Southern Queensland Correctional Centre (SQCC) is under the management of Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) after it successfully transitioned to public administration on 1 July.
Following the findings of the Crime and Corruption Commissions Taskforce Flaxton in 2018, the Government announced the transition of Queensland's two privately operated prisons back into public administration.
Minister for Corrective Services Mark Ryan MP said the transition of the two privately operated prisons as part of Operation Certitude was one of many key reforms the government initiated to modernise the correctional system whilst addressing corruption risks.
"The transition of Southern Queensland Correctional Centre means that every prison in Queensland is now under the management of Queensland Corrective Services (QCS)," Minister Ryan said.
"I want to welcome the officers who are transitioning from Serco to Queensland Corrective Services and wish them well as they continue their careers protecting the community. It is a challenging but essential job you do to keep the community safe.'
Minister Ryan said that the government continued to invest in community safety and the Lockyer Valley with construction underway on a new 1000 bed therapeutic prison was being built to expand capacity across Queensland.
'It is an exciting time for Lockyer Valley locals, as Stage 2 of the Southern Queensland Correctional Precinct is in the initial building works,' Minister Ryan said.
'This is providing hundreds of construction jobs to the area and will provide close to 500 permanent, full time jobs once the centre is completed in 2023.
Commissioner Paul Stewart APM said that work undertaken by QCS as part of Operation Certitude had been some of the most complex in the departments 170-year history.
'The program of work to transition is of critical importance to QCS and consolidating our correctional environments across the state will increase the safety for our officers, prisoners and the community,' Commissioner Stewart said.
'The amount of work undertaken to do this is incredibly significant and covers areas from physical infrastructure, process, technology and training and touched all areas of the correctional system.
'I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to achieve, and I am confident in the future state of corrective services in Queensland as a result of this significant undertaking.'
"I'd also like to thank the local managers at SQCC for working so collaboratively during this transition process," Commissioner Stewart said.
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