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The WA Prison Officers Union has welcomed increased security funding announced in the state budget to protect its members, but says a new facility is needed to address WA’s overcrowded prison system and address staff turnover.
In the recent state budget, more than $300 million additional expenditure has been promised on justice and corrective services, including prison operations and initiatives to manage prison population growth.
An additional $87.7 million has also been allocated for new and upgraded prison infrastructure, including a further expansion of Acacia Prison.
However, WAPOU acting secretary Beven Hanlon said while he welcomes the staff security upgrades, what is primarily needed is a new prison facility.
“We need a new prison and we need it built 10 years ago when it should have been, because all the other bits are tinkering around the sides,” he said.
“While we’ve got prisoners on the floor and cells that were designed for one, and we’ve got three, because there’s one or two on the wall, and one on the floor, our prisons are going to be tinder boxes.”
According to a government spokesperson, a long-term custodial infrastructure plan is progressing, including the expansions of Acacia and Casuarina prisons that will add up to 1000 beds to the custodial estate.
Hanlon said the prison system currently loses more than one member of staff every two days.
“We lose about 17 a month, which was overtaking our recruitment for quite some time,” he said.
“The departments have, for the last 18 months, been trying to recruit consistently and constantly, but it’s just not working.
“The prison muster is growing, which means we require more staff, and we’re having trouble just getting the staff we needed to start for a status quo, so really we’re going backwards at this stage, but hopefully that money will help attract more people to the job.”
A government spokesperson said the Department of Justice’s campaign to recruit and train 1200 prison officers began in January 2025 and concludes in June 2028.
“Applications are being fast-tracked and the Corrective Services Academy has expanded its 2026 entry-level training programs,” the spokesperson said.
“Training has been extended to regional areas such as Geraldton and Albany.”
“The numbers of new prison officers joining custodial facilities exceed those of staff leaving.”
Hanlon said while he felt prisons were short staffed in the metropolitan region, the issue was worse in regional facilities, which was also impacting safety.
“The prisons in town are terribly short-staffed, and the prisons in the regions are horrendously short-staffed,” he said.
“On top of that, if an incident happens in the metro area, other prisons can respond and support each other. They can also call on each other to get staff to come in for overtime.
“It’s not the case in the regions, they’re stuck with what they’ve got.”
Hanlon said the West Kimberley prison facility has been in a state of emergency for close to six months, because of its staffing levels.
“They’ve just announced that same state of emergency in Greenough and all that does, to be honest, is one acknowledges that there’s an issue and hopefully puts some pressure on government to do something, and two, just gets people to do more work because it increases the overtime rate,” he said.
“It just means the few people that are at those prisons are working more hours and are burning out.”
A government spokesperson said the department is offering a range of incentives for relocation to certain regional prisons, including free or subsidised housing, retention payments and regional allowances, plus additional loadings for specific sites.
The latest budget announcements also include $3.6 million in security enhancements, with the introduction of x-ray scanners at priority prisons and the rollout of the body worn camera program.
“X-ray scanners have been piloted at several high-risk prisons,” the spokesperson said.
“The first phase of the full rollout will see more scanners installed in those prisons and some others in the second half of 2026,” the spokesperson said.
“The State’s highest risk facilities are being prioritised for the initial rollout of body worn cameras.”
Hanlon said the additional security spending was a step in the right direction.
“I know the general public don’t like money being spent on prisons, but prisons are getting more dangerous, just like society is getting more dangerous,” he said.
“So we need as much protection as the people outside of prison need protection.”
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