Report 12

The Banksia Hill Detention Centre Redevelopment Project

Conclusion

The project management practices for BHDC were ineffective in managing the project. The governance structure did not promote sufficient oversight on the redevelopment project and communication was poor. This meant that risks identified early in the project were not sufficiently mitigated and were realised.

DCS and BMW did not adjust the project management, project governance or tender process to match the overall risk profile of the project. At around $30 million, or five per cent of the total spend for the prison upgrade program, the BHDC redevelopment project did not represent a large risk in terms of financial value, but the overall project risk profile was high.  The elevated project risk profile stemming from building inside an operational detention centre, in a tight timeframe was not adequately considered.

The BHDC redevelopment project delivered core buildings 12 months late while some of the planned buildings are still yet to be delivered. The opening of Wandoo was postponed in response to this delay, resulting in additional costs to DCS. A decision is still to be made about when the remaining work at BHDC will be delivered.

DCS did not adequately consider the long term impact of the solution it recommended to the Minister to meet the Government’s commitment to open a young adult facility by December 2011. While changing BHDC’s role and facilities and converting Rangeview to Wandoo met the required timeline, it has reduced the number of juvenile detention facilities to one. This has reduced DCS’ flexibility to respond to operational issues or a rapid increase in the number of juveniles in detention.

 
Page last updated: August 7, 2013

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