Sweeping recommendations are tipped for Canberra's prison operations and the treatment and health of its inmates in a major independent report to be tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
The report is by the ACT's independent Inspector of Correctional Services, Neil McAllister, who was appointed to the role in the wake of the Moss report which investigated the 2016 death in custody of indigenous detainee Steven Freeman.
Mr McAllister, an experienced corrections investigator, has produced an extensive report which surveyed detainees and received input from providers such as the Winnunga Aboriginal Health Service.
It is first significant insight into the overall operation of the prison since the inspector's February assessment of remandee care and management, which detailed 39 issues.
His review comes a few weeks after detainees were forced into their lengthiest period of full lockdown - over five full days - since the Alexander Maconochie Centre received its first prisoners more than 10 years ago.
The lockdown was ordered by executive director of corrections, Jon Peach, for safety reasons after a hole was cut in the jail's perimeter fence from the outside and a parcel of contraband containing drugs and scissors was thrown over the fence.
ACT Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury has identified the "all-in-one" maximum security designation of Canberra's jail as a major issue in addressing long-running problems such as high rates of indigenous recidivism, remandees mixing with sentenced prisoners, and women inmates housed in the same facility as the men.
The number of remand prisoners has far exceeded the prison's original design capacity.
The government is spending $35 million this financial year on preliminary work to construct an 80-bed "reintegration centre" outside the maximum security fencing.
