Section 3: Prisons

Current facilities

Ararat Prison

HM Ararat Prison is located 200 km west of Melbourne. It provides accommodation for prisoners with low to medium security protection requirements, including a high proportion of sex offenders (50 per cent) and protection or special needs prisoners (50 per cent). Operated by Corrections Victoria, it has a medium security level and an operational capacity of 374 (as at 30 June 2008), with prisoners housed in one, two and three-bed accommodation. Ararat Prison was opened in 1967, replacing the century-old Ballarat Gaol. Built at an initial cost of $1.25 million, an ongoing redevelopment program has included a new external security fence, new kitchen and mess room, major industries complex, new accommodation and program areas, and a new Visit Centre.

Barwon Prison

HM Barwon Prison provides accommodation and services for mainstream, maximum security prisoners. The prison includes the high security Acacia Unit, the protection units Banksia and Hoya, and mainstream units, Cassia, Diosma and Eucalypt.A maximum security prison, it is operated by Corrections Victoria and has an operational capacity of 353 (as at 30 June 2008). Its accommodation comprises a 20-bed facility for high security prisoners, and a 60-bed facility for maximum security protection prisoners. Barwon was the first new prison in Victoria to be designed specifically for 'unit management'. Construction of the prison commenced in 1986. It was completed in October 1989 and the first prisoners were received in January 1990. Barwon Prison is the only maximum security prison located outside the metropolitan area. It is situated 6 km from the township of Lara and 70 kilometres south-west of Melbourne.

Beechworth Correctional Centre

Beechworth Correctional Centre focuses on reparation and pre-release activities - helping prisoners reintegrate into the community when they are released. The prison design complements its rural setting and its environment reflects life in the general community as much as possible, offering prisoners similar structures, choices and responsibilities to those they will encounter in the outside world. It is a minimum security prison, operated by Corrections Victoria, with an operational capacity of 120. Prisoenrs are housed in:15 eight-person units, named after local townships in north-east Victoria - seven units have separate rooms with communal living and kitchenette facilities and eight are self-catering; one management cell & one observation cell.
The Beechworth Correctional Centre was commissioned in January 2005, after the historic 144-year-old Beechworth Prison closed in December 2004. The Beechworth Correctional Centre is located 5km south of the Beechworth township (Beechworth is 270 kilometres north-east of Melbourne). Beechworth is further from Melbourne than any of Victoria's prisons.

Dame Phyllis Frost Centre

The Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC) provides maximum security, medium security and specialist accommodation for remanded and sentenced women prisoners. A maximum security prison, it is operated by Corrections Victoria and has capacity for 260 prisoners, housed in: single cells with ensuite facilities; self-contained units; and two special cell blocks housing 20 prisoners each designed for protection prisoners and prisoners with a history of poor behaviour. Medium security units house ten prisoners in separate rooms while minimum security units house only five prisoners. Each unit has individual kitchen and dining facilities and prisoners are required to cook and prepare their own meals and do their own washing, ironing and housework. Groups of prisoners share activity areas, and a quiet area for reading and writing.

Under the 2005-09 strategy, Better Pathways: An Integrated Response to Women's Offending and Re-offending, the Medical Centre, Visitors' Centre, Education facility and Prison Industries facility are being extended and modified. There will be new buildings for intensive support, programs and staff amenities.The prison facility, originally known as the Deer Park Metropolitan Women's Correctional Centre (MWCC), opened on 15 August 1996 and received its first prisoners that same month. It was the first privately designed, financed, built and operated prison in Victoria.
On 3 October 2000, the government took control of the facility and appointed an administrator under section 8F of the Corrections Act, and section 27B of the prison contract to operate the prison. On 2 November 2000, the Minister for Corrections announced the transfer of ownership and management of MWCC to the public sector.
It is now being managed and operated by Corrections Victoria and is called the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, after the well-known campaigner for women prisoners. In the 1950s, Dame Phyllis persuaded the State Government of the day to set up a Consultative Council for Female Prison Reform, and she worked tirelessly with governments, prison administrators and non-government agencies for improved conditions, rehabilitation and education for women in prisons until her death in 2004.

Dhurringile Prison

HM Dhurringile Prison is a minimum security pre-release prison operated by Corrections Victoria, where prisoners undertake both on-site employment and meaningful community reparation via community assistance programs. It houses 160 prisoners in: 10 six-person units;18 self-contained units; three six-person self-catering units; and one 52-bed Relocatable Cellular Unit. Dhurringile Prison was originally the 68-room homestead for a large farm and was completed in 1877. During the war it was used as an internment camp for 'alien civilians' and later for prisoners of war. After the war the Presbyterian Church used it as a training camp for English and Scottish orphans, until the Victorian Government purchased it in 1965 to use as a minimum security prison. Over the years the grounds have been reduced to just over 100 hectares (one square mile). The prison is 160km north of Melbourne.

