General Secretary Stewart Little was quoted extensively in a Daily Telegraph report on proposals to introduce 24-hour inmate check-ins at the Silverwater Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC).

Under the proposal, inmates will be taken to the MRRC, regardless of when they were arrested. Previously inmates processed after 2:00pm would spend overnight in police custody. The new system will commence on 1 October 2026.

Mr Little welcomed the move, but said more Prison Officers needed to be hired.

“We are short,” he was quoted. “We have got vacancies upwards of 20 per cent, including in regional locations.

“Silverwater and Parklea will be able to take about half the total number of remands, so we are still going to be trying to get the remainder in other prisons. Staffing is our number one concern.”