John hollandJohn Holland

Australia’s largest correctional facility.

Clarence Correctional Centre

The Clarence Correctional Centre will serve the Northern part of NSW and will be the primary correctional complex for all corrections operations from the Queensland border in the north, Kempsey in the southeast and Tamworth in the southwest.

12 kilometres southeast of Grafton and accommodating 1,700 beds, the complex features state-of-the-art security and surveillance, as well as advanced rehabilitation services.

Our team committed to increasing diversity, training and mental health initiatives on site. By working with the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program (ISLP), we exceeded all training and diversity targets. Over 33% of trade positions were apprentices, the number of women in trade related work doubled and 8% of the workforce were Indigenous people. The project also supported the local community, with 33% of the workforce local people and 21% aged under 25.

Caring in Construction, a suicide prevention and mental wellbeing program was piloted at the Clarence Correctional Centre. It continues to provide ongoing support in the workplace and creates a supportive environment.

NorthernPathways consortium, comprising of Serco, John Laing and John Holland was appointed to design, construct, operate and maintain the Clarence Correctional Centre on behalf of the NSW Government. For the next 20 years, the prison will inject more than $560 million into the local economy with hundreds of jobs created during construction and around 600 permanent jobs once operational.

The scope included constructing 1,000-bed male maximum security facility; 300-bed female maximum-security facility; and 400-bed male minimum security facility, with a key focus on rehabilitation and incorporating state-of-the-art technology, security and surveillance.

Facilities include recreational ovals, on-site wastewater treatment facility and 850 car spaces. Given its isolated location, works also included all water, power, wastewater and communication infrastructure upgrades and hard and soft landscaping.

  • Customer
    NSW Government
  • Location
    Grafton, New South Wales
  • Specialisation
    Justice & corrections
  • Start
    2017
  • End
    2020
The project is injecting $560 million into the local economy over the next 20 years. Over 1,100 construction jobs were created and 600 operational jobs.
The project is helping to address the critical shortage of correctional centre beds and facilities in NSW.
“John Holland has worked hard to achieve the targets in the Infrastructure Skills legacy Program and has outstanding results for its efforts. To achieve 33% apprenticeship uptake on the project is a major achievement and its Aboriginal participation at almost 9% of the total workforce is testimony to strong community engagement on the project.” David Collins, Executive Director | Training Services NSW
“Using innovative methods such as precast concrete panels, we were able to deliver this centre on time, benefiting the community through a forecast injection of $560 million into the local economy over 20 years, and the creation of approximately 1,100 jobs during construction and 600 jobs once the centre is operational.” Joe Barr, CEO John Holland

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

John Holland pays respect to the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which we work and live, and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations peoples today.