Western Australia is locking up more indigenous people than any other state in Australia, new data shows.
Despite WA having a smaller indigenous population than NSW and Queensland, there were 3635 prisoners per 100,000 adults who were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in 2014-2015.
Well ahead of the Northern Territory, which has less than 3000 indigenous prisoners per 100,000, the latest Productivity Commission report reveals.
The prison union says the state's prisons are under strain and sometimes overflowing.
"This report comes as no surprise to us, as our members are dealing with overcrowded prisons every day," WA Prison Officers Union Secretary John Welch.
"The Barnett Government is simply locking people up faster than it can build cells to accommodate them."
But it's the Northern Territory that is locking up more people than anywhere else, with 885 prisoners per 100,000 people.
And no state comes close to the Northern Territory when it comes to locking up women, with 1527 per 100,000 adults compared to 52.2 in WA and 35.8 in Queensland.
