Until very recently the Bureau of Statistics had next to no idea how long Indigenous Australians lived.

It relied on the data funeral directors produced when they ticked boxes on death certificates. Crudely adjusted for guesses about under-reporting, it showed Indigenous Australians dying an average of 17 years earlier than the rest of the population, the figure quoted by former prime minister Kevin Rudd in his apology to Indigenous Australians in 2008.

But behind the scenes the figure was mocked. It seemed to show Australia performing far worse than other nations with Indigenous populations. So during the 11-month window in which it retained the names on the 2006 census forms, the Bureau tried something better. It linked the names to the names on death certificates.

What it found was shocking, in a good way. Instead of dying 17 years earlier, Indigenous Australians were dying 10 years (women) to 12 years (men) earlier.