ACT government challenged on COVID-19 outbreak response at Alexander Maconochie Centre

The Canberra Times revealed on Wednesday that a third major outbreak has hit the Alexander Maconochie Centre, infecting at least 29 inmates since it was detected last weekend.

The situation is also creating headaches for the ACT's courts, with the ability to move prisoners on remand curtailed by the fight to stop the virus spreading.

A Justice and Community Safety Directorate spokeswoman outlined on Wednesday the steps prison staff were taking to manage the outbreak, saying all inmates known to be infected had been moved to a specific unit to isolate.

"Legal and welfare visits services are continuing," the spokeswoman added, saying strategies that had been used effectively during previous lockdowns had been put back in place.

On Thursday morning, Aulich managing partner Peter Woodhouse told The Canberra Times the assertion was inaccurate.

"I had a visit scheduled with a client today and was advised by the jail that it could not proceed," he said.

"I was further advised that I could only book urgent legal [audio-visual link] appointments for people that have court this week or early next week.

"I have asked the jail to facilitate urgent telephone calls with my clients and even that isn't being done."

Mr Woodhouse said while he accepted some caution needed to be taken in managing COVID-19 in a custodial setting, it was very important for inmates to have access to their lawyers regularly and at short notice.

"To suggest that is still happening is simply not true and it needs to be rectified immediately," he said.

His comments follow fellow lawyer Tamzin Lee, the head of Legal Aid ACT's criminal practice, telling the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday that jail authorities had cancelled a scheduled visit with one of her clients because of the outbreak.

Ms Lee said she had been told prison staff would "try" to facilitate the appointment via audio-visual link instead.

Responding to Mr Woodhouse's comments, the directorate spokeswoman said face-to-face visits had been "paused" because of the current COVID-19 outbreak.

"However, [ACT Corrective Services] continues to facilitate audio-visual links and phone contact between detainees and their legal representatives," she said.

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"These services are currently prioritised for detainees with matters going to court in the next week.

"[Audio-visual link] cannot be facilitated for detainees who are identified as COVID-positive or as being high-risk contacts."

The spokeswoman said the movements of "COVID positive and high-risk contact detainees" had been restricted to their relevant accommodation units for the safety of other prisoners and jail staff.

"For these detainees, urgent phone requests are being facilitated where the detainee consents to take the call," she said.

The spokeswoman added that ACT Corrective Services had responded to enquiries from law firms to advise them of the outbreak and the prioritisation of urgent matters.

"In addition, offers have been made to add legal phone numbers to detainees' phone accounts so the detainee can contact their legal representatives directly from their accommodation unit," she said.

"[Alexander Maconochie Centre] staff are following the established protocols which have proven effective at containing COVID outbreaks within the centre in the past, while facilitating legal and personal contacts for detainees."

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