Additional FAQs
Custodial Operations
What restrictions apply to personal visits with prisoners?
Revised 7 September 2022
Queensland Corrective Services’ priority is to keep COVID-19 out of our prisons and to keep staff and all people in our care safe. This is why a staged approach as described in the Custodial Operations Pandemic Response Planning Tool is taken to restrictions, including with respect to personal visits, according to the level of risk.
Current restrictions – Baseline Pandemic Response
Due to the low level of community transmission of COVID-19, all correctional centres across Queensland moved to the Baseline Pandemic Response from 7 September 2022.
When correctional centres are in the Baseline Pandemic Response, face to face personal visits are available. When booking your personal visit, please contact the corrective services facility for more information:
- Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre
- Borallon Training and Correctional Centre
- Brisbane Correctional Centre
- Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre
- Capricornia Correctional Centre
- Helana Jones Centre
- Lotus Glen Correctional Centre
- Maryborough Correctional Centre
- Numinbah Correctional Centre
- Palen Creek Correctional Centre
- Southern Queensland Correctional Centre
- Townsville Correctional Complex
- Wolston Correctional Centre
- Woodford Correctional Centre
Virtual personal visits (VPV) is also available where family and friends of prisoners can stay in touch with their loved ones. Delays may occur in booking availability for VPV when there is high demand, but QCS works to ensure everyone can virtually visit their loved ones as soon as possible. For more information and to book, contact your correctional centre.
Queensland Corrective Services has also recently added a new service to allow family and friends to email prisoners located in Queensland correctional centres.
Information for when visits recommence
During the Baseline Pandemic Response and Standard Pandemic Response, face to face personal visits can proceed according to current health advice and the COVID-SAFE plans in place.
Even when restrictions are eased and visits can occur, some changes to contact and non-contact personal visits may be required according to health advice and COVID-SAFE plans.
Visitors are no longer required to provide proof of their vaccination status. However, visitors must undergo screening protocols and comply with mask wearing requirements and directions of staff. Please contact the relevant correctional centre for details of current visitor numbers permitted under COVID Safe plans and to book contact, non-contact and virtual visits.
In accordance with current Queensland Health advice personal visitors are required to wear a mask at all times within a corrective services facility.
Everyone entering a corrective services facility will continue to undergo health screening and temperature checks. Restrictions remain if visitors are close contact or a diagnosed case of COVID-19.
What health checks are there for QCS and Queensland Health staff, professional, official and other business visitors prior to entering a correctional centre?
Revised June 2022
QCS has in place health and temperature checks for all staff and other people before they enter facilities across the state. Any person with a temperature over 37.5 degrees or with cold or flu symptoms is not be permitted access to the centre and is referred to seek medical advice.
What precautions are in place at point of entry for prisoners?
Revised May 2022
QCS continues to limit the risk of a prisoner with COVID-19 being received into the secure custody environment, by ensuring health and temperature checks are conducted at reception.
Baseline Pandemic Response and Standard Pandemic Response
During the abovementioned pandemic responses, new admissions will be subject to:
- a temperature check and health checks as determined by Queensland Health personnel
- checking of COVID-19 vaccination status
- offering of COVID-19 vaccination if applicable.
A prisoner must not be subject to COVID-19 isolation unless advised by Queensland Health personnel. The Queensland Health personnel will provide advice regarding the isolation arrangements that should be in place.
Elevated Pandemic Response
During the Elevated Pandemic Response, further steps are put in place to help reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 entering Queensland prisons including isolating all new receptions for a 7-day period.
Once any 7-day isolation period is completed, the prisoner will be relocated to the general prisoner population following a final temperature and health check by Queensland Health staff.
Prisoners who are confirmed to have COVID-19 will be isolated and treated according to Queensland Health advice. Subject to the capacity of the health system, confirmed cases will be managed in a health setting or a designated COVID-19 unit within the centre to reduce the risk of transmission
The process is uniform across Queensland for consistency with no discretionary authority applied.
How will an isolated prisoner be managed?
Revised June 2022
A prisoner must not be subject to COVID-19 isolation unless advised by Queensland Health personnel.
Queensland Health personnel will provide advice regarding the isolation arrangements that should be in place.
To preserve the health and wellbeing of each prisoner subject to isolation, to the greatest extent possible each prisoner subject to isolation will have:
- access to confidential medical assessment and treatment including COVID-19 Vaccination Program and specialist mental health services;
- access to engagement with the offender development team to monitor and support their mental health;
- engagement with unit and activities officers to provide activities that may be undertaken whilst isolated (such as books, drawing and letter writing);
- access to blue letter mail processes and unmonitored calls with legal representatives; and
- access to facilitated telephone calls, and/or videoconference connection with family.
