The family of a Wiradjuri woman who died while in custody in Tasmania say she will be remembered “as a loving and vibrant individual” and have asked for respect while they grieve.<\/p>\n
WARNING: This article contains the name and image of an Aboriginal person who has died.<\/p>\n
Chelsea Bracken, 21, died in hospital on Monday, October 27, after suffering what authorities said was a “serious medical episode” at the Mary Hutchinson’s Women’s Prison in Risdon Vale, southern Tasmania, where she was being held on remand.<\/p>\n
“Our Chelsea will be remembered as a loving and vibrant individual,” the family said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“With her passing, we would like the space to mourn and grieve her passing. At this time, we wish for respect, time and space.”<\/p>\n
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Chelsea Bracken died in prison custody. (Supplied courtesy Chelsea Bracken’s family)<\/p>\n
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service (TALS) said it will also be supporting the Bracken family and the community “in this difficult time”.<\/p>\n
“This is a tragedy. The loss of Chelsea \u2014 at only 21 \u2014 will profoundly impact her family, friends and the community,” TALS chief executive Jake Smith said.<\/p>\n
“In Tasmania, Aboriginal people remain significantly over-represented in custody and are five times more likely to be in custody than non-Aboriginal people.”<\/p>\n
While the last Aboriginal death in custody in Tasmania is believed to be in the 1990s, the number of Aboriginal people in Tasmanian prisons continues to rise.<\/p>\n
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Debbie Kilroy says “what we’re seeing is governments focusing on reports and frameworks, while the same harm continues”.\u00a0 (ABC Canberra)<\/p>\n
‘Invest in life’If you or anyone you know needs help:<\/p>\n
In the decade from 2012 to 2022, the number of Aboriginal people in Tasmanian prisons more than doubled<\/a> from 73 to 154.\u00a0<\/p>\n The latest data from the Department of Justice<\/a> shows in the period from April to September 2025, 214 prisoners were Aboriginal, making up 27 per cent of total Tasmanian prisoners \u2014 a three per cent increase on the prior year.<\/p>\n “When an Aboriginal woman dies in custody, we have to understand that as the outcome of systemic neglect and discrimination, not an individual tragedy,” said Debbie Kilroy from Sisters Inside, a national Aboriginal-led organisation supporting and advocating for the rights of women and girls in prison.<\/p>\n Ms Kilroy said due to colonisation and dispossession, Aboriginal people were more likely to experience instability throughout their lives, leading to their higher incarceration rates.<\/p>\n “Aboriginal women are the fastest growing prison population in this country, and that’s because the system criminalised the very conditions of Aboriginal women \u2014 survival, poverty, racism, homelessness, [and] trauma,” she said.<\/p>\n “You can’t close the gap by locking people up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ms Bracken was being held on remand at the Mary Hutchinson’s Women’s Prison in Tasmania’s south. (Supplied: Bracken family)<\/p>\n “You close the gap by investing in life \u2014 in housing and education and community-led programmes and cultural healing and safety.”Two support workers for entire state ‘simply not enough’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n