US firm fined for Australian immigration security failures. How much? Border force refuses to say | Australian immigration and asylum
A US private prison company that runs Australian immigration detention centers has been hit with fines by the Australian government after allowing a dozen escapees, but the head of the Australian Border Force has refused to disclose the cost of the fine.
Greens senator David Shoebridge has spoken out harshly about what he called a “disturbing set of reports” revealed by a Guardian Australia investigation this week into private prison company MTC and its local subsidiary Secure Journeys.
At a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday, the home department confirmed that the MTC’s US director had been summoned to a meeting with the government following a series of devastating security failures, including the escape of high-risk detainees and the stabbing and hospitalization of staff.
But ABF commissioner Gavan Reynolds said he would not give details of financial penalties imposed on Safe Journeys, although he confirmed there had been “charge incidents” (fines) following 12 separate escapes from MTC-run facilities since May last year.
“I have received legal advice that due to the confidential commercial nature of the contract, I cannot publicly discuss the quantum of this impeachment case,” Reynolds told Senate estimates.
MTC has signed a $2.3 billion contract to operate Australia’s onshore immigration detention network from early 2025.
Guardian Australia has uncovered serious incidents including detainees missing medical appointments because the MTC did not have staff to escort them to health centres, two MTC staff being hospitalized with smoke inhalation after trying to save an unconscious detainee from a fire, more than 12 escapes from MTC facilities (many during transport and escort operations) and a risk assessment system Comcare warned the federal work safety regulator put staff at serious risk of violence.
The investigation also revealed that in September 2025, just six months after MTC took control of onshore detention, home secretary Tony Burke was forced to fly the company’s chairman from the US to dress him up in a secret face-to-face meeting.
Home Secretary Stephanie Foster confirmed details of the meeting under questioning from Shoebridge, saying it was “to ensure Safe Journeys understands how seriously we take their requirements to meet the terms of their agreements with us”.
Foster said the meeting ended with “a commitment that we will continue to work together and that Secure Journeys will do everything in its power to fulfill the requirements of their contract with us.”
Shoebridge questioned why the amount of the fine imposed on Safe Travels could not be made public.
“With all due respect, how could this cause an embarrassing situation for Internal Affairs because it’s too small, or an embarrassment for Safe Travels because it’s too big? Where’s the commercial interest you’re protecting here?” the senator asked.
Reynolds said he would seek legal advice on whether he could provide that number in response to questions on notice.
Guardian Australia also revealed that Secure Journeys staff responded to a fire in a locked room at Villawood Immigration Detention Center in Sydney on 23 September 2025. Inspectors found MTC had failed to provide staff with basic breathing equipment and fire-fighting training six months after taking over control of the centre.
Reynolds said a detainee locked himself in the room and started the fire, and said he and the department had “staffing concerns about detainees lighting fires.”
“We have done a lot of work with Secure Journeys to ensure that staff have adequate training to deal with this situation and are adequately equipped to do so,” he said.
Guardian Australia has revealed an internal government investigation has warned the MTC’s “minimalist staffing model” is putting workers and prisoners at risk.
A department source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the situation was a “sinking ship” and that the company’s tenure had been “marked by chaos, incompetence and lack of talent.”
“It is pure luck that no Safe Journey staff or detainees have yet died due to systemic incompetence,” they said.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said Guardian Australia’s revelations “lift the curtain on a system in crisis”.
“Too few staff, inadequate equipment and training, inadequate protocols for handling potentially dangerous detainees, the list goes on,” Wilkie said. “Obviously it’s only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured or killed. This is also a gross misuse of public funds.”
Jana Favero, executive vice president of the Refugee Resource Center, said the center has heard shocking reports from detainees “about deteriorating conditions, poor communication and risky, unsafe practices,” including detainees missing critical medical appointments due to staffing issues.
“These reports raise serious questions about how a contract worth $2.3 billion to taxpayers was managed,” he said.
“Australians would reasonably expect that this level of spending would provide safe conditions, appropriately trained staff, adequate medical access and basic standards of dignity and care.”
The ABF said immigration detention was a “complex working environment” and that the “well-being, safety and dignity of people in immigration detention, as well as the safety of staff” were its highest priorities.
A spokesperson for MTC Secure Journeys said the company “takes the health, safety and well-being of our employees seriously.”
“To help staff carry out their duties safely, we have established systems, training and support arrangements, including initial role-based training and ongoing refresher training to support up-to-date knowledge, safe working practices and operational readiness.
“We continue to review and strengthen these regulations as part of our ongoing commitment to safe operations.”
