Seven children being held at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre escaped and stole a car from the prison parking lot before later being found.
The children, aged 14 to 17, escaped the youth prison and drove away in a stolen car. Three staff members at the centre were injured during the escape, authorities said.
All seven of the children are now back in custody.
The decision to “secretly” transfer children from a youth detention centre to an adult prison is a “serious breach of human rights and Australia’s obligations to children”, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) has said.
On Christmas Eve, the TAC said that a number of First Nations children held at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre were expected to be imminently moved to an adult facility.
The centre said that some of these children were unsentenced and that this was a “serious breach of the presumption of innocence and basic legal protections that apply to all children deprived of their liberty.”
TAC CEO Rebecca Digney said that the decision to transfer the youths was made without telling them or their families.
“These young people have the right to know what the state plans to do to them,” Digney said.
“By failing to tell them or their families, the state has effectively denied these young people the chance to seek legal advice or advocacy at the very moment they need it most.”
A 96-hour strike by prison officers led to most prisons in South Australia being placed in extended lockdowns in mid-December.
The strikes are over an ongoing pay dispute, with the Public Service Association pushing for a 20 per cent pay rise over 18 months, something which has been rejected by the state government.
Sheriff’s officers, court officers and home detention officers have also joined the strike, along with prison officers from seven of the state’s public prisons.
The union voted to end the strike after it had run for 96 hours.
Investigations have been launched into two security incidents in South Australian prisons in recent weeks.
In late December a drone was spotted flying into Yatala Labour Prison, allegedly trying to smuggle a phone to an inmate through their cell window. According to authorities, a remote-controlled drone flew over the prison three times.
Another security breach is also being looked into, with an unauthorised person gaining entry to high-security areas of Yatala and the state’s women’s prison, allegedly by using a forged access pass.
The identification card was confiscated and suspended at the gatehouse of the Yatala prison.
An incarcerated person in a New South Wales prison who came to prominence for posting cooking videos on TikTok has been charged for having a contraband phone and was set to face court in late January.
The “prison chef” began posting on TikTok in late December and gained nearly 400,000 viewers in just 2 weeks.
The videos involved him making “simple and easy” recipes from a prison cell.
On Christmas Eve the man was arrested by police and days later was charged with use or possession of a mobile phone in place of detention.
A former prison finance officer has been found guilty of stealing $315,000 from family members trying to pay for their loved ones’ bail or provide them with money for buy-up.
The man charged was employed by Corrective Services NSW as Sole Finance Officer of Public Funds at the Silverwater prison from January 2012 to August 2014.
The court found that he had abused this position and stolen or misappropriated more than $300,000.
This was done 63 times when he took cash from envelopes deposited by friends and family of incarcerated people before it was taken to the bank.
The man was sentenced to a 3-year intensive correction order for more than 100 larceny and fraud offences.
Western Australia’s largest prison will become even bigger under a $180 million expansion that will see 320 new beds available.
The two-unit expansion will mean that Acacia Prison, which is privately run by Serco, will be able to hold 1,920 people.
The Western Australian Government has opened expressions of interest for companies to manage this expansion.
The Western Australian Department of Justice is struggling to manage a strained prison system and is lacking strategic leadership, a review by the Public Sector Commission has found.
Poorly run processes are “distracting the agency’s leadership from more strategic matters”, the review found, and addressing overcrowding in the state’s prisons will need “strategic leadership and coordinated reform”, according to the report.
“Bottlenecks in prison-based treatment and assessment programs and a lack of transitional housing are inhibiting eligible prisoners from meeting parole requirements, contributing to a growing prison population and overcrowding,” the review said.
“The agency is largely reactive in managing these pressures, which has created a cycle of short-term responses that do not address the root causes of systemic stress.”
Seven children being held at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre escaped and stole a car from the prison parking lot before later being found.
The children, aged 14 to 17, escaped the youth prison and drove away in a stolen car. Three staff members at the centre were injured during the escape, authorities said.
All seven of the children are now back in custody.
The decision to “secretly” transfer children from a youth detention centre to an adult prison is a “serious breach of human rights and Australia’s obligations to children”, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) has said.
On Christmas Eve, the TAC said that a number of First Nations children held at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre were expected to be imminently moved to an adult facility.
The centre said that some of these children were unsentenced and that this was a “serious breach of the presumption of innocence and basic legal protections that apply to all children deprived of their liberty.”
TAC CEO Rebecca Digney said that the decision to transfer the youths was made without telling them or their families.
“These young people have the right to know what the state plans to do to them,” Digney said.
“By failing to tell them or their families, the state has effectively denied these young people the chance to seek legal advice or advocacy at the very moment they need it most.”
A 96-hour strike by prison officers led to most prisons in South Australia being placed in extended lockdowns in mid-December.
The strikes are over an ongoing pay dispute, with the Public Service Association pushing for a 20 per cent pay rise over 18 months, something which has been rejected by the state government.
Sheriff’s officers, court officers and home detention officers have also joined the strike, along with prison officers from seven of the state’s public prisons.
