The Victorian Government will expand the number of beds in its prison network after its bail crackdown led to far more people being held on remand.
The Victorian state budget included more than $700 million for the opening of the new Western Plains Correctional Centre and more beds in adult and youth prisons, along with the recruitment of extra prison officers.
The Victorian Government passed laws in March making it far harder for many to access bail, and leading to more people being held on remand around the state already.
According to government data, there was a 20 percent increase in the number of people on remand in April compared to last year, and a 70 percent increase in young people held on remand.
To cope with the far more people on remand, the Victorian Government has announced there will be nearly 1000 additional adult beds, the majority of which will be at the soon-to-open Western Plains facility. This will be offset by the closure of Port Phillip Prison at the end of this year, which can hold more than 1000 people.
The Western Plains prison was set to open with about 600 beds but will now be able to hold about 950 people.
The state government will also fund the expansions of the Cherry Creek and Parkville youth detention facilities to hold an additional 88 people.
To staff these expanded prisons, the Victorian Government said it had hired more prison officers and youth justice officers in the last year, and will look to recruit more than 700 extra officers.
The Victorian Government also announced plans to introduce tougher sentences for people in prison found guilty of assaulting or injuring a prison officer.
A Tasmanian coroner has ruled there is insufficient evidence to justify a coronial investigation and public inquest into the death of Marjorie Harwood, a trans woman who died in hospital in 2017 after refusing dialysis for chronic kidney disease.
Ms Harwood served time in Tasmania’s Risdon Prison seven times and was placed in the male section of the prison repeatedly, despite her gender identity being known. Ms Harwood was facing another prison sentence at the time of her death.
Rosemary Harwood, Ms Harwood’s mother, has been advocating for a public investigation and inquest into the death of her daughter. The application for a public inquest was made on the basis that Ms Harwood had previously experienced incidents of violence, including sexual violence, while in custody and that her fear of returning to Risdon Prison was the key factor in her refusing dialysis.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart found that there was insufficient evidence that any incident of violence took place, despite notes from Ambulance Tasmania indicating paramedics attended to Ms Harwood in October 2017 and that she had disclosed recent sexual trauma.
Coroner McTaggart stated that she found it “inconceivable” that an incident as serious as what had been alleged would not have been reported by a prisoner or that the matter would not have been the subject of incident reports or health notifications.
In response to this decision, community advocates have highlighted the difficulties experienced by trans prisoners, noting that prisoners from minority populations or groups who experience discrimination are more likely to be subject to violations of their safety or rights and are often reluctant to report incidents for fear of further discrimination or maltreatment.
The Department of Justice has previously acknowledged a failure to comply with its own policy regarding transgender prisoners in their decision to place Ms Harwood in the male prison multiple times, despite knowledge of her gender identity and her vulnerability in custody.
A newly developed section of Port Augusta Prison, the Blue Bush Unit, was delayed from opening after a design flaw was discovered that triggered security concerns. The issue involved a window barrier between the officers’ station and inmate area, which had gaps wide enough for people to potentially squeeze through. The Department for Correctional Services (DCS) initially did not see the issue as an ‘imminent risk’ or concern, but the Public Service Association (PSA) challenged that position in a case with the South Australian Employment Tribunal. Following this, DCS agreed not to open the unit until the problem was resolved. The necessary adjustments were completed, and the unit reopened on 28 March 2025. Correctional Services Minister Emily Bourke said on ABC Radio that the issue was resolved quickly, likening it to common construction challenges.
Mount Gambier Prison in South Australia experienced a major raw sewage flooding incident in April this year. Mount Gambier Prison is privately managed and operated by G4S Custodial Services. According to a G4S spokesman, it was an isolated incident. The flooding was reportedly caused by a blanket being stuffed down a drain, resulting in major blockage. The affected area was contained and cleaned, with carpets, furniture and library books removed and discarded due
to contamination.
The NSW Government is reviewing a longstanding legal presumption that children between 10 and 14 are not capable of forming the necessary criminal intent, known as doli incapax.
The NSW Attorney-General announced on May 8 that State Parole Authority Chair and former Supreme Court judge Geoffrey Bellew SC and former NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Loy will lead the review.
They will consider how doli incapax is applied in criminal proceedings, its impacts on intervention options and frameworks for legislation.
Doli incapax was clarified by the High Court in 2016 in a ruling that advised that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understands their actions were “seriously wrong”. After this ruling, convictions for children aged 10 to 13 fell dramatically.
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found children with a proven outcome (either guilty or not guilty) reduced from 76 per cent in 2015-16 to 16 per cent
in 2022-23.
Kalkadoon and South Sea Islander woman and Senior Research Fellow in the field of youth justice Peta MacGillivray said, “What needs urgent examination, rather than reviewing the law of doli incapax, is why police are persisting in charging despite clarification of the law nearly 10 years ago.”