What other restrictions on prisoner movements are in place?
Revised June 2022
To minimise the risks associated with COVID-19, steps have been put in place to minimise the movement of prisoners between centres. For example, prisoner movements between centres will only occur when essential for placement, and prisoner requested moves are restricted.
Prisoners who are not subject to isolation or displaying symptoms of COVID-19 may be considered for movement or transfer to another corrective services facility.
The movement and transfer of non-isolated prisoners can occur in accordance with standard procedures; however a surgical mask and vehicles must be cleaned between each escort.
Prisoners subject to isolation are to stay at their location until they are no longer considered to be a COVID-10 positive prisoner, or otherwise at the end of their period of isolation. Prisoners who are subject to an isolation requirement should not be moved unless there is an operational necessity or an emergency.
How are prisoners at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 managed?
Revised June 2022
A prisoner at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is a prisoner accommodated within a corrective services facility who falls within the category of people identified in the statement published by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) on as being at, or likely to be at, a higher risk or serious illness if infected with COVID-19.
People considered at higher risk of severe illness if they were to contract COVID-19 include those who are unvaccinated and who:
- are aged 70 years and over;
- have had an organ transplant and are on immune suppressive therapy;
- have had a bone marrow transplant in the last 24 months or are on immune suppressive therapy for graft versus host disease;
- have a haematologic (blood) cancer, eg. leukaemia, lymphoma or myelodysplastic syndrome; and
- have non-haematological cancer, diagnosed within the past 5 years, or are on chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted anti-cancer therapy.
First Nation’s people’s are thought to be at higher risk in public health emergencies. Unvaccinated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may be at increased risk of severe disease and should be considered a priority population when assessing potential risk of COVID-19.
Chronic medical conditions, and conditions which give rise to immunosuppression, are listed and updated by the Department of Health.
Prisoners who are confirmed by Queensland Health as at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 will be subject to medical segregation in a dedicated single cell accommodation and/or unit to reduce the level of close contact with the broader prisoner population. The prisoner is not to be restricted to their cell.
Prisoners who meet the criteria for medical segregation will be grouped together in accommodation areas to minimise their contact with the broader prisoner and staffing population, where operationally viable.
These prisoners are not restricted to their cell, but instead will be engaged and managed in accordance to any requirements establish by Queensland Health.
How is QCS managing the transfer of prisoners at risk of severe illness from COVID-19?
Revised June 2022
If a prisoner at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is required to transfer to another secure corrective services facility, their health risk status will be notified as part of the prisoner transfer authority for the receiving centre.
If the prisoner is released to parole or a community-based order, Community Corrections and the High Risk Offender Management Unit will be notified of their health risk status to inform decision making on supervision and reporting requirements.
Will there be legislation changes to release prisoners?
Revised December 2021
QCS is committed to ensuring the health and safety of staff, prisoners and offenders and is taking necessary precautions to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Queensland’s corrective services facilities. We also must protect the safety of the community. With these priorities, consideration is not currently being given to introducing legislation to alter or extend existing prisoner release mechanisms in Queensland, with several options already available for prisoners under the Corrective Services Act 2006 (the Act).
Queensland Remote Communities
What is QCS doing to ensure the community is safe from COVID-19?
Revised December 2021
QCS is committed to ensuring community safety, and as such any prisoner with symptoms approaching a known discharge will receive a health and temperature check conducted by Queensland Health and will be assisted in accordance with health advice. There is also an offer of a COVID-19 test made to all prisoners who plan to return to vulnerable communities, as well as the opportunity to be vaccinated.
Access to Legal Representation
I need to get my client to sign a s651 application for their sentence to proceed. Can QCS assist with this?
Revised December 2021
When restrictions are in place due to COVID-19, Queensland Corrective Services will assist legal representatives with the completion of section 651 applications. If you have an application that needs to be signed by a prisoner, please send it to the sentence management email address at the correctional centre where the prisoner is accommodated. Sentence Management staff will coordinate the completion of these applications (including the completion of the Oaths Act declaration) and return by email to legal representatives.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact via email at covid19specops@corrections.qld.gov.au
How is QCS supporting prisoners and their legal representatives on bail applications, and how can legal representatives and engaged experts request a tele or video conference with a prisoner?
Revised December 2021
Please refer to the correctional centre conference booking methods document for instructions on how to make a video or teleconference booking with your client.