Coronavirus (COVID-19) information
As of 23 January 2021, all visits to Victorian prisons will resume.
Virtual visits via Zoom bookings remain available.
Please note there have been changes to visit procedures, and you should see contacting and visiting prisoners for the most up-to-date information on visits.
Please see our response to coronavirus (COVID-19) for the latest updates.
Please refer to the current information about contacting and visiting prisoners which is the same for all prisons in Victoria.
Getting there
Melbourne Assessment Prison is on the corner of Spencer and La Trobe Streets in the Melbourne Central Business District.
It is 250m north of Southern Cross Station and is accessible by trams travelling along Spencer and La Trobe Streets.
In-person visits
- A maximum of 2 people (including children) will be permitted to visit a prisoner at one time. This means that 2 adults, or 1 adult and 1 child, can attend a visit with a prisoner.
- All visits must be booked 48 hours in advance through the prison’s booking system.
- Adult visitors (16 years and older) must be listed on the prisoner’s visitors list and will be required to present 100 points of identification.
- All visitors over the age of 12 are required to wear a surgical mask supplied by the prison. If you are exempt from wearing a face mask, you need to discuss this with the prison and provide your medical exemption in writing prior to your visit. Failure to do so may result in your visit being refused. If you do not have a lawful medical exemption, you will be instructed to wear a face mask.
Any visitor who does not comply with directives associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission reduction measures will not be permitted to enter the prison and will have their visit terminated. This includes visitors who refuse to wear a face mask (unless they have a lawful medical exemption).
See contacting and visiting prisoners for further information on COVIDSafe visiting measures.
Visiting times
To visit a prisoner as a personal visitor, you must be on their approved list. Once you are on the list, visits are booked by a prisoner who must apply in writing.
Professional or police visitors are advised to contact the prison for information about applying for a visit.
Visits are not conducted on Christmas Day or Good Friday.
Prisoners are permitted one in-person visit per month.
|
|
9:00am to 11:00am |
11:30am to 12:30am |
1:00pm to 3:30pm |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wednesday |
Mainstream (no children) |
Separation Regime
|
Mainstream (no children) |
|
|
9:00am to 10:30am |
11:00am to 12:30pm |
1:00pm to 3:30pm |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Saturday |
Unit 9 (no children)
|
Unit 10 (children permitted) |
Mainstream (children permitted)
|
|
|
9:00am to 12:00pm |
12:30pm to 1:30pm |
2:00pm to 3:00pm |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sunday |
Mainstream (children permitted)
|
Unit 9 (children permitted)
|
Unit 10 (children permitted)
|
Prison profile
Melbourne Assessment Prison is a maximum security facility providing the primary statewide assessment and orientation services for male prisoners received into the prison system.
Security level
Maximum
Operational capacity
305 (30 June 2019)
Accommodation
Melbourne Assessment Prison comprises units with different roles or functions such as protection or workforce and the Acute Assessment Unit, a 15-bed, secondary psychiatric facility catering for all of the state's male prisoners. Where possible, prisoners with similar status, such as 'remanded' or 'sentenced', are accommodated together.
History
Planning for the Melbourne Assessment Prison began in 1974, with construction commencing in December 1983. The prison was completed in 1989 at a cost of $80 million. It was officially opened on 6 April 1989 by the then Premier of Victoria and received its first prisoners on 29 May 1989. Initially known as the Melbourne Remand Centre, the prison was originally built to accommodate remand prisoners. In 1997 the prison became the reception prison for all male prisoners in Victoria and was renamed the Melbourne Assessment Prison.