Snapshot

The Capricornia Correctional Centre (the centre) comprises both men’s secure and low‑custody facilities and is located in Etna Creek, approximately 20 km from Rockhampton. The centre receives new prisoners from watch-houses and provides longer‑term placement for sentenced prisoners.

The secure centre includes units and residential accommodation, offering men the opportunity to progress from one to the other during their sentence. It holds men with protection status, which means their movements and accommodation are kept separate from mainstream prisoners.

The low-custody centre connected to the prison and located nearby provides further opportunities for the men to prepare for reintegration. While it is fenced, the gates to the fenced section remain open during the day. We found that the low-custody environment offered a high degree of autonomy, access to meaningful activities, and was a desirable location for prisoners, providing strong incentives for them to engage in positive behaviours.

Our inspection found positive practices at the centre, reflecting its commitment to creating safe, healthy and supportive opportunities for prisoners to aid in their reintegration. These include:

  • connection to mob and culture supported through a virtual Elders visits initiative where prisoners from remote communities can receive cultural support from Elders from their Country
  • a clinic offering prisoners a variety of immunisations and increasing overall prisoner health and education
  • the availability of meaningful activity, work and connection to training for the men in the low-custody facility.

While the overall picture is positive, we have made recommendations for areas that require
improvement. These include:

  • reception process, which increase prisoners’ time in holding cells and lead to inconsistent inductions
  • overcrowding, which leads to
    • reliance on modified unit routines and reduced out-of-cell time
    • delays and waitlists for medical treatment, interview room access, and program enrollment
    • lack of available in-cell and unit activities
  • health related issues, including poor climate control in the low-custody centre and insufficient medical prescribers
  • the cultural centre being unavailable for use and delays in prisoners accessing funeral services or being given approval to conduct Sorry Business in kinship groups.
 

Capricornia Correctional Centre

A colonial-style farm wagon rests in a rectangular pit of gravel bordered in wood surrounded by grass, trees and a high security fence. Behind the security fence are the yellow buildings of the Capricornia Correction Centre.

The Capricornia Correctional Centre (the centre) primarily services the Rockhampton and Central Queensland areas. The centre is made up of secure and low-custody facilities.

The secure centre accommodates male prisoners of mainstream and protection status. It also provides progression opportunities for mainstream prisoners to residential-style accommodation within the secure facility.

The low-custody centre is an environment designed to accommodate prisoners classified as low risk. It primarily houses men nearing the end of their sentence or serving short-term sentences. The accommodation is typically open style, featuring dormitory or shared living arrangements.

Both secure and low-custody centres offer rehabilitation programs and services, including vocational training, industry-based employment, and education to improve literacy and numeracy skills. External service providers offer additional support for rehabilitation and reintegration.

  • Location: The centre is located in Etna Creek in Central Queensland, approximately 20 km north of Rockhampton. It is situated on the traditional land of the Darumbal Aboriginal people.
  • Onsite inspection dates: 24 March – 29 March 2025
  • Medical: The medical centre is run by the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service.
  • On 24 March 2025 

The secure centre had:

  • 1,127 operating capacity
  • 1,172 prisoners
  • 47% Australian First Nations prisoners
  • 750 cells

The low-custody centre had:

  • 96 operating capacity
  • 80 prisoners
  • 45% Australian First Nations prisoners
  • 96 accommodation rooms
  • 90 work camp community service projects (between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024)

Recommendations

Recommendation 1
Capricornia Correctional Centre identify and implement strategies to reduce the length of time a prisoner is held within the reception store.
Recommendation 2

Capricornia Correctional Centre review its induction process to ensure:

  • a system induction is provided to prisoners who require it
  • prisoners understand the information provided as part of the facility induction, and follow-up occurs as required by the Custodial Operations Practice Directive: Reception Processes – Admission and Assessments.
Recommendation 3
Capricornia Correctional Centre ensure prisoners are provided with a reception call on arrival or as soon as practicable thereafter.
Recommendation 4

Capricornia Correctional Centre implement a regular process to check the available materials in the legal resource room, including updating superseded versions of resources.

