Correctional officers walked off the job at Launceston Reception Prison this morning, warning the state’s overcrowding crisis has made the facility unsafe for staff and inmates.
The one-hour stop work began at 10am on Monday, with officers gathering outside the Civic Square entrance.
The action was organised by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), which says concerns raised over recent months remain unresolved.
Launceston Reception Prison is the only adult prison in the north of the state for inmates required to attend courts in Launceston, Devonport and Burnie.
CPSU assistant secretary Natalie Jones said the prison population had grown to an unsustainable level and resourcing had not kept up.
“What we’re seeing is a melting pot of prisoners being jammed into a small and ageing facility that was never designed to operate under this level of sustained pressure,” Jones said.
She said prisoners had been forced to sleep overnight on mattresses on day yard floors several times this year.
“This action sends a clear warning to the Tasmanian government that an immediate solution to the overcrowding situation at Launceston Reception Prison is needed,” she said.
Jones said the overflow was also stretching police resources, with watchhouse cells regularly used to hold excess prisoners.
She said the facility had no capacity to keep children and adult prisoners apart and had been plagued by safety issues, including failing intercom systems and rats in cells.
Bass MP and government minister Bridget Archer, speaking to media on Monday, said the government would keep working with staff and unions on the issue.
“We have committed funding in the 2025-26 budget towards a business case for establishing a new prison in that area,” Archer said.
“We’ll continue to work through these issues and continue to remain in communication with all those affected.”
