According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2018b), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent 798,365 (3.3%) of the total Australian population. In this data collection, 38,660 (5%) people identified as being Torres Strait Islanders and 32,220 (4%) identified as being both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Over a 5-year period (2011-2016), 706 Indigenous Australians died as the result of suicide—an average of 141 per year. The study found that for children aged 5–14, suicide rates for Indigenous boys and girls were 9 and 7 times as high, respectively, as those of non-Indigenous children.  Unfortunately, the highest rate for Indigenous male suicide was in remote areas.

Indigenous Australians experience high rates of hospitalisation as a result of violence. In a year, 22% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over reported being a  victim of physical violence (AIHW 2017). In a single year, 14% (or 32,000) Indigenous women reported experiencing physical violence with 1 in 4 confirming that the most recent incident was perpetrated by a cohabiting partner (AIHW 2018).

From 2017–18, more than 48,300 (164 per 1,000) Indigenous children received child protection services (AIHW 2018). On an average day in the same year, 4,772 Indigenous Australians aged 10-17 were being supervised, detained or under community-based supervision.