The mother of two severely beaten Aboriginal inmates found out via a friend, not from ACT Corrections, that her sons had been hospitalised, it can be revealed.
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Mystery surrounds the bashing after a court appearance for one of the men on Thursday was ordered to be held in private.
The man was due in the ACT Magistrates Court to be sentenced for driving offences.
But at the beginning of the hearing the man's Legal Aid defence solicitor said he would be making submissions that were relevant to a police investigation, and asked the proceedings be held in private.
Prosecutors did not oppose the application. Magistrate Glenn Theakston ordered the hearing be held in private and all save a few individuals, including the man's family, were barred from the court.
The man was charged with driving while disqualified, using an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and without a number plate attached.
He walked free from the court after the sentencing, but requests to the registry for the sentencing outcome were refused on Thursday afternoon because of a non-publication order.
It's understood the man was on remand in the prison awaiting the sentencing when he and his brother were bashed.
Corrections minister Shane Rattenbury told the ACT's parliament on Thursday he was "bitterly disappointed" that procedure had not been followed in informing the inmates' mother, after the brothers were bashed in their cells on August 7.
It is understood their mother found out about the attack via someone who had been visiting another inmate at the prison.
Mr Rattenbury said he expected better of corrections staff and they had been reminded of their responsibilities.
"Procedures are there for a reason and we expect them to be followed," Mr Rattenbury said.
"The next of kin was still contacted the next day. The delay wasn't enormous but it wasn't ideal and that's why staff have been reminded of their responsibilities."
However Mr Rattenbury rejected assertions made by Winnunga Nimmityjah chief executive Julie Tongs that nothing had changed within the jail since the death of Steven Freeman.
"Violence in the jail never acceptable and steps will be taken to punish who were those involved," Mr Rattenbury said.
"We have extensive CCTV footage of this incident, after the recommendations of the Moss review changes have been made at the AMC, [the footage has been] been provided to police, and police are now undertaking their investigations under a revised MoU that has also been put in place because of the Moss review."
Mr Rattenbury said he had instructed corrections staff to cooperate fully with police and he hoped charges would be pressed soon.
But Canberra Liberals leader Alistair Coe said it rung hollow that the ACT government passed a motion offering to resettle refugees detained on Manus Island and Nauru when it could not keep people in its own places of detention safe.
"Right now we have a prison not far from here that has accommodation for 29 women and there have been 45 women in that space. We've had women detained in the management unit or the health unit for several days or weeks at a time," Mr Coe said.
"In the past year and a half, we've had two deaths at our very own prison here in Canberra. Under the territory's watch, two people have died. We've had an escape attempt that was successful and we've had a couple of escapes from the hospital in recent weeks and just yesterday it was reported two young Aboriginal young men were bashed and the department did not notify their family until the next day.
"Further to that, we have the outrageous situation in Bimberi. Again under our watch in the Assembly. Somehow we're in a situation in the ACT where we can't keep a dozen children safe in our own facility. That's got to be cause for reflection."
