General News
6 October, 2026
Concerns over staff assaults at Lotus Glen
THE State Government has confirmed more than 350 prisoner assaults or incidents on staff occurred at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre in the past five years.
Responding to a Question on Notice by Member for Hill Shane Knuth in State Parliament on 26 August, the Minister for Corrective Services Laura Gerber confirmed there were 306 instances of prisoners assaulting staff, together with 52 reported cases of blood and bodily fluid exposure incidents dating from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026.
Mr Knuth had also asked what protections were in place for officers exposed to blood or bodily fluids and whether safety and incident reporting practices at the centre would be reviewed.
“Corrective services officers do a tough job, and they deserve to come home safely after every shift,” Mr Knuth said on his social media post.
“Those figures are concerning. We need to know every assault is accurately recorded, officers are properly protected, and anyone exposed to blood or bodily fluids gets prompt medical support.”
Mr Knuth called on workers at the Tablelands correctional centre to come forward to discuss any concerns about staff safety or how incidents were reported.
In her response provided on 26 September, Ms Gerber said Queensland Correctional Services had workplace and health and safety controls in place to protect officers from exposure to blood and bodily fluids, such as personal protective equipment and “robust exposure protocols ... including immediate contamination containment”.
“QCS continually monitors reported incidents, identifies emerging risks and reviews workplace health and safety controls to ensure appropriate protections remain in place for officers,” she said.
In the past financial year, QCS had also rolled out a new incident reporting system across the state to “strengthen” its recording and monitoring of incidents.
The minister said more than 2000 new corrective services officers had joined QCS since the LNP government came to office.
