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The count of Indigenous people dying while in custody in Australia has hit its highest point since the beginning of official data started in 1980.

New data show that 33 of the 113 individuals who died in detention in the 12-month period leading up to June were Indigenous. This marks an uptick from 24 deaths in the preceding equivalent period.

Indigenous Australian people are disproportionately represented in the justice system. They make up more than one-third of all prisoners, even though comprising under 4% of the country's population.

These sobering figures come to light over three decades after a landmark royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which made hundreds of recommendations.

Detailed Analysis of the Latest Figures

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

One death was in youth detention, and the vast majority of the deceased were male.

The other six deaths took place in police custody, defined as a situation where someone passes away while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The leading reason of Indigenous deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," with "natural causes." The report noted that asphyxiation was the method in eight of the cases.

State-by-State Distribution

The state of New South Wales had the greatest number of Indigenous deaths in correctional facilities with nine, then 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 reality," the state's chief medical examiner has said.

In a recent statement, Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward trend was not "mere statistics" and that these deaths demanded "independent 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 individuals were awaiting a sentence.

A criminal law associate professor, Amanda Porter, described the data as reflecting a "country-wide emergency" that requires "leadership and political action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at several official inquiries with grieving families, said little has changed since the 1991 national inquiry that was established to tackle this crisis.

"It's infuriating to see the number of inquests I attend, the number memorials families have to attend, and the reality that we are three decades after the royal commission, and the problem is getting progressively worse," she noted.

From the time of the landmark inquiry, a total of 600 First Nations people have died in detention, which includes six in juvenile detention centers, as per the report.