A scathing official review has delivered a devastating report card for the Australian Capital Territory's only adult prison, finding the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) is fundamentally failing its mission of rehabilitation and human rights.
Systemic Failures and Widespread Idleness
The Healthy Prison Review 2025, tabled by the office of ACT Custodial Services Inspector Rebecca Minty, exposed deep-seated problems including widespread detainee boredom, high staff caseloads, inconsistent leadership, and flawed security systems. The report found that people in detention were unable to fill their days with productive, meaningful activities essential for rehabilitation.
Disturbing statistics revealed that 64% of detainees reported being bored most of the time, while 56% said it was easy to access illicit drugs. Comments from inmates confirmed that idleness and lack of vocational training were fueling drug demand and affecting preparedness for release.
"I've known guys who have come in who just smoke a bit of weed, and they leave on the needle," one detainee told the review team.
First Nations Disparities and Staff Concerns
The investigation highlighted particularly harsher experiences for First Nations detainees, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women subjected to a disproportionate number of strip searches and Indigenous men over-represented in higher security classifications.
"We did have people say to us that they feel it's a racist jail," Inspector Minty stated. "They don't feel comfortable to talk about their culture. They don't feel culturally safe."
Staff members reported serious workplace issues including nepotism, favouritism, sexism, and misogyny from both colleagues and detainees. One employee described a toxic work culture driven by specific cliques that had formed within the facility.
The review also found that nearly half (48%) of prison staff, including court transport unit workers, had never undergone any kind of search, undermining contraband control efforts.
Urgent Calls for Structured Reform
The report made 30 recommendations for change, repeating earlier calls for urgent funding and implementation of a structured day program within 18 months as an overarching strategy to promote rehabilitation and reduce drug demand.
"A structured day, in my view, is not a luxury in jail, it's absolutely essential, not just for the individual person who's detained, but to keep the community safe," Ms Minty emphasized.
Additional concerns included the unacceptable standard of cleanliness throughout the facility, with graffiti and property damage in many areas, and ongoing security weaknesses requiring improved CCTV coverage and better searching procedures for staff and deliveries.
The report concluded that the prison experience for many was not rehabilitative but actually criminogenic, failing both detainees and the broader Canberra community that expects successful reintegration.