The union voted to end the strike after it had run for 96 hours.
Investigations have been launched into two security incidents in South Australian prisons in recent weeks.
In late December a drone was spotted flying into Yatala Labour Prison, allegedly trying to smuggle a phone to an inmate through their cell window. According to authorities, a remote-controlled drone flew over the prison three times.
Another security breach is also being looked into, with an unauthorised person gaining entry to high-security areas of Yatala and the state’s women’s prison, allegedly by using a forged access pass.
The identification card was confiscated and suspended at the gatehouse of the Yatala prison.
An incarcerated person in a New South Wales prison who came to prominence for posting cooking videos on TikTok has been charged for having a contraband phone and was set to face court in late January.
The “prison chef” began posting on TikTok in late December and gained nearly 400,000 viewers in just 2 weeks.
The videos involved him making “simple and easy” recipes from a prison cell.
On Christmas Eve the man was arrested by police and days later was charged with use or possession of a mobile phone in place of detention.
A former prison finance officer has been found guilty of stealing $315,000 from family members trying to pay for their loved ones’ bail or provide them with money for buy-up.
The man charged was employed by Corrective Services NSW as Sole Finance Officer of Public Funds at the Silverwater prison from January 2012 to August 2014.
The court found that he had abused this position and stolen or misappropriated more than $300,000.
This was done 63 times when he took cash from envelopes deposited by friends and family of incarcerated people before it was taken to the bank.
The man was sentenced to a 3-year intensive correction order for more than 100 larceny and fraud offences.
Western Australia’s largest prison will become even bigger under a $180 million expansion that will see 320 new beds available.
The two-unit expansion will mean that Acacia Prison, which is privately run by Serco, will be able to hold 1,920 people.
The Western Australian Government has opened expressions of interest for companies to manage this expansion.
The Western Australian Department of Justice is struggling to manage a strained prison system and is lacking strategic leadership, a review by the Public Sector Commission has found.
Poorly run processes are “distracting the agency’s leadership from more strategic matters”, the review found, and addressing overcrowding in the state’s prisons will need “strategic leadership and coordinated reform”, according to the report.
“Bottlenecks in prison-based treatment and assessment programs and a lack of transitional housing are inhibiting eligible prisoners from meeting parole requirements, contributing to a growing prison population and overcrowding,” the review said.
“The agency is largely reactive in managing these pressures, which has created a cycle of short-term responses that do not address the root causes of systemic stress.”
An NT Coroner has called for spit hoods to be banned in prisons in the territory after finding that the device had been placed on a “dying and vulnerable man” in late 2023.
As part of a coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal man in custody at Alice Springs hospital, the Coroner said that spit hoods are not effective in protecting against transmissible diseases, and should be outlawed in the territory.
The inquest found that the man, who was experiencing homelessness and had an alcohol use disorder and cognitive impairment, had a spit hood placed on him in hospital after spitting at guards on two occasions.
The coroner found that while there was no indication the spit hood contributed to the man’s death, it still would have been distressing for the man.
Spit hoods are already banned in South Australian and Tasmanian prisons, and banned by police in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.
In 2023, the Australian Federal Police and ACT Police banned the use of spithoods, with the NT Coroner finding that an internal review concluded they were “ineffective in protecting against transmissible disease”.
A High Court challenge has been launched against the Northern Territory government’s crackdown on bail.
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency is arguing that the bail crackdown is “unconstitutional” and is punishing people before they are able to receive a fair trial.
The bail laws were passed in May, with the territory government using extraordinary powers to ensure their passage in a single day.
Under the reforms, a judge can only grant someone bail if they have a “high degree of confidence” they will not commit a serious offence or endanger the safety of the community.
There is also now a presumption against bail for some serious offences, with the onus reversed onto defendants.
According to the legal challenge, this has set an “impossibly high threshold” for bail.
There are now about 2790 people in prison in the NT, and more than 40% of these people are being held on remand after being denied bail.
A new private provider has been selected to transport people in prison and handle court operations.
After a competitive tender process, the Victorian government will end its contracts with UK conglomerate G4S in March.
The state government has inked a deal with Wilson and Serco to provide security screenings and operations in Victorian courts, work that G4S has previously done for more than a decade.
The G4S contract for court services ran from October 2017 to the end of 2025 and was worth $181 million.
The company’s contract to provide prison transportation was worth $182 million and ran from May 2015 to September 2024.
Trauma counselling services are now available at Marngoneet Correctional Centre and Western Plains Correctional Centre, the first time that such programs will be available in men’s prisons.
The Victorian Government has signed a deal with private provider Caraniche to run these programs for the next 2 and a half years.
The programs will provide tailored support to help people in prison understand the impact of trauma, develop healthier coping strategies and assist with rehabilitation. It will include individual counselling and group sessions.
It will initially operate at Western Plains prison and the Ripley Youth Unit at Marngoneet, beginning in early 2026.
Caraniche provides forensic alcohol and other drug treatment programs around the country.
Two men have been charged over the alleged prison murder of a fellow inmate in late November.