Recommendation 5
Queensland Corrective Services ensure public-facing Custodial Operations Practice Directives are made available to prisoners in all correctional centres.
Recommendation 6
Queensland Corrective Services prioritise the development of strategies to improve the completion and recording of cell-sharing risk assessments as required by the Custodial Operations Practice Directive: Prisoner Accommodation Management – Cell Allocation.
Recommendation 7
Capricornia Correctional Centre ensure any breaches of discipline are conducted in accordance with the Custodial Operations Practice Directive: Breaches of Discipline.
Recommendation 8
Queensland Corrective Services develop and implement a strategy for increasing out-of-cell time available to prisoners and reduce the reliance on modified unit routines.
Recommendation 9

Capricornia Correctional Centre ensure compliance with the modified unit routine schedule to ensure prisoners receive the specified out-of-cell time.

Recommendation 10

Capricornia Correctional Centre:

  • include regular in-unit activities in the meaningful activities schedule
  • enable all units to participate in all meaningful activities.
Recommendation 11

Queensland Corrective Services and Capricornia Correctional Centre ensure:

  • the CCTV system in use is fit for purpose
  • CCTV is installed to allow prisoners access to the toilet facilities at the gymnasium.
Recommendation 12

Recommendation withdrawn.

Recommendation 13
Recommendation withdrawn.
Recommendation 14
Queensland Corrective Services and Capricornia Correctional Centre install climate control, such as air-conditioning, in all accommodation units at the low-custody centre.
Recommendation 15
The Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service ensure the availability of prescribers to Capricornia Correctional Centre to maintain continuity of prescribed medication.
Recommendation 16
Recommendation withdrawn.
Recommendation 17

Capricornia Correctional Centre:

  • improve access to Sorry Business
  • allow prisoners to view funeral livestreams in family or kinship groups, where possible.

Recommendation 18
Queensland Corrective Services develop and implement a formal leave of absence process to track, monitor and review outcome decisions in the Integrated Offender Management System.
Recommendation 19
Capricornia Correctional Centre reinstate the use of the cultural centre.
Recommendation 20

Capricornia Correctional Centre ensure officers are completing headcounts and muster checks in line with the Custodial Operations Practice Direction: Daily Operations – Headcount Unlock Musters Lock Away.

Recommendation 21

Queensland Corrective Services amend the following Custodial Operations Practice Directives:

  • Search – Personal Search to outline the process for managing the identification of prohibited articles in shared cells to ensure prisoners are not unfairly punished
  • Search – Facility Search to include the circumstances in which prisoners can observe their cell searches.
Recommendation 22
Recommendation withdrawn.
Recommendation 23
Queensland Corrective Services introduce modern search technologies, such as body scanners, at Capricornia Correctional Centre to reduce and eliminate the need for routine removal-of-clothing searches.
Recommendation 24
Recommendation withdrawn.
Recommendation 25
Capricornia Correctional Centre engage translation and interpretation services as required to ensure prisoners understand their legal status.
Recommendation 26
Queensland Corrective Services and Capricornia Correctional Centre assess the availability of programs and implement ways to reduce the time prisoners spend on a waitlist.
Recommendation 27
Queensland Corrective Services develop and implement a digital literacy course with a focus on general daily use of technology, with a view to enhancing prisoner reintegration.
Recommendation 28
Queensland Corrective Services incorporate digital rehabilitation into the development of in-cell technology in all Queensland correctional centres.
Recommendation 29

Capricornia Correctional Centre provide for prisoners’ health and wellbeing by:

  • ensuring appropriate personal protective equipment is available to, and used by, prisoners undertaking employment duties
  • outlining personal protective equipment requirements in the relevant industries employment induction booklets.
Recommendation 30
Capricornia Correctional Centre develop an action plan to improve recordkeeping for its operations.