CANBERRA (Australia): Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has intensified pressure on the federal government to address what she describes as a worsening incarceration crisis after new figures showed Australia recorded the highest number of Indigenous deaths in custody in more than four decades. Thorpe condemned the statistics as a “national disgrace” and urged the Labor government to use its powers to compel states and territories to implement reforms aimed at reducing imprisonment and preventing further deaths.
Data from the Australian Institute of Criminology for 2024–25 revealed that 33 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died in custody, the largest annual number since records began in 1979–80, with Indigenous people accounting for nearly a third of all custody fatalities despite comprising a small percentage of the population. Many of those deaths occurred in prison custody, and a significant proportion were among people on remand awaiting trial rather than serving sentences, underscoring long-standing concerns about bail and justice policies.
Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, called on Prime Minister and federal ministers to intervene, arguing that a fragmented approach across jurisdictions has failed to curb over-incarceration of First Nations peoples. She wants the Commonwealth to enforce existing commitments under national frameworks, establish stronger oversight mechanisms and redirect resources toward community-led alternatives to imprisonment.
The latest figures come more than 30 years after a royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody made hundreds of recommendations aimed at preventing such fatalities, many of which advocates say remain partially or wholly unimplemented. Indigenous incarceration rates in Australia remain among the highest in the world, driven by systemic factors including poverty, bail law changes and limited access to culturally appropriate support services. Community leaders and legal advocates have echoed calls for comprehensive justice reform and greater investment in preventative and diversionary programs to address the root causes of the crisis.
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