Queensland Corrective Services officers say a scathing Auditor-General report confirms the state's overcrowded prison system and collapsed case management system is failing to rehabilitate prisoners—creating a revolving door of reoffending that ultimately puts the community at greater risk.
The report found 44% of released prisoners are back in custody within two years, more than 1,000 prisoners are on waitlists for rehabilitation programs, and the case management framework meant to match prisoners with the right support is only operating in 9 of the state's 20 correctional centres.
Together Union Assistant Branch Secretary Michael Thomas said the findings should alarm anyone who wants a corrections system that actually corrects.
"This report confirms what corrections officers have been warning for years: if prisons are too overcrowded to rehabilitate people, they are less likely to reduce crime,” Mr Thomas said.
"For years we've been raising concerns about resourcing and rehabilitation capacity as prisoner numbers have climbed. This report puts it in black and white: the 'corrective' part of Corrective Services has been steadily eroded."
Queensland's prisoner population has grown 54% in decade (from 7,318 in June 2015 to 11,278 in June 2025). It is forecast to grow by up to a further 46% by 2035. Twelve of the state's 13 high-security prisons now hold more prisoners than they were built for.
"These facilities were designed on a one-prisoner-per-cell model. Instead of expanding rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities alongside prison capacity, we've simply added another bunk to the cell,” Mr Thomas said.
"You cannot double the number of people in a building without doubling — or even maintaining — access to the services that building was designed to deliver."
The Auditor-General found more than 1,000 prisoners were waiting an average of 16 months for a rehabilitation program as at March 2026, while almost half the prisoner population (5,778 people) are waiting on wellbeing programs. Queensland is also missing its own prisoner employment target, with 66% of eligible prisoners in jobs against a 70% target — well behind NSW (86%) and Victoria (92%).
Mr Thomas said the warning signs have been there since the Crime and Corruption Commission's Taskforce Flaxton report in 2018.
“This isn't a new problem. It's a warning that wasn't adequately acted on,” he said.
Mr Thomas said a government pursuing a tough-on-crime agenda could not simultaneously preside over a system with a near 50% recidivism rate.
"You cannot be tough on crime and run a revolving door,” he said.
“Rehabilitation failure is a public safety issue. Every prisoner who reoffends because they had no access to programs, education or a job is a failure of the system, not just the individual.”
Together Union said the pressure was also being carried by its members on the ground.
"Our members — custodial staff — are the ones managing this every day: unsafe staffing ratios, lockdowns caused by both incidents and understaffing, and prisoners who are frustrated because there's nothing purposeful for them to do," Mr Thomas said.
"The Auditor-General's report notes that lockdowns caused by staff shortages are restricting access to programs. This is a workplace health and safety issue as much as it is a rehabilitation policy failure."
The Auditor-General made five recommendations, all agreed to by Queensland Corrective Services. Together Union said it expected to see them backed by real funding and real timeframes.
"Agreement in principle means nothing without the staffing and infrastructure investment to match," Mr Thomas said.
“Queenslanders deserve a corrections system that reduces crime, not one that is overcrowded, understaffed and sets everyone up to fail.”
Contact details:
Amy Price, 0437 027 156