One of ‘s most notorious jails has been returned to state ownership after a scandal-plagued seven years of being run by a US private prisons company.
Parklea Correctional Centre in western Sydney had been managed by the n arm of US-based private prisons operator MTC since 2018.
Among the scandals under its management, a man was charged with the murder of his cellmate in March 2024, inmates were charged after they climbed onto the roof in July 2021, and riot squads had to be called in February 2022.
It is one of largest jails in the country, with a capacity for more than 1,500 inmates, and employs more than 400 people.
Those well-paid jobs are to be secured as Parklea returns to NSW government management.
MTC’s existing $1.4billion contract – which ends in March 2026 – will be extended by six months to allow time for the transition to occur by October 2026, the NSW government said on Sunday.
‘We’ve had a strong line against privatisation since we were elected two years ago and we’ve done it based on evidence, not based on feelings or ideology, but based on facts,’ Premier Chris Minns told reporters.
‘When it comes to fundamental, frontline basic services, they need to be provided by NSW government employees.’
‘It’s the best way of ensuring the taxpayers get value for money where there’s not a contract in place and a middle man is looking to see how the services are interpreted.’
Mr Minns also hailed ‘the common sense … operating model not based on a profit motive’ as a win for hundreds of essential workers in western Sydney.
It will be the second NSW prison to return to public ownership after Corrective Services NSW takes over the management of Junee Correctional Centre in April following a 16-month transition.
The NSW public sector is responsible for about 10,000 inmates across 31 prisons.
The Premier noted the profile of inmates in custody had substantially changed over the past 15 years with more hardened offenders in the system.
He said a focus on rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates into the community would be best managed by experienced government staff rather than a profit-driven private operator.
Parklea employees have gone on strike several times in recent years to ensure safe working conditions.
A parliamentary inquiry uncovered reports of guards being stabbed, gangster-run fight clubs, tobacco smuggling, an inmate found dead after being shackled to his bed and another inmate who set a fire causing $8million in damage.
The Public Service Association welcomed the move after it had been in protracted contract negotiations with MTC, which it previously blamed for failing to protect officers at Parklea.
‘Corrective Services is an integral part of the criminal justice system. It’s no different to the police or the courts. It plays a pivotal role in that system,’ the union’s Stewart Little said.
‘You would not countenance for a moment privatising police or the courts. Why on earth would we do that to a correctional centre?’
MTC also runs a detention centre housing refugees on Nauru in a $2.3billion contract with the federal government.