Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Ministers statements: Corrections Victoria

Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice) (12:16): Today I rise to celebrate the achievements of Corrections Victoria’s inside to outside jobs strategy, which is an approach that is making a difference and winning global awards. With this strategy, Corrections Victoria recently received an international Correctional Excellence Award from the ICPA for helping to break the cycle of reoffending, whilst beating 79 countries and reaffirming Victoria as a world leader for our work in rehabilitation and reintegration.

Last week I was delighted to take a tour of Fruit2Work’s facility in Laverton, which is a fantastic social enterprise passionately led by Rob Brown and Simon Fenech. They are an example of a great partner that is vital to the success of the inside to outside jobs strategy. I had the pleasure of meeting Ben, one of the delivery drivers, who while in prison completed vocational training which led him to success in his role today. In the two years since the inside to outside jobs strategy was launched, more than 400 people like Ben have got jobs in a range of sectors, from construction to manufacturing to office administration to warehousing. The hardworking member for Laverton in the other place Sarah Connolly, I might add, has been a strong champion of Fruit2Work, and I would like to take this opportunity to also thank her for her advocacy for programs such as these.

We know that successful reintegration means supporting prisoners throughout their post-release journey. That is why our employment service agencies, like the WISE Employment team in St Albans, who assisted Ben, play such an important role in providing practical assistance, posting job vacancies and giving 26 weeks of support following job placement. I am proud to share with all of you that Victoria has the highest rate of prison industry employment in the nation and the second-highest portion of prisoner participation in educational programs. These are not just statistics; they translate into real and meaningful outcomes, because we know that securing a job after release from prison is a key factor in reducing reoffending, which is good for everyone. This world-leading work by Corrections Victoria is inspiring and is making a difference for all.