Key facts
- Australian immigration detention centers have experienced a spate of stabbings, overdoses, and fires.
- Internal documents indicate the Australian government may be in breach of laws designed to protect staff and detainees.
- Management and Training Corporation (MTC), a US private prison company, operates the detention centers under a $2.3 billion contract.
- Comcare has warned the department about failing to control rising incidents of violence, aggression, and illicit substances at MIDC and across the network.
- Eight fire-related incidents occurred at Villawood immigration detention center between February and May.
- Two workers were hospitalized after responding to a fire at Villawood in September 2025 without proper safety equipment.
Australia's immigration detention network, operated by US private prison firm Management and Training Corporation (MTC) and its local subsidiary Secure Journeys, is facing intense scrutiny due to a series of safety failures, including stabbings, overdoses, and fires. Internal documents obtained by The Guardian reveal that these ongoing incidents may put the Australian government in breach of laws designed to ensure the health and safety of workers and detainees.
Since MTC secured the $2.3 billion contract in late 2024, the government has attempted to address performance issues through financial penalties and high-level meetings. However, new documents show serious security lapses have persisted. At the Melbourne Immigration Detention Centre (MIDC), incidents since August have included violence, aggression, illicit drug use, and improvised weaponry. A violent altercation on August 18 led to six detainees being hospitalized with stabbing injuries, and on September 10, a detainee was found overdosed and required Naloxone.
These issues prompted Comcare, the federal work safety regulator, to issue a warning that the department was failing to adequately manage risks, potentially contravening section 19 of the WHS Act. Comcare stated that control measures were not sufficiently demonstrated to be effective in eliminating or minimizing risks of serious harm.
Separately, eight fire-related incidents occurred at the Villawood immigration detention center between February and May. This occurred despite prior warnings about MTC's preparedness, including an incident in September 2025 where staff entered a detainee's room during a fire without proper safety equipment, leading to two workers being hospitalized. Comcare found the department had not conducted a systematic review of fire and smoke control measures within its influence.
The United Workers Union, representing center workers, highlighted that Comcare's notices underscore the dangerous conditions and Secure Journeys' inability to address them, citing the multiple fires at Villawood as signs of instability.