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The count of First Nations people losing their lives while in detention in Australia has hit its highest point since official data began in 1980.

Fresh figures indicate that 33 of the 113 individuals who passed away in detention in the year leading up to June were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This marks an rise from 24 fatalities in the preceding corresponding period.

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

These concerning figures emerge more than three decades after a seminal royal commission into Indigenous deaths in custody, which put forward hundreds of proposed changes.

Breakdown of the Latest Statistics

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

A single death was in youth detention, and the vast majority of the deceased were men.

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

The leading cause of Indigenous deaths was categorised as "self-inflicted," with "illness." The report noted that asphyxiation was the cause in eight of the deaths.

Geographic Breakdown

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

The increasing number of First Nations deaths in custody in this state is a "profoundly distressing tragedy," the state's coroner recently remarked.

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

Profile Information and Academic Reaction

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

A criminal law associate professor, Amanda Porter, characterised the figures as reflecting a "country-wide emergency" that requires "decisive action and political action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at multiple official inquiries with grieving families, said little has improved since the 1991's royal commission that was established to address this crisis.

"It's infuriating to witness the quantity of investigations I attend, the number memorials families have to attend, and the fact that we are 30 years after the inquiry, and the situation is getting increasingly more severe," she commented.

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