(MENAFN) New South Wales (NSW) has recorded its highest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody in a single year, prompting widespread concern across Australia, according to reports.

So far in 2025, the state has reported 12 deaths in custody, with NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan describing the situation as a “profoundly distressing milestone.” She emphasized the ongoing “entrenched over-representation” of Indigenous Australians in the state’s prison system. “They are individuals whose deaths demand independent and careful scrutiny, respect and accountability,” O’Sullivan said. She also noted that Aboriginal deaths in custody have risen by 18.9% over the past five years.

The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited, a community-run advocacy organization, called the figures a "horrifying record." CEO Karly Warner stated, “This is a crisis and a preventable tragedy that should deeply alarm everyone in NSW. A prison sentence should not be a death sentence.”

The deaths come amid broader concerns about policing and incarceration practices affecting Indigenous Australians. In May, a 24-year-old Indigenous man died in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, after being restrained by two plainclothes police officers during an incident with a supermarket security guard.

Since 1991, 594 Indigenous people have died in custody across Australia, including nine deaths recorded in NSW so far this year.

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