Wellington Correctional Centre
Wellington Correctional Centre is a minimum and maximum security institution for male and females. It is situated in the Central West, 360km north-west of Sydney and 50km south-west of Dubbo. Wellington is the reception prison for the Orana region.
Visitor Information
Bookings: Visits must be pre booked. Bookings may be made on (02) 6840 2871 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday between 9:00am and 2:00pm.
The Federal Government is tenaciously standing by the whole apparatus of its Pacific Solution, despite the revelations that it's costing $4 million a year to keep the Manus Island detention centre open to house just one man.
Challenged on that multi-million dollar cost of keeping just one detainee at the Island centre, the Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone defended it as valid spending on border protection.
The 25-year-old Palestinian man who's been the sole occupant of the Manus Island facility for six months has been declared to be a refugee. Senator Vanstone says offshore processing is the most effective deterrent to people-smugglers that the government has found.
A former guard at South Australia's Woomera Detention Centre has spoken out about the extent of violence inside and how it has taken its toll on detainees and staff.
The Port Augusta detention centre is for detainee women, girls and boys up to 18 years of age. It is separate from the main detention centre, Baxter. Not all women and children live at Port Augusta, since they do not want to be separated from their husbands or fathers. Detainee males over 18 years of age are not permitted to stay there, but can visit.