The workforce in Australian Immigration Detention Centres have reached breaking point, with United Workers Union (UWU) members raising the alarm about the failure of their employer, Secure Journeys, to adequately address the number of criminal detainees in centres that workers now must deal with.
As workers enter their fourth week of national strike action in a fight for better wages, fair rostering, and safer staffing levels, members say the centres have become increasingly volatile places to work, with the detention centre population – once mostly asylum seekers – now dominated by people facing deportation after receiving criminal convictions and serving prison sentences of 12 months or more.
Members say fires, assaults on detainees, injuries to staff, and escapes have become a regular part of the job, with 85 per cent of people in immigration detention having a criminal history, and two-thirds of those are “high” or “extreme” risk detainees.*
US-owned contractor Secure Journeys – which was appointed last year and is receiving $2.3 billion in taxpayers’ money – has seen overall staff numbers crash from 1,900 under the previous contractor to around 1,000 today, following a deliberate decision to cut costs when the company took over the services contract.
Chronic understaffing and recruitment issues, exacerbated by uncompetitive wages and unworkable rosters, is leaving too few workers to keep detention centres safe. Among many examples, one detention services officer was expected to oversee three compounds, previously staffed by six detention services officers.
Members have also consistently raised concerns about corners being cut in detainee transport. A major sticking point in the negotiations is a controversial proposal by Secure Journeys to introduce a “Driver only” classification, which would see the company paying Uber-level wages for transport work currently done by trained officers – a move the Union says will leave workers and the community at risk.
Transport and escort work is a critical function of members’ work and things can easily go wrong. Of the 12 escapes that have occurred since April 2025, the majority have taken place during escorts, including to hospitals and airports. These escapes have resulted in police manhunts lasting days and putting community at risk.
Quotes attributable to Surya Nagulapalli, Allied Industries Lead Organiser, UWU
“It looks like Secure Journeys wants to have cut-price, ride-share type drivers involved in the critical job of transporting often dangerous detainees. It’s a back-of-the-napkin idea which is causing detention services officers a high degree of concern, particularly about the potential impacts on everyone’s safety.”
“Dealing with people with criminal backgrounds while being repeatedly short-staffed has greatly increased risks in a job that was already difficult and dangerous.
“Our members are doing some of the hardest and most dangerous work in the country, and they are doing it for less than workers in other corrections environments. They deserve better compensation, to keep them in the job and attract others into the job as well.
“Secure Journeys is an American private prison company running a contract for the Australian Government, and it is putting cost-cutting ahead of the safety of its own workforce. That cannot continue.”
Quotes attributable to detention services officers
“Every day we’re working short-staffed, and it’s becoming dangerous. When there aren’t enough people on shift, safety is at risk. That’s when people get hurt. It’s not right that we’re expected to manage high-risk detainees without the staffing and support we need.” – Isaac
“Around 80 per cent of the people in our centre have previously been in prison. That has completely changed the nature of our work and the risks we face every shift.” – Muhammad
“At the same time as the risks are rising, staffing levels continue to fall. There simply aren’t enough officers to do the job safely. The system isn’t working, and unless staffing improves, both workers and detainees will keep facing unnecessary risks.” – Hakan
“It’s astronomical the number of assaults that have happened. Our staffing levels have been so short, and many more incidents have occurred in just over 12 months, compared to the last company that was here for 15 years.” – Cynthia
* Senate Estimates, Page 27.