Tuesday, 17 March 2026

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:18): (1264) My question is for the Minister for Corrections. The recently released report Ending Strip Searching in Australian Prisons, co-authored by the Human Rights Law Centre, Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne and Flat Out, calls for an end to strip searches in Australian prisons. This report highlights the dehumanising and largely ineffective nature of strip searches. In one example, in the month of April 2022, 221 recorded strip searches were conducted on women at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre with zero items found. Key findings of the report include that strip searches are often ineffective, less invasive alternatives are available, children are being forced to strip in front of adult prison guards and the harms of stripsearching compound the mass incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. So will the minister read this report and listen to these calls to end strip searches in Victorian prisons?

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:19): I thank Ms Payne for her question and her interest in this matter. Our government is committed to keeping Victorians safe, and that means holding offenders to account while supporting them to find better pathways. That is why we invest in rehabilitation: to reduce the risks of reoffending when people are back out in the community.

Keeping contraband out of prisons is a critical part of maintaining a safe and secure environment not only for staff and prisoners but also for visitors. The integrity of Victoria’s corrections system and the safety of all staff, prisoners and the community are of the highest priority. Corrections Victoria employs a range of methods to prevent contraband from entering Victorian prisons. These include the use of advanced technology, such as body scanning and drone detection; intelligence-led physical searches of prisoners, visitors and staff, especially by our specialist team the security and emergency services group; and the use of drug detection dogs. These methods are all alternatives to stripsearching, and strip searches should be used as little as possible. That is what we are aiming for, and that is why we have invested in new technologies across our corrections system. Where we have invested in this technology, we have seen a reduction in strip searches. Dame Phyllis Frost, as Ms Payne pointed out, is an example of a women’s prison where we have installed airport-style body scanners, and the number of strip searches has declined. But we need to be very clear here: corrections authorities need a full suite of options available to them to stay ahead of attempts to smuggle dangerous contraband into facilities. We need to understand that strip searches do act as an important deterrent also in the system in a dynamic environment. So at this stage we have no plans to change the law relating to strip searches.

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:21): Minister, thank you for your response. My question was in regard to reading the report, so I hope that you do read the report. But by way of supplementary, the Ending Strip Searching in Australian Prisons report also recommends law reform to mandate the recording of searches of people in prison, with information to be published quarterly at minimum. This would include the reasons for searches and results of searches, including any items identified; the age, gender, race or ethnicity of a person subject to searches; and who conducted the searches at the prison which they took place in. Will the minister accept this recommendation and expand data collection on searches of people in Victorian prisons?

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:21): I thank Ms Payne for her supplementary question. It is a really good question, because we do a really good job in terms of collecting that data in the youth justice system. As I have always said, there are a range of methods to prevent contraband from entering facilities. Strip searches should be used as a last resort, understanding the adult corrections system is a much larger system and the collection and collation of that data is a bit more challenging for our teams. But I am someone that is always focused on getting as much data as possible, and I am happy to take that away and look at what is possible into the long term. What I will say is at the moment strip searches still play an important role and they are necessary at times. We want them to be kept to a minimum; that is why we have invested in new technologies across our prison system to avoid their use. But in terms of the collection and reporting of data, I am happy to take that away and see what is possible.