Australia Records Forty-Year High Indigenous Prison Deaths

(MENAFN) Australia has seen a sharp rise in Indigenous deaths in custody, reaching the highest level in four decades, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology on Wednesday.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, 33 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died while in custody—nearly double the average since 1989–90—out of a total of 113 deaths, the report revealed.

Indigenous deaths now account for 29% of all deaths in custody, marking a 23% increase from 2023–24 and the largest share recorded since 2002–03.

New South Wales reported the highest number of Indigenous fatalities in prison custody during this period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise just 3.8% of Australia’s population, yet they represent more than one-third of the country’s prisoner population, according to an Australian broadcasting agency.

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