Three Indigenous people have died in custody in the past fortnight — two in Sydney and one in Melbourne.
The deaths in Sydney were revealed by the NSW Corrective Services Commissioner during budget estimates the following week.
Labor senator Pat Dodson, who worked on the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody three decades ago, is calling for a meeting of states and territories to deal with the issue.
"Immediately each state and territory, their police officers, police ministers, head of their police departments, attorneys-general of those jurisdictions, along with Aboriginal legal services … should meet and focus on why people are dying, what can be done to address it," Senator Dodson said.
In a statement, Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said every death in custody was a tragedy.
"Reducing the number of Indigenous people in contact with the justice system, through addressing the underlying factors that lead to contact with the justice system, will reduce the number of Indigenous deaths in custody," he said.