The US private prison company running Australia's immigration system was warned that a newly detained Chinese citizen expressed suicidal ideation and had a history of self-harm less than 24 hours before she died by suicide in a Melbourne detention centre, internal documents show. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The Chinese national died in a centre run by Secure Journeys, an Australian subsidiary of US-based prison multinational MTC (Management and Training Corporation).
The Chinese embassy has confirmed it has "lodged solemn representations and expressed grave concern to the Australian side" about the circumstances of the death. An embassy spokesperson said: "China will closely follow the case and safeguard the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens."
China's public intervention creates a fresh headache for the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, who is already furious about a string of security lapses involving the government's new immigration contractor, Secure Journeys. In May, The Guardian revealed that a series of failures had allowed the escape of high-risk detainees, caused ill-equipped staff to be stabbed and hospitalised and triggered multiple investigations, one of which warned that MTC's "minimalist staffing model" was putting workers and detainees at risk.
Burke took the extraordinary step of hauling in the global president of MTC for a face-to-face dressing down in September 2025, just six months after the company was awarded the $2.3bn onshore immigration detention contract.
On 10 July, Australian Border Force (ABF) issued a short statement saying a detainee had been found dead in the Melbourne immigration detention centre that morning. According to internal documents, the detainee was a Chinese citizen in her mid-30s who had been picked up the day before for allegedly overstaying an English-language studies visa. She had no criminal history.
The ABF transferred her into the custody of Secure Journeys on the afternoon of 9 July. The documents show that the ABF made clear to Secure Journeys that she had previously attempted self-harm and had "recently thought about self-harm/suicide". She was found hanging in her room in the Broadmeadows residential precinct, part of the Melbourne immigration detention centre, early the next morning.
Victoria police are investigating the death, which they described as non-suspicious. The coroner's court of Victoria said it had directed police to prepare a brief of evidence.
According to parliamentary records, there were 360 reported incidents of threatened and actual self-harm across Australia's onshore immigration detention network between July 2025 and March 2026. There have been at least two deaths this year.
A Secure Journeys spokesperson said the company offered its "deep condolences to the family and friends of the female detainee" but could not comment further due to the investigation. "Secure Journeys' commitment to maintaining safe and secure operations, as well as both staff and detainee welfare remains our top priority," the spokesperson said.
The Department of Home Affairs offered sincere condolences to the woman's family and friends. "Due to our privacy obligations to the deceased and the ongoing investigation into this matter, it would not be appropriate to comment further," a spokesperson said.