NSW deaths in custody inquiry launched

A cross-party parliamentary inquiry into how deaths in custody are investigated in NSW has been launched in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests across Sydney.

The motion, moved by the Greens late on Wednesday, acknowledged "the unacceptably high level of First Nations people in custody in NSW".

A six-member select committee comprised of representatives from the government, the opposition and the crossbench will be selected.

Greens MP David Shoebridge said there were six separate oversight bodies reviewing conduct in NSW prisons but none had the capacity to send independent investigators into prisons to obtain critical evidence following a death in custody.

"We need to act to address the gross over-representation of First Nations people in custody in NSW," Mr Shoebridge said in a statement on Thursday.

"This is a win for those brave families and Aboriginal communities who have campaigned for decades and demanded that politicians listen to them."

University of Technology Sydney law professor Larissa Behrendt said the motion was an important first step in a "more transparent process" for deaths in custody investigations.