Fulham Correctional Centre

Fulham Correctional Centre accommodates predominantly mainstream prisoners and includes a drug and alcohol treatment unit and a protection unit. It is operated by the GEO Group Australia Pty Ltd (previously Australasian Correctional Management), and has an operational capacity of 845 medium/minimum security prisoners. The accommodation comprises: four, 78-bed, two storey buildings divided into two blocks containing 39 cells; medium-security lodges with 17 bedrooms, communal kitchen and dining room, lounge and laundry; Nalu, a 68-bed rehabilitation unit for young adult offenders aged 18 to 25; and minimum-security self-contained units for 100 prisoners. Each self-contained unit has four single bedrooms, a bathroom, laundry, lounge, kitchen and dining room. Prisoners prepare and cook their own meals and manage their own household budget. Fulham Correctional Centre was opened on 20 March 1997, with the first prisoners transferred on 7 April 1997. It was Victoria's second private prison, and first privately operated men's prison. Nalu was opened in September 2003.

Langi Kal Kal Prison

HM Prison Langi Kal Kal houses up to 120 minimum security prisoners with low-to-medium protection requirements. It is a large working farm operated by Corrections Victoria, and is a minimum security pathway for protection prisoners from Ararat Prison. It comprises two accommodation units, Rippon and Lexton, divided into two sections. Most units provide shared accommodation, but there also are some single rooms. Langi Kal Kal Prison is 140 kilometres west of Melbourne on the Western Highway at Trawalla. Originally a 70,000 acre farming property in 1838, a substantial farmhouse was built in approximately 1900. After World War Two the land was subdivided and the central area, including the farmhouse, was set aside for prison purposes. The first prisoners arrived in September 1950, and the prison was officially opened in February 1951. In 1965 the prison became a Youth Training Centre, but again became an adult prison in June 1993.

Loddon Prison

Operated by Corrections Victoria, HM Loddon Prison is a mainstream medium-security prison focusing on release preparation and drug rehabilitation. It also offers placement and support for HIV positive prisoners and release preparation for intellectually disabled prisoners. It has an operational capacity of 390, housed in: four-bedroom, self-contained units with a fully-equipped kitchen, laundry, communal bathroom and living room; three two-storey single cell blocks divided into units of 34 or 36 cells, each with a toilet, shower, hand basin, bed, desk, chair, shelving, bed light, notice board, mirror, floor carpet, window, curtains, television, heating and intercom.

HM Prison Loddon was the second Victorian prison designed specifically for unit management (Barwon was the first). Construction began in February 1988 and cost $29 million. The first prisoners arrived in August 1990 after Castlemaine Gaol closed. Loddon Prison is located 4km from Castlemaine, 128km north-west of Melbourne.

Marngoneet Correctional Centre

The Marngoneet Correctional Centre is a 300 bed, medium security facility, providing intensive treatment and offender management programs for males who are at moderate to high risk of reoffending, and who have a minimum of six months of their sentence left to serve when they arrive there. Marngoneet offers a range of programs, including: clinical programs, such as sex offender treatment, drug and alcohol treatment, and violent offender treatment programs, which seek to address the underlying issues associated with offending; and vocational programs to increase employability on release.
Marngoneet's design and processes balance security and therapy. Commissioned as part of Corrections' Long Term Management Strategy, it incorporates a range of technologically advanced security measures, but aims to create normal living conditions, minimise institutionalisation, and promote personal and social responsibility, safety and security, learning and behavioural change. The project was designed and delivered under a Partnerships Victoria project. The department's Major Project Delivery Services team administers the partnership with the private sector partner(s) responsible for construction and maintenance of the accommodation, security systems, buildings and grounds.It is operated by Corrections Victoria.

Marngoneet Correctional Centre comprises three neighbourhoods. Each neighbourhood includes: 40 bed main unit with cell style accommodation with meals supplied; two six-cell flat-style accommodation with shared facilities and self-catering; and six six-room flat-style accommodation with shared facilities and self-catering. Officially opened on 3 March 2006, the centre is located near Lara, approximately 70 kilometres west of Melbourne. The name 'Marngoneet' is taken from the local Wathaurong community language and means 'to make new'. The development of the facility was supported by the local Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative.

Melbourne Assessment Prison

HM Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP) is a maximum security, 277 bed facility that provides statewide assessment and orientation services for all male prisoners received into the prison system. It is operated by Corrections Victoria. It consists of units with different roles or functions such as protection or workforce, and a 15-bed  secondary psychiatric facility, the Acute Assessment Unit, catering for all of the state's male prisoners. Where possible, prisoners with similar status, such as remand or sentenced, are accommodated together.
Planning for the Melbourne Assessment Prison began in 1974, with construction in December 1983. It was completed in 1989 and cost $80 million. The prison was officially opened on 6 April 1989, and received its first prisoners on 29 May 1989. Previously the Melbourne Remand Centre, the prison was originally built to accommodate remand prisoners. In 1997 the prison became the reception prison for all male prisoners in Victoria.

