Goulburn Correctional Centre - High Risk Management Correctional Centre

High Risk Management Correctional Centre

Opened in 2001 at a cost of A$20 million, the Super Maximum facility is located within the confines of the Goulburn Correctional Centre. Initially called the High Risk Management Unit (HRMU, also referred to by inmates as HARM-U), it was Australia's first Supermax prison. The facility is the most secure prison within the NSW correctional system, and the inmates are subject to very strict daily regimes, and under intense scrutiny by security. Goulburn HRMCC has received complaints by prisoners, including the lack of natural light and fresh air; access to legal books; the use of isolation and solitary confinement; limited and enclosed exercise; mutilation and harsh treatment. A 2008 report by the New South Wales Ombudsman explained that there is “no doubt… that the HRMU does not provide a therapeutic environment for these inmates”.

In spite of the security measures inside the HRMCC, in June 2011 it was reported that an unnamed inmate in the Centre had allegedly smuggled a mobile phone into the unit and plotted two kidnappings and a shooting. Criminal charges were laid against the inmate and his alleged co-conspirators.