Serco Australia Pty Limited operates the Clarence Correctional Centre, a maximum- and minimum-security correctional centre for male and female offenders accommodating up to 1,700 inmates.
This correctional centre opened in July 2020 with Serco Australia having a 20 year management contract. This contract was initially worth UK £1.5 billion or AUD $2.6 billion to the Serco Group.
The company is a subsidiary within UK-based Serco Group plc, a group whose revenue grew by 7% to £4.9 billion in 2023.
The SERCO Clarence Correctional Case Officers Enterprise Agreement in place since 2021 is due to expire on 3 March 2025. The Community and Public Sector Union (NSW) is gearing up to meet with SERCO bargaining representatives to start bargaining for the next Enterprise Agreement.
So it will be interesting to see how this plays out given past complaints about pay and working conditions, including dangerously low staffing levels and alleged prisoner assaults on staff. Which march alongside past allegations of poor prisoner health services and assaults/brawling among prisoners.
Note: There was a death in custody reported at Clarence Correctional Centre in April 2024. This is not the first death in custody - there being two reported by the media in 2022. As to the actual number, there is no publicly available information of which to assess this particular correctional centre.
