Show us the plan: 620 prison officers warn jails can't safely take more inmates under tough new bail laws
Together Branch of the ASU
Key Facts:The survey found:
- 93% of officers (578 of 620) said their centre could not safely accommodate a substantial increase in prisoner numbers without additional resources. Only nine officers said it could.
- Three in four officers (76%) said prisoner numbers usually or always exceed what their work area can safely manage with the staff and facilities available.
- 59% said they were not confident they could complete their usual shift safely. Only 6% were very or extremely confident.
- Almost all officers (98%) expect their safety at work to get worse if prisoner numbers increase while staffing and facilities stay at current levels.
- 79% said overcrowding over the past three months has made prisoners’ opportunities to participate in rehabilitation, programs, education and work worse.
93% of officers surveyed say their centres can’t safely take more prisoners without extra staff and resources, ahead of Friday’s parliamentary report.
More than nine in 10 Queensland custodial correctional officers surveyed warn their prisons cannot safely accommodate a substantial increase in prisoner numbers without additional resources, as the Government prepares to pass laws designed to send more people to jail.
A total of 620 custodial correctional officers from 14 correctional centres across Queensland responded to a Together union survey between 23 September and 4 October, sounding the alarm before a parliamentary committee examining the Breach Bail, Go to Jail and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 is due to report on the legislation on Friday.
Together made a written submission to the committee but was not invited to give evidence in person, so it surveyed officers to put their experience on the record.
Almost six in 10 workers surveyed lack confidence they can complete their usual shift safely under current conditions. Officers described assaults associated with cell doubling, prolonged lockdowns, staffing shortages and deteriorating infrastructure.
Together is calling on the Government to meet with frontline officers and show them its plan for safely managing the additional prisoners before Parliament votes on the Bill.
The union warns that without additional staffing and resources, overcrowding will put officers at greater risk and drive more experienced workers out of the job.
“The Government is preparing to send more people to prison, but the officers who will manage them are telling us the system is already unsafe. The Government still hasn’t explained how it will accommodate the extra prisoners,” Together Assistant Branch Secretary Michael Thomas said.
“Queenslanders expect people who break the law to be held accountable. Our officers understand that, and they’re the ones who make it happen every day.”
“But you cannot keep sending more people into overcrowded prisons without providing the staff, infrastructure and resources to manage them safely.”
One officer who responded to the survey said: “I like many others feel that the Government’s policy on crime is a commendable one. The issue is worthy of great attention... More cells in an already overcrowded complex with a crumbling infrastructure is so obviously not a long-term solution.”
The Bill creates a new offence for committing certain offences while on bail, unlawfully at large or after failing to appear, carrying a mandatory minimum of one year’s imprisonment served wholly in custody. Its explanatory notes acknowledge the Bill will have operational and financial impacts on Queensland Corrective Services, but do not quantify them, stating they will be addressed through “normal government processes”.
“We surveyed 620 frontline officers because their union wasn’t invited to appear before the parliamentary committee. More than 93% told us their centres cannot safely accommodate a substantial increase in prisoners without additional resources,” Mr Thomas said.
“The Government has acknowledged its new laws will have operational impacts, but it hasn’t publicly explained how those impacts will be managed. And the frontline officers who will have to manage the additional prisoners are still waiting to be heard.”
The Queensland Audit Office reported in July that Queensland’s prisoner population reached 11,278 at 30 June 2025, up 54% in a decade, and that 12 of the state’s 13 high-security correctional centres housed more prisoners than originally intended.
“The Government can count beds, but our officers are telling us that’s not the same as having the capacity to run a prison safely,” Mr Thomas said.
“Every additional prisoner needs officers to supervise them, infrastructure that can support them and staff who can respond when something goes wrong.”
Behind the figures are accounts of officers being assaulted while managing overcrowded cells, staffing shortages forcing prolonged lockdowns, and infrastructure struggling under the pressure of growing prisoner numbers.
“Myself being assaulted due to operational requirement to double prisoners up. A simple no from the prisoner turned into a situation that nobody wants to go through.”
“Less time out of cell directly translates to an increase in prisoners and staff being assaulted.”
Officers described long delays in prisoner healthcare, with frustration sometimes directed at staff, while full detention and safety units left limited capacity to separate prisoners involved in violent incidents.
Another officer wrote:
“Please don’t forget that we have families that do care whether or not we go home at the end of the shift.”
Officers also warned that overcrowding was undermining rehabilitation. Together said this increases the risk that prisoners will be released without the causes of their offending being addressed, adding to pressure on staff and community safety.
The Queensland Audit Office found that 44% of sentenced prisoners released in 2022–23 returned to custody with a new sentence within two years.
“The correctional centre is becoming increasingly focused on simply managing numbers... rather than providing meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation. As prisoner numbers continue to increase, there are simply not enough ancillary staff, program facilitators, classrooms, and resources to meet demand.”
“If numbers keep going up, no staff interaction with prisoners, no rehabilitation, just a people dumper.”
Together is seeking a meeting with Corrective Services Minister Laura Gerber before the Bill is debated.
“These workers deserve to know they can come home safely to their families at the end of every shift,” Mr Thomas said.
“Minister Gerber needs to meet the officers who will run these prisons and show them the plan before Parliament votes.”
Notes for editors
Together Queensland surveyed custodial correctional officers between 23 September and 4 October 2026. 620 officers responded, with 608 identifying the centre where they mainly work, covering 14 correctional centres. Percentages are calculated on officers who answered each question. Officer comments are reproduced with consent and have been lightly edited, with names and centre references removed.
Contact details:
Amy Price, 0437 027 156