“Scrutiny needs to be on police practice,” she said.
The Victorian Government will expand the number of beds in its prison network after its bail crackdown led to far more people being held on remand.
The Victorian state budget included more than $700 million for the opening of the new Western Plains Correctional Centre and more beds in adult and youth prisons, along with the recruitment of extra prison officers.
The Victorian Government passed laws in March making it far harder for many to access bail, and leading to more people being held on remand around the state already.
According to government data, there was a 20 percent increase in the number of people on remand in April compared to last year, and a 70 percent increase in young people held on remand.
To cope with the far more people on remand, the Victorian Government has announced there will be nearly 1000 additional adult beds, the majority of which will be at the soon-to-open Western Plains facility. This will be offset by the closure of Port Phillip Prison at the end of this year, which can hold more than 1000 people.
The Western Plains prison was set to open with about 600 beds but will now be able to hold about 950 people.
The state government will also fund the expansions of the Cherry Creek and Parkville youth detention facilities to hold an additional 88 people.
To staff these expanded prisons, the Victorian Government said it had hired more prison officers and youth justice officers in the last year, and will look to recruit more than 700 extra officers.
The Victorian Government also announced plans to introduce tougher sentences for people in prison found guilty of assaulting or injuring a prison officer.
A Tasmanian coroner has ruled there is insufficient evidence to justify a coronial investigation and public inquest into the death of Marjorie Harwood, a trans woman who died in hospital in 2017 after refusing dialysis for chronic kidney disease.
Ms Harwood served time in Tasmania’s Risdon Prison seven times and was placed in the male section of the prison repeatedly, despite her gender identity being known. Ms Harwood was facing another prison sentence at the time of her death.
Rosemary Harwood, Ms Harwood’s mother, has been advocating for a public investigation and inquest into the death of her daughter. The application for a public inquest was made on the basis that Ms Harwood had previously experienced incidents of violence, including sexual violence, while in custody and that her fear of returning to Risdon Prison was the key factor in her refusing dialysis.
Coroner Olivia McTaggart found that there was insufficient evidence that any incident of violence took place, despite notes from Ambulance Tasmania indicating paramedics attended to Ms Harwood in October 2017 and that she had disclosed recent sexual trauma.
Coroner McTaggart stated that she found it “inconceivable” that an incident as serious as what had been alleged would not have been reported by a prisoner or that the matter would not have been the subject of incident reports or health notifications.
In response to this decision, community advocates have highlighted the difficulties experienced by trans prisoners, noting that prisoners from minority populations or groups who experience discrimination are more likely to be subject to violations of their safety or rights and are often reluctant to report incidents for fear of further discrimination or maltreatment.
The Department of Justice has previously acknowledged a failure to comply with its own policy regarding transgender prisoners in their decision to place Ms Harwood in the male prison multiple times, despite knowledge of her gender identity and her vulnerability in custody.
A newly developed section of Port Augusta Prison, the Blue Bush Unit, was delayed from opening after a design flaw was discovered that triggered security concerns. The issue involved a window barrier between the officers’ station and inmate area, which had gaps wide enough for people to potentially squeeze through. The Department for Correctional Services (DCS) initially did not see the issue as an ‘imminent risk’ or concern, but the Public Service Association (PSA) challenged that position in a case with the South Australian Employment Tribunal. Following this, DCS agreed not to open the unit until the problem was resolved. The necessary adjustments were completed, and the unit reopened on 28 March 2025. Correctional Services Minister Emily Bourke said on ABC Radio that the issue was resolved quickly, likening it to common construction challenges.
Mount Gambier Prison in South Australia experienced a major raw sewage flooding incident in April this year. Mount Gambier Prison is privately managed and operated by G4S Custodial Services. According to a G4S spokesman, it was an isolated incident. The flooding was reportedly caused by a blanket being stuffed down a drain, resulting in major blockage. The affected area was contained and cleaned, with carpets, furniture and library books removed and discarded due
to contamination.
The NSW Government is reviewing a longstanding legal presumption that children between 10 and 14 are not capable of forming the necessary criminal intent, known as doli incapax.
The NSW Attorney-General announced on May 8 that State Parole Authority Chair and former Supreme Court judge Geoffrey Bellew SC and former NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Loy will lead the review.
They will consider how doli incapax is applied in criminal proceedings, its impacts on intervention options and frameworks for legislation.
Doli incapax was clarified by the High Court in 2016 in a ruling that advised that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child understands their actions were “seriously wrong”. After this ruling, convictions for children aged 10 to 13 fell dramatically.
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found children with a proven outcome (either guilty or not guilty) reduced from 76 per cent in 2015-16 to 16 per cent
in 2022-23.
