the report.