Northern Territory announces private prison plan amid rising inmate numbers

The Northern Territory government has announced plans to build a 1,200-bed men’s remand centre on the outskirts of Darwin, which will be designed, financed, built, and operated by a private partner. Additionally, a 200-bed women’s facility operated by the government is planned for construction adjacent to the Darwin Correctional Precinct at Holtze.

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro stated that the investment is urgent to address overcrowding and boost community safety, arguing that the correctional system has been neglected for a decade. Data from the ABS indicates a 24 per cent increase in the total number of prisoners to 2,842 in the year ending June 2025. During this period, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners also rose by 24 per cent to 2,505, with an imprisonment rate significantly higher than the national average.

The proposal has faced criticism from the NT Workers Union, which described the privatisation plan as ‘one of the most reckless corrections policy decisions ever proposed in the Northern Territory’.