Murder rates for Indigenous women are eight times higher than for their non-Indigenous counterparts, a senate committee has been told.
But death rates among the cohort could be even higher as the Australian Crime Institute only factors in cases of murder and not manslaughter.
The data was shared during hearings for a parliamentary inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children.
A Senate committee is looking at the systems and circumstances that led to those deaths and disappearances, as well as reviewing current and historical practices used to investigate the murders.
Homicide rates were declining in Australia but murder rates for Indigenous women weren't following the same trajectory, Australian Crime Institute deputy director Rick Brown said.
"It shows a very clear picture of systemic disadvantage no matter what indicator you take ... Indigenous people have poorer outcomes," Dr Brown told the committee on Wednesday.
The inquiry was also told it was unlikely Indigenous legal services would ever receive enough funding to meet the needs of the communities they supported.
The Commonwealth provided $440 million over five years to Indigenous legal services, Esther Bogaart from the attorney-general's department told the hearing.
An additional $9.3 million was given to services in August last year to better support families of dead Indigenous people and those with complex legal cases, she said.
But Ms Bogaart acknowledged it was unlikely there would ever be enough money to match community needs.
The department was working closely with services so they could prioritise cases and ensure those most in need were supported, she said.
Ms Bogaart conceded it meant some people would not receive the legal advice or representation they should have access to.
The senate inquiry continues.
