Rehabilitating and reintegrating prisoners is critical for improving community safety and reducing the high cost of running prisons. Ravenhall Correctional Centre (Ravenhall) is a private prison that offers a unique model for reducing reoffending. It has modern facilities and its own suite of rehabilitation programs. It also has a community-based reintegration centre, the Bridge Centre, that supports people up to 2 years after their release from prison.

The 2020 audit Ravenhall prison: rehabilitating and reintegrating prisoners found that the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) did not know if Ravenhall's model was working. This was due to gaps and flaws in the performance and evaluation framework.

Five years later, this audit was conducted to see if Ravenhall is delivering on its targets to reduce reoffending. Despite its different rehabilitation and reintegration approach, Ravenhall's overall results for reducing reoffending fall short of performance targets and is similar to other Victorian adult male prisons.

Ravenhall may be missing some opportunities to rehabilitate prisoners because not all receive the programs they need. The report made three recommendations to address the findings. The relevant agencies have accepted the recommendations in principle. 

Key findings

• Ravenhall's reoffending rates are similar to other Victorian prisons, except for some more positive results for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners.
• Ravenhall may be missing opportunities to rehabilitate prisoners because not all receive the programs they need.
• Reintegration key performance indicators do not capture the full performance picture, but show missed targets. 

Recommendations

1. Evaluate Ravenhall Correctional Centre’s rehabilitation and reintegration programs, including its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rehabilitation approach, to identify possible success factors to scale up to other prisons.
2. Establish a mechanism to accurately measure and monitor the delivery of reintegration services.
3. Work with The GEO Group Australia – the company that operates Ravenhall – to strategically align program delivery with prisoner needs.