ACT youth minister Rachel Stephen-Smith was unable to explain how a Bimberi detainee managed to upload a photo of themselves inside the centre to Facebook when questioned in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
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A link to the Facebook post showing an inmate at the youth detention centre was emailed to Liberal MLA Elizabeth Kikkert.
Mrs Kikkert brought the issue to the attention of the directorate.
The person who saw the image and sent it to Mrs Kikkert raised concern that the image should not have been taken or published, and suggested action be taken to have it removed.
Ms Stephen-Smith said while inmates had some access to IT, they did not have access to phones or social media.
"Young people don't have access to mobile phones in Bimberi and there has never been a detection of a young person having a phone in Bimberi," Ms Stephen-Smith said,
"Young people do have access to digital devices to engage with their education and recreation programs.
"Young people have access to internet at the Murrumbidgee Education and Training Centre for Educational purposes which does not include social media.
"Young people have access to digital cameras and may have their photo taken within Bimberi for the purpose of education.
"Young people may also request photos to be taken of them with their families during visits.These photos may be printed and given to the young person and their family in hard copy."
The minister did not offer an explanation as to how the photo ended up on Facebook.
However, the minister said the email alerting the Liberals to the breach should not have been sent, and would be passed on to police.
Mrs Kikkert said she found it "deeply concerning" the photos had found their way onto social media.
"The ACT government repeatedly speaks about the importance of protecting the privacy of children and young people. Allowing personal photographs to be taken in what appears to be a place of detention seems to violate this basic protection," Mrs Kikkert said.
"Bimberi has for years been plagued with a culture of intimidation and allegations of human rights abuse. An incident like this highlights systemic failings and calls into question the protection of Bimberi youth detainees.
"I am grateful that the member of the public brought this matter to my attention, and I urge the government to ensure appropriate measures are implemented to prevent this kind of failure, if confirmed, from happening again."
The ACT government has previously tried to stop staff from blowing the whistle on alleged human rights abuses inside the facility.
Bosses at the Community Services Directorate recently wrote to staff, warning them that talking to media risked "reputational damage" to the facility.
However last week the minister announced the allegations would be probed by both the police and the human rights watchdog.
