Arabic version: التعاقد مع معماريين لتقييم تحويل مركز بولزبروك إلى سجن
According to ABC News, WA’s Justice Department has hired architects to investigate whether the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience could be repurposed as a prison. The facility, about 40 kilometres north-east of Perth’s CBD, was completed in 2022 and has 500 beds.
Publicly available information shows the department signed an $86,955 contract with Cox Architecture last week for architectural engineering. The tender, titled “Repurpose Centre for National Resilience”, runs until June next year. A department spokesperson said the contract was part of normal due diligence for investigating potential repurposing of sites and that options were being explored to meet infrastructure demands linked to a rising prisoner population.
The Commonwealth-owned centre has been used for quarantine only once. It hosted six passengers evacuated from a cruise ship affected by hantavirus. The site is managed by the federal Department of Finance, while an Australian government spokesperson said potential future and alternate uses for the centre continued to be considered. The department said it was managing the facility so it remained available for future uses, including national and state emergencies.
The assessment comes as pressure grows in WA prisons. The state’s Inspector of Custodial Services reported in June that overcrowding had become so severe some prisoners were subjected to “cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment”. Inspector Eamon Ryan cited a 37 per cent increase in the prison population since early 2023 without matching growth in cells or staff. Corrective Services Commissioner and acting Justice Department director-general Brad Royce said an Acacia Prison expansion was expected to add 480 beds in 2029, alongside infill projects and longer-term planning for a new remand prison.
Shadow Corrective Services Minister Adam Hort said WA needed properly planned, fit-for-purpose prison infrastructure rather than a “patched-up” facility. Corrective Services Minister Tony Buti said “nothing’s off the cards” and the government was considering all possible options. Royce said the Bullsbrook site was not currently his to use, but he would be interested if it became available.