Metropolitan Remand Centre

Metropolitan Remand Centre is Victoria's major remand facility, operated by Corrections Victoria. It is a 600-bed, purpose built, maximum security facility for un-sentenced male prisoners. The facility makes it possible to separate sentenced and un-sentenced prisoners, so far as practicable. This aligns with the United Nations and international standards for the treatment of prisoners who have not yet been found guilty by the courts.

The Remand Centre is at Ravenhall, approximately 20 kilometres west of the Melbourne CBD. Its focus is on providing an appropriate balance between the needs for: a safe and secure environment for everyone who lives in, works at or visits the centre; and the particular status and requirements of unsentenced prisoners. These needs include maintaining family ties, access to legal resources, and opportunities for meaningful activity in a safe, secure and humane environment.

The centre is designed on campus-style lines. Accommodation is almost entirely single cells, in variable-sized units, including: four 75-bed general accommodation units; one 100-bed Protection Unit; 200 beds in varied units allocated for special needs such as, vulnerable prisoners, young adult prisoners; and one 13-bed Management Unit. Each accommodation unit has program/resource facilities, interview rooms and satellite clinics, and each area has its own recreational area, including a walking track and basketball courts.
This is one of three new prison facilities built as part of the redevelopment of Victoria's corrections system under the Corrections Long Term Management Strategy. The Remand Centre officially opened in April 2006. The project was designed and delivered under a Partnerships Victoria project. The Department's Major Project Delivery Services team administers the partnership with the private sector partner(s) responsible for construction and maintenance of the accommodation, security systems, buildings and grounds.

Port Phillip Prison

The facility provides remand, sentenced, mainstream, protection and specialist accommodation for up to 710 high, maximum and medium security prisoners, and is operated by GSL Custodial Services Pty Ltd (previously Group 4 Corrections Services). It comprises: 13 accommodation units each with a kitchen-servery, tea room, laundry, day room, recreation area and outside courtyard. Cells within the units have a shower, hand basin, toilet, desk, chair, television, kettle, storage shelves, intercom and bed; and a 20-bed inpatient hospital unit. Port Phillip Prison was the third privately operated prison to open in Victoria. It received its first prisoners on 10 September 1997.

Tarrengower Prison

HM Prison Tarrengower, operated by Corrections Victoria, is a minimum security women's prison with an emphasis on release preparation and community integration. It can house 54 women in ten self-contained units providing single room accommodation, with shared kitchen and living areas in each unit. Originally a farm, the prison was opened in January 1988 after the property was purchased and accommodation units were built. Tarrengower is the only minimum security female prison in Victoria. It is situated 136km north of Melbourne, 2.5km from the Maldon township.

Closed Facilities

Beechworth Prison

Built in 1860, the Beechworth Prison closed in 2004, when the new Beechworth Correctional Centre opened nearby.

Bendigo Prison

Refurbished in 1994, the 19th century, 85-bed medium security prison latterly provided accommodation for prisoners assessed as suitable for treatment in the area of substance abuse and addictive/compulsive behaviours. It closed in 2006.

Castlemaine Gaol

The gaol was built in 1861 after the Pentonville design, evident in various locations across Victoria as part of the new prison reforms of the mid-nineteenth century. The Gaol continued to operate until 1909 in service to the Goldfields before the decline of gold in the district led to a decline in the population, which - combined with the improving court systems in Melbourne - meant there were not enough prisoners to keep the Gaol operational. Shortly afterward the Gaol ceased to be a regular prison and became a Reformatory Prison for boys aged between 17 and 21 years of age, and continued to operate until the opening of Langi Kal Kal prison in 1951. The Gaol also ran as a minimum and medium security prison between 1954 and 1990, with minimum upgrades, before it was finally replaced by the new Loddon Regional Prison in August 1990. Since it was decommissioned it has re-opened as an historical tourist and visitor centre, offering accommodation and conference facilities.
(Source: http://www.oldcastlemainegaol.com.au)

Cooriemungle Prison

Cooriemungle Prison Camp opened in 1940 at Port Campbell in western Victoria. The camp was established to provide land clearing and farming activities undertaken by minimum security prisoners for the benefit of the community. It closed in 1977.

Fairlea Women's Prison

Opened in 1956, in Fairfield; closed 1996.

McLeod Prison Farm

From 1915 until 1975, when it was closed, McLeod Prison and the associated farm on French Island, in Western Port Bay, housed over 100 inmates serving the last periods of their sentences; it was noted for its golf course, and its basketball and tennis courts. It was also the first Australian prison to introduce television in the 1950s. 

Morwell River Prison

Closed in 1997, near Yarram in Gippsland.

Pentridge Prison

Closed in 1997 in Coburg, Melbourne.

Sale

Closed in 1997 in Sale, Gippsland.