Eight Port Phillip Prison workers stood down over third probe into inmate’s broken bones

The state government’s move to reinvestigate a major incident involving an inmate at Port Phillip Prison last year has raised questions among prison insiders.

The Port Phillip Prison guards were last week told not to return to work until an independent investigation was complete. Picture: David Caird

Eight prison officers have been suspended while Corrections Victoria investigates an inmate injuring themselves by slipping on their own waste – despite the officers being cleared of the incident more than a year ago.

The Herald Sun understands the group of Port Phillip Prison guards were last week told not to return to work until an independent investigation into the handling of a prisoner, who suffered a broken femur and fractured hip, was completed.

It is believed the prisoner, who has highly complex needs, an intellectual disability and a long history of self harm and assaulting staff, sustained the fractures by slipping on his own waste inside the prison’s supermax Charlotte Unit on April 30 last year.

The inmate, aged in his 30s, made supervising staff aware of the injuries several days later before undergoing surgery.

An inmate suffered a broken femur and fractured hip in the incident. Picture: David Caird

G4S, the global security company contracted by the State Government to run Port Phillip Prison, at the time launched a probe into the incident, which found the eight workers did not require disciplinary action.

But more than a year after the prisoner suffered the injuries and following a second investigation conducted by Corrections Victoria in November, the Department of Justice and Community Safety has remained tight-lipped about its decision to stand down the officers amid a third, independent probe into the incident.

With the move raising questions among prison insiders, a DJCS spokeswoman refused to say why the State did not launch its probe into the inmate’s fall until seven months after G4S’ review of the incident.

They also would not be drawn on why it took a further seven months for the Commissioner of Corrections to issue to workers with a formal notice alleging they had engaged in “serious professional misconduct”.

G4S and the prison union are believed to be contesting the suspensions and misconduct allegations.

The move to stand down the officers pending the investigation has raised questions among prison insiders.

A CPSU spokesman said the exact nature of the professional misconduct claims levelled against the workers remained unclear.

“We’re a bit bemused into what the reasoning might actually be behind this renewed interest by Corrections,” he said.

A DJCS spokeswoman said the Department held strict care standards for inmates at Victoria’s private prisons, but could not comment on the prisoner’s incident.

“It’s our expectation those standards are met every day, for every prisoner,” she said.

“Victoria has issued G4S a formal Notice in relation to the management of this incident following an investigation in November 2023.”

The independent body conducting the current investigation has not been disclosed.

A G4S spokesman said G4S had thorough procedures and training in place for prisoner care.