Kalkadoon and South Sea Islander woman and Senior Research Fellow in the field of youth justice Peta MacGillivray said, “What needs urgent examination, rather than reviewing the law of doli incapax, is why police are persisting in charging despite clarification of the law nearly 10 years ago.”
“Scrutiny needs to be on police practice,” she said.
The WA Government has promised to improve the level of crisis care for people with serious mental health issues in prison following a report by the state’s independent inspector.
The WA Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (OICS) review of crisis care in prisons in April found that the state’s seven crisis care units are “under significant pressure to meet demand” and that the units were outdated and “noisy, lacked stimulation, colour and natural lighting”.
In response, the WA Government said it was committed to providing the best possible crisis care in prisons and that work was underway to add new units and improve existing ones.
A new crisis care unit is being built at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre, while the existing unit at Casuarina Prison will be upgraded.
The state government has also provided a funding boost for more clinical and psychological health services staff at Hakea prison.
Work will be conducted to improve the appearance of the crisis care units and create a more therapeutic environment through better lighting, furniture and more artwork.
The Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory has handed down its first budget since its election win last year, with nearly $500 million to be spent on corrections and plans to open a prison work camp in Katherine.
The NT budget, released in mid-May, includes a $495 million spend on corrections, with $126 million to be spent in 2025-26. This includes $80 million in 2025-26 to address the increasing number of people in prison in the territory through staffing and prison expansions.
The territory government will also spend $6 million on electronic monitoring and $3.5 million in 2024-25 for Legal Aid NT.
In her budget reply speech, NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo criticised the focus on prisons, saying this would lead to a “bleak future”.
The NT prison population has increased by more than 500 since the election in August last year, and more than 1 per cent of the territory’s population is now incarcerated.
The NT Government also recently announced it was in negotiations to open a prison work camp at a Charles Darwin University research farm north of Katherine. This would involve low and open restricted people in custody completing the Sentenced to a Skill program at the facility.
The plan for these work camps was announced last year, but this is the first time that a possible location has been named.
The ACT prison inspector has called on the territory government to increase staffing at Alexander Maconochie Centre and provide those on the inside with access to the overdose-reversing drug Naloxone.
In a review into a suspected drug overdose at the prison, the ACT Inspector of Custodial Services (ICS) found that a low number of officers on duty contributed to a woman experiencing a likely drug overdose not receiving first aid for six minutes.
After first aid was eventually given, the woman regained consciousness and recovered.
The report found that a woman began experiencing a drug overdose in a remand cottage at the prison in May last year. Another woman in custody attempted to alert custodial officers via a phone call to the Master Control Room, by banging on the entrance door to the pod and trying to attract the attention of staff in a nearby building.
But the inspector found that this building was unstaffed at the time and that there were delays in the call connecting. Eventually the woman reached an operator, who called a Code Blue, with nurses soon arriving to administer first aid.
The inspector found that the response of the officers “did not demonstrate the urgency that the situation demanded and is required by relevant policy and procedure”, due in part to low staffing levels at the time in the prison.
The inspector made a number of recommendations to the territory government, including that within three months a policy framework and staffing capacity be in place and that the prison night shift be sufficiently staffed, with at least two officers in the Women’s Community Centre post.
The ICS also recommended that people in prison be provided with direct access to Naloxone, which can reverse the impact of a drug overdose, saying that this “has the potential to save lives”.
On 26 May 2025, coercive control became a criminal offence in Queensland.
Under Queensland law, coercive control is defined as a pattern of domestic violence acts that are committed by a person against a current or former partner, family member or informal carer with the intention to coerce or control them and which are likely to cause harm. This can include patterns of physical and non-physical behavior which could hurt, humiliate, isolate, frighten or threaten a person.
This means that, if a person displays a pattern of behaviour by committing more than one act of domestic violence against someone with the intention to control them and if this behaviour is likely to cause harm, that person can be criminally charged with the offence of coercive control. The maximum penalty for committing coercive control is 14 years imprisonment.
On the same day, it also became a criminal offence to use domestic and family violence to aid a respondent to a Domestic Violence Order (DVO). This means that it is illegal for anyone to commit domestic violence behaviours against a person who is an aggrieved or named person in a DVO on behalf of the respondent. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine or 3 years imprisonment.
If you are a respondent in a DVO, it is important to understand the conditions of the order, as breaching a DVO is a criminal offence in Qld and multiple breaches may amount to the new offence of coercive control.
Prisoners’ Legal Service, Queensland does not assist with DVOs or criminal law. If you require legal advice about a DVO or criminal charges, you can contact Legal Aid for free on the Arunta Telephone System by dialling *#04.
The WA Government has promised to improve the level of crisis care for people with serious mental health issues in prison following a report by the state’s independent inspector.