A 28-year-old man was found unresponsive at Maryborough Correctional Centre in late November, with injuries allegedly sustained from an altercation with two other people incarcerated at the prison.
The man was transported to Hervey Bay Hospital but died from his injuries on 1 December.
A 29-year-old man and a 31-year-old-man have now been charged with murder, and faced Brisbane Magistrates Court in early January.
The Supreme Court of Queensland has introduced a new Bail List in an effort to improve efficiency.
From late January, the court now hears bail matters on this separate list, managed by a dedicated Bail List Judge and with a Bail List Manager as the administrator.
Before being allocated a court date, applicants will need to file supporting documents and are required to send the necessary forms, affidavits, argument outline and an estimated hearing length.
Once these documents are received the matter will be listed for a mandatory Review Hearing.
At this hearing, the judge will either grant or deny the bail application on the spot, ask for more information or list the matter for a traditional bail hearing at a later date.
An NT Coroner has called for spit hoods to be banned in prisons in the territory after finding that the device had been placed on a “dying and vulnerable man” in late 2023.
As part of a coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal man in custody at Alice Springs hospital, the Coroner said that spit hoods are not effective in protecting against transmissible diseases, and should be outlawed in the territory.
The inquest found that the man, who was experiencing homelessness and had an alcohol use disorder and cognitive impairment, had a spit hood placed on him in hospital after spitting at guards on two occasions.
The coroner found that while there was no indication the spit hood contributed to the man’s death, it still would have been distressing for the man.
Spit hoods are already banned in South Australian and Tasmanian prisons, and banned by police in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.
In 2023, the Australian Federal Police and ACT Police banned the use of spithoods, with the NT Coroner finding that an internal review concluded they were “ineffective in protecting against transmissible disease”.
A High Court challenge has been launched against the Northern Territory government’s crackdown on bail.
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency is arguing that the bail crackdown is “unconstitutional” and is punishing people before they are able to receive a fair trial.
The bail laws were passed in May, with the territory government using extraordinary powers to ensure their passage in a single day.
Under the reforms, a judge can only grant someone bail if they have a “high degree of confidence” they will not commit a serious offence or endanger the safety of the community.
There is also now a presumption against bail for some serious offences, with the onus reversed onto defendants.
According to the legal challenge, this has set an “impossibly high threshold” for bail.
There are now about 2790 people in prison in the NT, and more than 40% of these people are being held on remand after being denied bail.
A new private provider has been selected to transport people in prison and handle court operations.
After a competitive tender process, the Victorian government will end its contracts with UK conglomerate G4S in March.
The state government has inked a deal with Wilson and Serco to provide security screenings and operations in Victorian courts, work that G4S has previously done for more than a decade.
The G4S contract for court services ran from October 2017 to the end of 2025 and was worth $181 million.
The company’s contract to provide prison transportation was worth $182 million and ran from May 2015 to September 2024.
Trauma counselling services are now available at Marngoneet Correctional Centre and Western Plains Correctional Centre, the first time that such programs will be available in men’s prisons.
The Victorian Government has signed a deal with private provider Caraniche to run these programs for the next 2 and a half years.
The programs will provide tailored support to help people in prison understand the impact of trauma, develop healthier coping strategies and assist with rehabilitation. It will include individual counselling and group sessions.
It will initially operate at Western Plains prison and the Ripley Youth Unit at Marngoneet, beginning in early 2026.
Caraniche provides forensic alcohol and other drug treatment programs around the country.
Two men have been charged over the alleged prison murder of a fellow inmate in late November.
A 28-year-old man was found unresponsive at Maryborough Correctional Centre in late November, with injuries allegedly sustained from an altercation with two other people incarcerated at the prison.
The man was transported to Hervey Bay Hospital but died from his injuries on 1 December.
A 29-year-old man and a 31-year-old-man have now been charged with murder, and faced Brisbane Magistrates Court in early January.
The Supreme Court of Queensland has introduced a new Bail List in an effort to improve efficiency.
From late January, the court now hears bail matters on this separate list, managed by a dedicated Bail List Judge and with a Bail List Manager as the administrator.
Before being allocated a court date, applicants will need to file supporting documents and are required to send the necessary forms, affidavits, argument outline and an estimated hearing length.
Once these documents are received the matter will be listed for a mandatory Review Hearing.
At this hearing, the judge will either grant or deny the bail application on the spot, ask for more information or list the matter for a traditional bail hearing at a later date.
This information was supplied by Prisoner Legal Service Queensland. This is information and not legal advice.
Should going to prison mean never being allowed to hug your partner or child? Is denying physical contact a just punishment, or does it harm families and human dignity? And what do human rights have to say about it?
While for the most part calls to mobiles are becoming cheaper, we clearly still have a long way to go.
A number of Victorian prisons may have to be renovated or rebuilt after the Supreme Court found that no “open air” was being provided to inmates in multiple units.
Currently, people in prison serving a sentence of fewer than three years in the state can vote in state and local government elections, as well as federal elections. This plan would restrict voting rights to only those serving a sentence of one year or less for state elections.
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