New data from the Productivity Commission’sReport on Government Services for the 2022-23 financial year shows the daily cost of operating Victoria’s corrective services was the highest of any mainland Australian state in 2022-23.
In Victoria, real net operating expenditure, per day, per prisoner was $400.95 in 2022-23 compared to $298.33 in NSW and $251.09 in Queensland. This per prisoner cost equates to +34.4 per cent higher in Victoria than in NSW and +59.7 per cent higher than in Queensland.
Shadow Minister for Corrections, Brad Battin, said: “Victorians are paying the price for Labor’s long-standing neglect of the Corrections system. We have a prison sitting empty with the air conditioner running while spending more than any other mainland state.
“The need for prisoners being rehabilitated before coming back into the community is well-known, so Victorians will be rightly asking where has all the money gone?
“We are seeing worse and worse outcomes in the corrections system under the Allan Government, and it is no wonder why when the responsible Minister refuses to stand up and take any responsibility.”
