The President and all seven Commissioners of the Australian Human Rights Commission are united in our demand for immediate reform over the ongoing crisis of Aboriginal deaths in custody.
There have been 12 Aboriginal deaths in custody across the country since the start of 2025. Recent deaths in the Northern Territory push the national total to almost 600 deaths since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC). In recent years, this includes increased numbers of men, women, and children dying in custody.
Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss: "My heart goes out to affected families and communities. I stand in complete solidarity with those in mourning.
"Our governments need to respond genuinely to the commitments they have undertaken to meet Closing the Gap targets. There is an urgent need to invest in prevention to stop people from entering the justice system in the first place.
"Our people are dying in a system that has failed them from the beginning. The need for transformational reform is undeniable. During our recent visit to the Territory, Commission President Hugh de Kretser and I heard repeatedly that a law and order disaster was unfolding for Aboriginal people, and this concern has been raised consistently across the country.
"Without an evidence and human rights-based approach to justice and corrections, the massive over-representation of our peoples in custody - and dying in custody - will remain a national shame. Enough is enough."
Commissioner Kiss has demanded the full implementation of the recommendations of the RCIADIC, and the 2023 Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. She and President Hugh de Kretser are also calling for independent oversight authorities to be established in all jurisdictions, to end the practice of police investigating deaths in police custody.
"Over several decades, the Commission has advocated for the establishment of independent entities to investigate police conduct across all jurisdictions. RCIADIC clearly established that investigations into police conduct must be independent of police, with transparency throughout and formal complainant support, including legal assistance."
Commission President Hugh de Kretser: "Since colonisation, Australian law has too often delivered injustice for First Nations people. Police have often been the agents of this injustice, helping to administer laws and policies like those that enabled the Stolen Generations. Mistrust continues between First Nations communities and police.
"When police investigate themselves, it breeds mistrust and increases the risks of poor investigations and lack of accountability. While coronial inquests provide some independence, they rely on police-gathered evidence.
"Reform is critical to build trust, integrity and fairness for First Nations people in our criminal justice system. We need an adequately resourced independent police oversight authority, to investigate all police contact deaths. Successful models exist worldwide, including Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman.
"Australian governments must embrace fair, humane and effective criminal justice laws and policies to end the national disgrace of First Nations deaths in custody. We need Human Rights Acts in all states and territories and nationally to protect the rights of First Nations people."
Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess: "I demand the full implementation of both Royal Commissions. Each death is not just a heartbreaking loss for families and communities, but a national shame underpinned by too many ongoing systemic failures. Racial injustice and disability injustice are inextricably linked with many of these tragedies.
"It's time to take seriously the over-representation of First Nations children and adults with disability in the criminal justice system and urgently act to address this situation. The lack of concerted effort to do so means we are bound to continually repeat these failures."
Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay: "We have seen avoidable tragedy after avoidable tragedy in custody. In some instances, it is made worse by the fact that serious concerns about certain facilities have been highlighted repeatedly over the years. This includes evidence given by the Commission before the United Nations Committee Against Torture.
"We cannot wait any longer for these issues to be addressed. By failing to urgently respond to the crisis in our justice systems, we are failing our communities entirely."
National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds: "I am ashamed of Australia's ongoing injustices against our most vulnerable children, including First Nations children. We know that locking up kids has serious health and mental health impacts, and does not make the community safer.
"In the space of a 12-month period, we lost two young people while in youth detention in Western Australia. Their families are still seeking answers in what has become a heartbreaking pattern across Australia. This is absolutely unacceptable. Children and young people need our care and support.
"Our landmark report 'Help Way Earlier' offers solutions for the Commonwealth and states and territories to transform justice systems and make child safety and wellbeing a national priority, in order to also ensure community safety. Governments across the federation must be accountable for protecting children from harm when they are in their care and when deprived of their liberty."
Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman: "It is a matter of deep distress to me that after more than 30 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to die unnecessarily - in unprecedented numbers - in custody. There can be no doubt structural and systemic racism are at the heart of the problem.
"Our National Anti-Racism Framework includes clear recommendations for reform, including in the law and justice sector. If implemented, these can make significant progress to ending this national shame. It is an imperative for all Australian governments to use the Framework as a roadmap to eliminate racism. I stand with Commissioner Kiss and also call for the full implementation of the RCIADIC recommendations."
