The Southern Queensland Correctional Centre (SQCC) is an Australian

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

facility located in the

Lockyer Valley The Lockyer Valley is an area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and east of Toowoomba. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultiv ...

, 15 km north from Gatton, and 94 km west from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. The 300-bed minimum to maximum security prison for females was built by

Baulderstone Baulderstone, formerly Baulderstone Hornibrook, was an Australian construction company. History MR Hornibrook In 1926, Manuel Hornibrook founded a construction company in Brisbane. Amongst its notable projects were the Story Bridge and William Jo ...

and officially opened on 21 December 2011 by Corrective Services Minister Neil Roberts. The facilities began operation in January 2012. SQCC is the first completed stage of the Southern Queensland Correctional Precinct in Australia. The centre provides secure placement accommodation for sentenced mainstream female prisoners classified as high or low security and has 104 secure and 196 residential beds. The facility is managed by

Queensland Corrective Services Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) is a Queensland government agency responsible for the housing of inmates at Queensland correctional centres. It belongs to the Department of Justice and Attorney-General. QCS operates eleven high security and ...

. It cost A$485 million to construct. The prison contains 11 cell blocks. Each cell includes a TV, radio and bookshelves. The centre was originally managed by

Serco Serco Group plc is a British company with headquarters based in Hook, Hampshire, England. Serco primarily derives income as a contractor for the provision of government services, most prominently in the sectors of health, transport, justice, i ...

. In 2019, the Queensland government announced it would take control of administration of the prison, a transition that occurred between July 2020 and July 2021. The higher levels of assault, linked to lower levels of staff, was the primary reason for revoking the contract with Serco. The prison also includes accommodation for aged and infirm prisoners in a residential unit and a medical centre providing

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

. As of August 2020 it was announced that there would be a $653 million dollar expansion of the facility that will add an additional 1000 bed capacity.

References

{{QueenslandPrisons Serco Prisons in Queensland Gatton, Queensland 2012 establishments in Australia

See also

References