Systemic failures in “inhumane” youth detention facility leads to death of indigenous child, says WA Coroner
A WA Coroner has delivered damning findings into the 2023 death of 16 year old Cleveland Dodd, an Indigenous teenager who died while detained in a youth wing of an adult prison.
NSW: highest number of Indigenous deaths in custody ever recorded in a single year
In 2025, New South Wales has already seen 12 Indigenous people die while in custody, marking the highest number ever recorded in a single year.
State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan described the milestone as “profoundly distressing,” emphasising that these are not mere statistics but individual lives, and declared that each death “demands independent and careful scrutiny.”
Unfinished Business: ALRM’s Review of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
In July 2025, the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement (ALRM) released its report Unfinished Business: A Review of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC).
NSW Coroner Calls for Better Prison–Family Communication After Mr. Brown’s Death
A recent coronial inquest into the tragic death in custody of 28-year-old Lathan Brown has highlighted a glaring failure in how NSW Correctional Services notified his family during his final hours.