The WA Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (OICS) review of crisis care in prisons in April found that the state’s seven crisis care units are “under significant pressure to meet demand” and that the units were outdated and “noisy, lacked stimulation, colour and natural lighting”.
In response, the WA Government said it was committed to providing the best possible crisis care in prisons and that work was underway to add new units and improve existing ones.
A new crisis care unit is being built at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre, while the existing unit at Casuarina Prison will be upgraded.
The state government has also provided a funding boost for more clinical and psychological health services staff at Hakea prison.
Work will be conducted to improve the appearance of the crisis care units and create a more therapeutic environment through better lighting, furniture and more artwork.
The Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory has handed down its first budget since its election win last year, with nearly $500 million to be spent on corrections and plans to open a prison work camp in Katherine.
The NT budget, released in mid-May, includes a $495 million spend on corrections, with $126 million to be spent in 2025-26. This includes $80 million in 2025-26 to address the increasing number of people in prison in the territory through staffing and prison expansions.
The territory government will also spend $6 million on electronic monitoring and $3.5 million in 2024-25 for Legal Aid NT.
In her budget reply speech, NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo criticised the focus on prisons, saying this would lead to a “bleak future”.
The NT prison population has increased by more than 500 since the election in August last year, and more than 1 per cent of the territory’s population is now incarcerated.
The NT Government also recently announced it was in negotiations to open a prison work camp at a Charles Darwin University research farm north of Katherine. This would involve low and open restricted people in custody completing the Sentenced to a Skill program at the facility.
The plan for these work camps was announced last year, but this is the first time that a possible location has been named.
The ACT prison inspector has called on the territory government to increase staffing at Alexander Maconochie Centre and provide those on the inside with access to the overdose-reversing drug Naloxone.
In a review into a suspected drug overdose at the prison, the ACT Inspector of Custodial Services (ICS) found that a low number of officers on duty contributed to a woman experiencing a likely drug overdose not receiving first aid for six minutes.
After first aid was eventually given, the woman regained consciousness and recovered.
The report found that a woman began experiencing a drug overdose in a remand cottage at the prison in May last year. Another woman in custody attempted to alert custodial officers via a phone call to the Master Control Room, by banging on the entrance door to the pod and trying to attract the attention of staff in a nearby building.
But the inspector found that this building was unstaffed at the time and that there were delays in the call connecting. Eventually the woman reached an operator, who called a Code Blue, with nurses soon arriving to administer first aid.
The inspector found that the response of the officers “did not demonstrate the urgency that the situation demanded and is required by relevant policy and procedure”, due in part to low staffing levels at the time in the prison.
The inspector made a number of recommendations to the territory government, including that within three months a policy framework and staffing capacity be in place and that the prison night shift be sufficiently staffed, with at least two officers in the Women’s Community Centre post.
The ICS also recommended that people in prison be provided with direct access to Naloxone, which can reverse the impact of a drug overdose, saying that this “has the potential to save lives”.
On 26 May 2025, coercive control became a criminal offence in Queensland.
Under Queensland law, coercive control is defined as a pattern of domestic violence acts that are committed by a person against a current or former partner, family member or informal carer with the intention to coerce or control them and which are likely to cause harm. This can include patterns of physical and non-physical behavior which could hurt, humiliate, isolate, frighten or threaten a person.
This means that, if a person displays a pattern of behaviour by committing more than one act of domestic violence against someone with the intention to control them and if this behaviour is likely to cause harm, that person can be criminally charged with the offence of coercive control. The maximum penalty for committing coercive control is 14 years imprisonment.
On the same day, it also became a criminal offence to use domestic and family violence to aid a respondent to a Domestic Violence Order (DVO). This means that it is illegal for anyone to commit domestic violence behaviours against a person who is an aggrieved or named person in a DVO on behalf of the respondent. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine or 3 years imprisonment.
If you are a respondent in a DVO, it is important to understand the conditions of the order, as breaching a DVO is a criminal offence in Qld and multiple breaches may amount to the new offence of coercive control.
Prisoners’ Legal Service, Queensland does not assist with DVOs or criminal law. If you require legal advice about a DVO or criminal charges, you can contact Legal Aid for free on the Arunta Telephone System by dialling *#04.
This information was provided by Prisoners’ Legal Service, Queensland. It is information only and should not be relied on as legal advice.
Including tough bail laws being introduced in Victoria, the South Australian Government ruling out raising the age of criminal responsibility, a new parole board president appointed in Queensland and more.
The Australian Federal election is coming up. This is about voting for the Prime Minister and other federal politicians. It will be held on 3 May 2025.
“We can’t get information about how a party or candidate’s policies must impact prisoners,” Kelly told About Time. “Prison officers also will not provide us with any information as it is seen as political.”
Prison work differs across the country.
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