The American private prison operator running Australia’s immigration network used an unsecured and unmodified Kia Carnival to transport a detainee who allegedly stabbed two of its staff during the journey and fled.
Guardian Australia can also reveal that concerns about the vehicles being used by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) had prompted an intervention by the department of home affairs and warnings from almost 500 detention centre staff.
In 2023, the Australian government awarded a $2.3bn contract to Secure Journeys, a local subsidiary of private prison company MTC, to run its onshore immigration detention centres.
The contract was awarded despite serious questions about MTC’s history in the US, where it has been accused of defrauding the state of Mississippi, as well as egregious security failures that led to the alleged gang-rape of a female detainee and the murder of two retirees by an escaped prisoner.
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Australian staff have already begun airing concerns about the centre’s operations, including claims MTC is severely understaffing detention centres.
Now, Guardian Australia can reveal that the company is also facing serious questions about the potentially dangerous method it is using to transport detainees to and from immigration detention centres.
The company has at times used standard, unmodified people-movers such as Kia Carnivals and Hyundai Starias, which lack basic safety modifications, including Perspex barriers, to protect staff.
In one case in May last year, MTC used a Kia Carnival to transport detainee Paea Teu from Villawood to Sydney airport for deportation.
The detainee allegedly stabbed two MTC staff and fled the vehicle, sparking a manhunt. He now faces a string of criminal charges in the NSW local court.
Video and images from the scene show the Kia Carnival he was transported in had no protective barriers for staff.
Vehicle registration records show the car MTC was using was insured as a “hire and drive yourself vehicle”.
Neither the department nor MTC answered questions on whether MTC was using rental cars to transport detainees.
Guardian Australia understands that the department has raised the suitability of the vehicles being used for transport directly with MTC.
Some vehicles have now had barriers added, one source at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre said.
The department can’t direct the day-to-day use of individual vehicles but can hold MTC accountable for a failure to meet contractual and work health and safety obligations.
“The Australian Border Force requires that the transportation of immigration detainees is conducted safely, securely and in accordance with contractual and work health and safety requirements,” a spokesperson for the department said.
“The Department closely monitors the performance of its detention service providers, including the suitability and fit‑out of vehicles used for transport and escort activities.
“Where issues are identified, the Department works with the service provider to ensure risks are addressed and appropriate safeguards are in place for staff, detainees and the community.”
Staff working at the detention centres raised concerns about the suitability of transport and escort vehicles being used by MTC in an open letter to the Australian Border Force in September last year. The letter, signed by 483 detention centre workers, complained that staff were “not being provided with the proper tools to do our jobs – including T&E vehicles”.
The United Workers Union, which represents MTC staff, said it was aware of concerns about the use of “people-mover style vehicles to transport detainees” and said it was “among the many safety concerns we have consistently raised with MTC and the department”.
UWU executive director of allied industries, Godfrey Moase, said the union had formally raised those concerns through the open letter which called for the transport and escort fleet to be replaced or modified.
“Members have reported that, compared to previous arrangements under Serco, some of the vehicles currently in use do not provide the same level of security protections for workers, including the absence of physical separation between detainees and staff,” Moase said.
Concerns have also been raised by the union and staff about the use of labour hire drivers for detainee transport. “You might as well hire an Uber and do an escort,” said one detention service officer at Brisbane Immigration Detention Centre.
MTC declined to comment, referring questions to the department.
