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The number of First Nations people dying while in custody in Australia has hit its highest point since official data started in 1980.

Recently released statistics indicate that 33 of the 113 individuals who passed away in custody in the year ending in June have been identified as Indigenous. This marks an uptick from 24 deaths in the previous corresponding period.

Indigenous Australian people remain grossly overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They constitute more than one-third of all prisoners, even though comprising less than four per cent of the national population.

These disturbing statistics emerge over three decades after a seminal royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which put forward hundreds of recommendations.

Breakdown of the Recent Figures

Of the 33 Aboriginal deaths in custody logged between last July and this June, 26 took place while in a correctional facility, which is an increase from 18 in the prior year.

A single death was in youth detention, and all except one of the individuals were men.

The other six fatalities happened in the custody of law enforcement, defined as when someone dies while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The main cause of First Nations deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," with "natural causes." The report noted that hanging was the cause in eight of the cases.

Geographic Breakdown

The Australian state of New South Wales recorded the greatest number of Indigenous deaths in prison custody 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 this state is a "deeply distressing reality," the state's chief medical examiner recently said.

In a recent statement, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward pattern was not "just statistics" and that these deaths demanded "independent and careful scrutiny, dignity and responsibility."

Profile Information and Academic Reaction

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

A university associate professor, Amanda Porter, characterised the data as representing a "national emergency" that needs "decisive action and political action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at multiple official inquiries with grieving families, said very little has improved since the 1991 national inquiry that aimed to address this crisis.

"It's maddening to witness the number of inquests I attend, the many memorials families have to attend, and the reality that we are 30 years after the royal commission, and the situation is getting progressively more severe," she commented.

Since the landmark inquiry, a total of 600 First Nations people have died in custody, which includes six in juvenile detention centers, according to the findings.