Huge prison package set to fund an estimated 720 new jobs across youth and adult prisons

Jacinta Allan will unveil a $700 million boost to the state’s corrections system in next week’s state budget, funding hundreds of new children and adult prison beds and extra guards.

Almost 100 new beds will be opened in children’s prisons and 300 fast-tracked for adult jails as part of a $700m expansion of the state’s corrections system prompted by the Allan government’s tough new bail laws.

The Herald Sun can reveal the huge prison package – to be detailed in next week’s state budget – will also fund an estimated 720 new jobs across youth and adult prisons.

And new laws to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday will force judges to impose tougher sentences for attacks on prison guards.

It comes after the government in March passed new laws as part of a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s bail system.

New beds will be opened in Victorian jails. Picture: Alison Wynd

Tougher new bail tests were brought in for those charged with home invasions and other serious crimes, and made it easier to lock up adults and children charged with repeat offending.

Prison sources have for months been warning the crackdown would bring the corrections system to its knees, with fears it could not cope with the expected influx of inmates.

Latest data provided exclusively to the Herald Sun shows there has been an incredible 71 per cent increase since this time last year in the number of young alleged offenders held on remand, and a 22 per cent rise in the adult remand population.

To deal with the flood of ­inmates, next week’s budget will commit $727m to boost the state’s overall capacity, ­including the numbers of beds and prison guards.

The Allan government passed new laws in March as part of a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s bail system. Picture: David Crosling

An additional 88 beds will become available at the state’s youth justice centres, Cherry Creek and Parkville – an increase of more than 35 per cent.

And almost 1000 adult prison beds will open across the system, including an estimated 950 at the new $1.1bn Western Plains Correctional Centre in Lara.

That includes the fast-tracking of about 300 beds not previously planned for – though the beds boost will ­effectively only replace those lost due to the closure of the 1087-capacity Port Phillip Prison from the middle of this year.

An $8000 sign-on bonus scheme to attract new prison guards at select prisons will now also be extended to all other adult prisons.

The new $1.1bn Western Plains Correctional Centre in Lara. Picture: Alison Wynd

Prison sources have long complained that safety concerns and resourcing issues have made it difficult to attract and retain corrections staff.

An initial $5000 sign-up bonus introduced in September 2023, which was recently increased to $8000, had been paid 179 times in its first 18 months. Another 318 payments were expected to be made by June 30.

Last week, a staggering 94.75 per cent of respondents returned a vote of no-confidence against Corrections Victoria Commissioner Larissa Strong, citing concerns about unsafe work conditions.

Latest data shows Victorian prison guards are being attacked, sexually assaulted and hospitalised by the state’s most dangerous criminals.

The official Corrections Victoria data showed 442 ­attacks had been recorded in the last 12 months, including 10 sexual assaults on staff and six attacks so serious guards were hospitalised.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the safety of the Victorian community was her primary focus.

“Our tough new bail laws mean more people charged with serious offences are going to jail – that’s why we need to open more prison beds, now,” she said.

Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan said changes to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday would make it “crystal clear” that any prisoner convicted of assaulting and injuring a prison worker would face tougher sentencing.

Premier Jacinta Allan said it is clear that her bail laws were working because Victoria’s prison population was on the rise. Picture: Alison Wynd

Speaking outside a jail cell at Western Plains Correctional Centre on Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan said it is clear that her bail laws were working because Victoria’s prison population was on the rise.

“With these new bail laws, bail means jail for more alleged offenders,” she said.

But the opposition have slammed the prison blitz announcement and said it would actually deliver less beds given the government is proceeding with the closure of the 1087-bed Port Phillip Prison.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin said it was an example of “spin a week out from the State Budget”.

“Only Jacinta Allan and Labor could blow three-quarters of a billion dollars and still deliver fewer beds, less capacity, and more risk to community safety,” Mr Battin said.

“This isn’t investment – it’s a financial and operational disaster dressed up as progress.”

Of the 1000 new beds promised, 312 will be at Western Plains, which already has 665 beds available.

A further 88 beds will be made available across youth detention centres at Cherry Creek and Parkville.

The rest of the beds will be spread across Victoria’s prison network but the government has been unable to offer a breakdown of how many at each location because it is dependent on staffing arrangements at each site.

But Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan said the funding boost would go towards hiring more prison officers across the system - and that would lead to more beds - including existing but dormant beds - being opened.

“Now we’re in a scaling up stage so this investment will mean that we’ll be able to open up 1000 beds in total across the prison system, both public and private,” he said.

“The net increase is 1000 beds.”

Mr Erdogan said the recent hiring blitz had been successful with hundreds of staff recruited in the past year.

In June last year, the Allan government broke a lucrative 20-year contract with the operator of Port Phillip Prison to shut down the jail and instead send inmates to the government-run $1.1bn Western Plains facility, which has been ready - but empty - since early 2023.

Mr Erdogan on Tuesday revealed that taxpayer funds weren’t used to break that contract.

“We were able to terminate that contract without paying a fee,” he said.

Originally published as Huge prison package set to fund an estimated 720 new jobs across youth and adult prisons