28-07-2025
Victoria urged to act on coroner's death in custody recommendations
Victorian Aboriginal communities are urging the state government to act on the recommendations of a coroner who investigated the 2021 death in custody of Heather Calgaret.
NOTE: This story uses images of Heather Calgaret with the permission of her family.
On Monday, Coroner Sarah Gebert found the 30-year-old's death due to respiratory failure was the result of an inappropriately prescribed dose of an opioid medication.
The coroner also found that in the lead-up to Heather's death, the Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman's mental and physical health had declined significantly.
After identifying gaps in the health care that was available to Heather, the coroner recommended the government do more to integrate Aboriginal health groups in the delivery of prison health care.
Aunty Jill Gallagher, who heads up the Victorian Aboriginal Community-Controlled Healthcare Organisation (VACCHO), said the benefits of Aboriginal-led health responses for Indigenous communities were clear.
"We know who the people are, we know their families, we know their issues," she said.
"We have wraparound services … that we could provide to our people in prisons … and it also helps to get them, when they are released, back into society."
Ms Gallagher said before the recent state budget, her organisation had sought $2 million in funding to support a pilot program where Aboriginal health groups could deliver care in prison.
"It was knocked back, we didn't get the $2 million to deliver that model," she said.
She said the request came against the backdrop of more than $720 million being allocated in the same budget to boost the number of prison beds.
Ms Gallagher said the proposal to integrate Aboriginal-led health responses had been a recommendation in a recent report into Victoria's prisons she co-authored.
"Where's the implementation of those recommendations in that report?" she asked.
In her findings, the coroner also explored issues with the way Heather's parole application had been dealt with.
The inquest heard a "Kafkian" situation meant Heather could not get access to a rehabilitation program that was a requirement for her to be eligible for parole.
Ms Gebert said the inquest had identified "numerous" other issues with the way Heather's parole application was managed, including poor documentation by parole officers and a "lack of adherence to relevant metrics".
She said of particular concern was the lack of appropriate action in response to a letter Heather had written asking to undertake the rehabilitative program in the community.
The coroner recommended changes to ensure parole officers were more responsive to requests and maintained better documentation.
In a statement, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) acting CEO Amanda Dunstall said the Allan government's current "tough on crime approach" involved an "abhorrent commitment to implementing regressive laws" at odds with the coroner's recommendations.
"Victoria's parole process was found to be unfair to Aboriginal women, and is inconsistent with the right to equality in the charter and the right to Aboriginal self-determination," she said.
"We know that sentencing and parole considerations for Aboriginal people are of critical importance and VALS is ready to work with the Department of Corrections, alongside the Aboriginal Justice Caucus, to implement these recommendations immediately, alongside the outstanding recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Yoorrook Justice Commission."
Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan was contacted for comment.
