Greenough accommodates predominantly medium and minimum-security adult male and female prisoners.
OICS inspected the facility last year and found a proactive workforce maintaining safe and settled prison operations and positive interactions with prisoners.
“Greenough’s management and staff were future focused and optimistic,” the report said. “There was a growing appetite for change and improvement evident across many of the areas we inspected.”
The leadership team was lauded for proactively seeking to address issues identified by OICS.
Steps taken included getting input from off-country prisoners on further support that could be offered, appointing selected prisoners to run recreation activities, ordering additional exercise equipment, and consulting with other prisons on providing better food options.
Greenough also benefited from having an Aboriginal Visitors Scheme staff member and a Prison Support Officer, who OICS said had “the potential to contribute to the wellbeing of prisoners, especially in a regional prison where First Nations people are over-represented”.
“Greenough’s management had built momentum and were proactively filling gaps in the provision of services for prisoners,” the report said.
Department Director General Kylie Maj said the Department remained committed to taking necessary action to ensure the safety and welfare of prisoners and staff within Greenough.
“The Department continues to work hard with all stakeholders to improve conditions for prisoners and staff in Western Australia’s prison estate including Greenough,” she said.
OICS acknowledged the increasing and more complex prisoner population across the custodial estate continued to place greater demands on the entire prison system and those who worked in it.
To help Greenough manage the growing demands, the Department shifted from Perth-only training schools for prison officers and were conducting the three-month courses locally for people wanting to work and stay in the area.
The first of these saw 16 probationary officers deployed to Greenough, filling all vacancies, with the next class due to begin in October 2025.
OICS noted the regional training schools’ initiative as well as the Department’s efforts to recruit more Vocational Support Officers (VSOs) and clinical personnel.
Ms Maj said the Department was striving to bolster staff levels at Greenough and work opportunities for its prisoners.
“Recruitment processes were underway for several positions including an Employment Co-ordinator and VSOs, which would expand eligible prisoners’ engagement in the community through our prisoner employment and Section 95 work programs,” she said.
“Community engagement such as the fire risk mitigation program in collaboration with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services sees eligible minimum-security Greenough S95 prisoners undertake hundreds of hours of work aimed at protecting the community and developing job skills.”
Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said a staffing review that would inform a prison staffing model was well advanced.
“As part of the review, findings from a site visit to Greenough later this year will help inform forecasts for the model, which is designed to be operationally flexible and meet current and future needs,” he said.
“The review will map out staffing profiles for custodial operations and support areas including Health Services, Education, Treatment and Rehabilitative Services to ensure Greenough is suitably staffed to continue to operate safely and securely and enhance the delivery of services to prisoners.”
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