Newly released government documents have revealed a recent record of security breaches, contraband detections, bikie gang membership, and non-compliance with mandatory staff training at Canberra's only adult prison.
Data released in response to questions raised by Independent MLA Thomas Emerson in the estimates committee hearings paint a blurry picture of visitor smuggling attempts, drone drops, fence throws, along with the type of prohibited items seized at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC).
In the responses, new Corrections Minister Caitlin Tough said ACT Corrective Services (ACTCS) could not accurately calculate the proportion of contraband introduced by visitors, detainees, and staff for the 2025-26 financial year.
The minister said compiling this data from existing records would cause an "unreasonable diversion" of manual resources.
Nevertheless, data provided from the first half of 2026 shows persistent smuggling attempts.
Authorities were shown to have intercepted 32 contraband attempts during social visits, seven fence-line drops involving eight packages, and two suspected drone-related attempts (in February 2026).
Past records from 2024 to 2026 indicated a steady flow of illicit items, with visitors banned for smuggling buprenorphine, nicotine patches, vapes, tobacco, phone chargers, and USBs.
Additionally, ACTCS said body scans of newly admitted detainees accounted for approximately 40 per cent of all positive body scans conducted at the AMC, signalling a significant number of scan anomalies detected during the prison's admissions process.
Though ACTCS reported no staff were caught smuggling contraband in 2025-26, two officers were referred to the Public Sector Standards Commissioner over misconduct allegations involving contraband suspicion within the last three years.
Additionally, the minister said the agency had not established a timeline to introduce drug and alcohol testing for prison staff.
Although the Corrections Management Act 2007 legally allows for the drug and alcohol testing of correctional officers, Ms Tough said the actual rollout was subject to negotiation under the staff enterprise agreement.
During the hearings, senior prison officials revealed overcrowding was leading to daily pressures on security and accommodation at the AMC which was home to "at least 10" organised criminal gangs.
Ms Tough revealed as of July 31, the jail had 14 detainees associated with four outlaw motorcycle gangs and one subgroup. Three of the 14 individuals were on remand.
To prevent the formation of concentrated gang units and maintain safety, the minister said authorities had intentionally dispersed these detainees across all areas of the prison.
Despite ongoing discussions regarding custodial safety and accountability, Ms Tough said ACTCS had not yet determined the cost of providing body-worn cameras to all corrections officers at the AMC.
While the prison battles physical contraband, it also faces a human resource issue as indicated in a recent Auditor-General report which found a staggering 27 per cent of training sessions for corrections officers were cancelled between January 2024 and July 2025.
In response to questions about compliance with Use of Force mandatory and refresher training, the minister provided ACTCS' data which showed portions of the workforce had not completed training in critical safety areas.
Staff compliance for the mandatory Use of Force refresher training sat at 78 per cent, leaving 62 officers with expired training, as of August 3.
Compliance for the Fire Awareness and Breathing Apparatus refresher course was 82 per cent, while compliance with Suicide and Self-Harm Awareness training stood at 84 per cent.
First Aid training remained the highest-compliant area at 93 per cent.
Ms Tough defended the compliance figures, citing systemic and operational challenges.
"While active efforts are made to seek 100 per cent completion ... the need to maintain sufficient operational capability to ensure a safe custodial environment makes this challenging," the minister said.
She noted that recent investments in new classrooms and courses had begun to uplift training quality.
