The Management and Training Corporation, the American private prison company that has operated Australia’s onshore immigration detention system since March 2025, has ordered that all detainees be handcuffed during transport, regardless of the risk they are assessed to pose. The directive, issued on a Saturday and obtained by Guardian Australia, applies even to detainees classified as low risk, with exceptions only for those with a medical reason to be spared. The move comes after more than a dozen escapes or attempted escapes since MTC took over the centres under a contract worth 2.3 billion Australian dollars with the Department of Home Affairs.

The directive is a blunt response to a string of security failures that have embarrassed the company and alarmed the government. The most serious incident involved a detainee with a high-risk classification being transported from Villawood Immigration Detention Centre to Sydney airport for deportation in an unmodified, unsecured Kia Carnival, with no handcuffs and no barrier separating him from staff. Vehicle registration records indicate the car was insured as a hire and drive vehicle. The detainee allegedly stabbed two staff members and fled. He has since been arrested and is facing criminal charges in a New South Wales court.

The same week produced further embarrassments. A detainee at Villawood allegedly escaped during an escort to hospital. And in a separate incident, a detainee allegedly started a fire at an unmanned demountable staff compound at the same centre. A departmental source told Guardian Australia that this detainee had previously displayed behavioural concerns and had been flagged for enhanced monitoring at the time of the incident. Despite that, no staff were present in the compound when the fire was lit. The department was reportedly concerned that the area may have been left vacant for several hours beforehand.

The new handcuffing requirement applies across all risk categories, with only medical exemptions permitted. MTC has also raised the minimum number of staff required for higher-risk escorts from three to four, excluding the driver. This additional burden falls on facilities that have already been described by the detention watchdog, unions, and departmental staff as critically understaffed.

The broader picture is one of systemic dysfunction. MTC operates the system via a local subsidiary called Secure Journeys. A spokesperson for the Australian Border Force said the department was working with the contractor to ensure facilities were safely and appropriately staffed, and that Secure Journeys was required to meet strict contractual, legislative and policy obligations. Whether those assurances will be enough to restore confidence in a system that has haemorrhaged credibility since MTC took over is an open question. Guardian Australia has approached the Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, and MTC for comment.

Sources: Guardian Australia, “All Australian immigration detainees to be handcuffed while travelling, US company says after spate of escapes,” by Christopher Knaus and Ariel Bogle, 13 April 2026. Internal MTC documentation, obtained by Guardian Australia.