Systemic deterioration as grounds for statutory intervention
Nearly two years after a Show Cause Notice was first issued in respect of Hakea Prison, conditions have not materially improved and, critically, the same risk factors are now evident at Casuarina Prison and Melaleuca Women’s Prison. What began as a facility‑specific failure has escalated into a system‑wide breakdown affecting multiple prisons simultaneously.
The cumulative evidence from inspections, monitoring visits, data analysis and staff and prisoner accounts establishes reasonable grounds to suspect that:
- there is a serious risk to the security, control, safety, care and welfare of prisoners; and
- prisoners are, on a regular basis, being subjected to conditions that may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Enduring population pressure and workforce instability has normalised restricted regimes and unsafe environments
The adult custodial system is operating in a sustained state of unsafe failure, driven by unprecedented population growth and chronic workforce instability that have far outpaced the system’s capacity to respond. Widespread overcrowding, including triple‑bunking and prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor, has eroded infrastructure resilience to the point that the system is unable to safely absorb or respond to major incidents. At the same time, persistent staffing shortfalls across custodial, health and rehabilitative roles have normalised unsafe staff‑to‑prisoner ratios and routine reliance on lockdowns as a means of maintaining control. These pressures have resulted in prolonged restrictive regimes, significantly reduced time out of cell, cancelled family contact and limited access to basic services, leading to the routine denial of fundamental entitlements. Taken together, these conditions reflect an enduring lack of safety for both prisoners and staff, with daily operations characterised by heightened risk, psychological harm and an increasing likelihood of serious incidents rather than stability or rehabilitation.
Escalating harm and risk parallels with prior serious custodial incidents
Hakea, Casuarina and Melaleuca account for a disproportionately high share of use of force incidents, assaults and non‑critical incidents, self‑harm events, and deaths by suicide. These indicators align with worsening conditions, prolonged confinement and reduced access to care. The environments in each of these prisons materially increase the risk of serious harm and death in custody. There are strong parallels with warning signs present prior to the 2018 Greenough Regional Prison riot, including sustained lockdowns, chronic understaffing, erosion of prisoner–staff relationships, rising frustration and violence, and a failure of systems to escalate and address risk early. These similarities reinforce that current conditions are neither novel nor unpredictable, and that failure to act carries a high likelihood of serious custodial incidents.
A whole‑of‑government reform response is required
Incremental, facility‑level or short-term measures are insufficient. Restoring safe, lawful and humane custodial conditions requires a funded, whole‑of‑government response that addresses justice system demand and remand growth, sustainable workforce recruitment, retention and injury reduction, infrastructure and capacity planning, health and mental health service delivery, and system led governance and accountability.
The central requirement arising from this Show Cause Notice is a publicly released, costed reform implementation plan, endorsed by Government, setting out:
- coordinated short‑, medium‑ and long‑term reforms;
- confirmed funding and resourcing decisions;
- clear timeframes for delivery; and
- senior accountability for implementation and reporting.
Without such reform, the risks identified are expected to persist and escalate, with unacceptable consequences for prisoners and staff.