Australian Union Secures Prison Remunicipalisation, Defeats Privatisation
Mar 12, 2025
In early March, the NSW government announced its decision to bring Parklea Correctional Centre back under public control. The facility had been privatised in 2009, given to a US-based multinational company. Since then, the Public Service Association of NSW has been actively campaigning for its reintegration into the public sector — a victory that has now been achieved.
On 2 March 2025, the New South Wales government, led by Chris Minns, announced that Parklea Correctional Centre would be returned to public control. The facility was first outsourced in 2009 to the GEO Group. Later, in 2019, US-based company MTC took over after securing a contract worth AUD 1.3 billion (USD 821 million). This contract was awarded despite MTC’s troubling record of riots and bribery scandals in the United States.
Since 2009, the Public Service Association (PSA) of NSW has been actively campaigning against the prison's privatization. The PSA argued that privatization not only undermined workers' rights but also funneled public funds into corporate profits.
"Justice should never be privatised," said Kate Lappin, Regional Secretary of PSI Asia Pacific. "The privatisation of prisons creates perverse incentives to retain prisoners, underpay workers, and reduce staffing levels — ultimately making society less safe while corporations profit from crime. Congratulations to the PSA, their hardworking members, and the people of NSW for restoring justice to public hands," Lappin added.
Following is the Press Release by PSA:
The PSA CPSU NSW welcomes the 2 March announcement by the Minns Labor Government that Parklea Correctional Centre will be returned to public hands in 2026.
“From the moment Parklea Correctional Centre was privatised in 2009, our union has campaigned for what is right: the return of the jail to the people of NSW and away from the failed Prison for Profit model that fails staff and taxpayers,” said PSA General Secretary Stewart Little.
“Today’s announcement shows the State Government is listening to our voice.”
The Parklea decision is good news for the community and is certainly good news for our members who work in the prison. They will be better paid, work in safer conditions and have better chances of promotion once they are employed in the state-wide corrections system.
It’s good news for the taxpayer, who will no longer be propping up outsourcing giants such as MTC that operate to benefit overseas shareholders rather than the people of NSW.
The welcome news from Parklea follows last year’s decision by the government to listen to the PSA and hand control of Junee Correctional Centre to Corrective Services NSW from 1 April 2025.
The PSA will always campaign against the sell-offs that have done so much damage to our state. We will continue to fight for the return to government control of the services privatised in the reckless frenzy of sell-offs under the O’Farrell, Baird, Berejiklian and Perrottet governments.
For years we have been telling the state that privatisation hurts everyone. We are glad we have a government that is listening to us.
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PSA General Secretary, Stewart Little, speaking to the media