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Budget 2021-22
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Continuing the focus on rehabilitation for our State’s Corrections system

26 August 2021

Elise Archer MP

Attorney General

Minister for Corrections

The Tasmanian Liberal Government is delivering on our plan to continue to improve our State’s Corrections system.

As part of the 2021-22 Tasmanian Budget, we have a strengthened focus on rehabilitation. I am proud to be leading this investment and looking forward to seeing its outcomes.

We are investing almost $2.5 million towards rehabilitation programs and staff within our prisons over a three-year period which meets our commitments made in the State Election.

Through our work to reduce re-offending and increase rehabilitative opportunities in Tasmania, we are establishing new partnerships with organisations so that we can provide increased therapeutic support and programs in our prisons.

We know that access to programs, education and employment for inmates is critical to achieving these outcomes which is why, as a priority, we are helping to address the underlying reasons why people re-offend and maximise the chances of successful reintegration back into the community.

The additional $2.5 million investment in this year’s Budget includes:

  • $780,000 over three years to partner with the Australian Red Cross to deliver its Community Based Health First Aid (CBHFA) program;
  • $610,000 over three years to partner with Connect 42 to deliver the Just Time Prison Parenting Program;
  • $100,000 over three years to partner with Dress for Success Hobart to expand the Welcome Back(pack) initiative, and;
  • $500,000 per annum for two years to fund five new therapeutic staff to work within the prison with a focus on delivering rehabilitation programs and drug and alcohol interventions.

We are also addressing the increasing demand pressures on the Tasmanian Prison Service (TPS). This is why, as part of the 2021-22 Tasmanian Budget, we are providing $4 million per year over the next four years to further alleviate the existing demand pressures in the system.

This boost to funding will allow for the effective operation of our prison service and will support the major recruitment campaign underway to bolster the number of Correctional Officers within the TPS’s ranks. This new campaign will add to the more than 200 extra Correctional Officers we have recruited since 2016, including 79 in 2020 alone.

We continue to provide additional resources to support staff at our prison facilities to do this difficult but rewarding job, and we remain absolutely committed to addressing the challenges within the service.

This is a Budget that demonstrates we are delivering on our plan to ensure the safety of everyone within our prison system, providing a safe and secure environment for both staff and prisoners, while securing Tasmania’s future.