$42m expansion plan for Casuarina prison

The West Australian government is planning to expand Casuarina prison with a new health precinct, including specialised accommodation for inmates who are disabled, mentally ill, infirmed or geriatric.

The state's Department of Finance planning manager Scott Jeffrey lodged an application proposing to build a health precinct in the prison’s existing boundaries and a new key room to the existing gatehouse, all estimated to cost $42.758 million.

The health precinct comprises of an assisted care unit with 39 beds, a crisis care unit with eight new beds and seven refurbished, mental health unit with 36 beds, and a health assessment and treatment unit with 36 refurbished beds.

The Western Australian Planning Commission has recommended the Metro Outer Joint Development Assessment Panel members approve the proposal at its meeting next week.

Plans for the proposed building were not included in the public JDAP document, with a report prepared by the WAPC saying for security reasons, the plans were provided to panel members only.

Only the proposed refurbishments of the gatehouse, being the most publicly visible building, were made available to the public.

The proposed buildings within the health precinct were predominantly single storey averaging about 10 metres in height with the assisted care building being 12 metres tall.

“The prison currently has 1782 beds and associated facilities; however, there is an identified need to increase custodial accommodation to address the projected prisoner population increases across WA,” the report said.

The proposed expansion is expected to cover 172.7-hectare within the prison's grounds.

Recommended conditions include an updated bushfire management plan and stormwater being disposed of on-site.

The WAPC report also included advice from ATCO gas for further consultation as the site falls within the trigger distance for high-pressure gas pipeline infrastructure.

Casuarina prison, the principal maximum-security facility for male prisoners in the state, had undergone expansion in recent years.

Additional living units and extension to the car parking area were approved by the JDAP in 2018 while new living units with an additional 344 beds were approved in 2021.