A new experimental prison in New South Wales where maximum security inmates work 15-hour days and don't live in cells is recording record low rates of assault on staff and other prisoners.
At Macquarie Correctional Centre, in Wellington in central western NSW, inmates convicted of murder, rape and terrorism sleep in dormitory-style 'pods', take part in art classes and get paid to design and weld furniture.
The jail is marking its five-year anniversary and NSW Corrections Department data shows the 'experiment' appears to be working.
John*, not his real name, has served more than 20 years behind bars for murder, most of which has been in regular high security prisons, where inmates are kept in concrete cells with few freedoms.
After being transferred to Macquarie, John is running twice-weekly art classes for fellow prisoners and spends hours in the art studio where he creates works for the jail chapel and for exhibitions.
"In an older style jail, or most maximum-security facilities, you dress ready for war, first thing in the day," John said.
"Whereas here, it's fully relaxed.
"The level of freedom and trust that's placed in us here leads to better results on release. That's the hope."
The 400 all-male Macquarie inmates staff a prison cafe and commercial kitchen, work in a computer-aided design (CAD) laboratory and learn to use welders and 3D printers in the engineering department.
The prison even has a content studio called 'MAC TV' where inmates film and edit promotional videos for internal use.
Inmates can also study university courses online and at least one inmate is currently completing his PhD.
At night, prisoners aren't locked away in cells but sleep in dormitories fit with screens that allow them to monitor their rehabilitation programs and court dates.
After five years of operation, NSW Corrections Department data shows inmate misconduct rates at Macquarie are half that of other maximum-security jails in the state, and staff assault rates are an eighth of comparable jails.
Macquarie prisoners enjoy a level of freedom not enjoyed in other maximum security prisons, but prison governor Brad Peebles said that comes with high expectations.
"We expect a 15-hour day out of the guys," Mr Peebles said.
"Everyone does half a day of work, followed by half a day of either programmes or education.
"It's a very safe jail both for inmates and staff. And because it's so safe, inmates can concentrate on the programmes and everything we offer, rather than living in fear."
The jail was the first of two NSW government "rapid-build" jails which were designed to be built in 12 months to improve a prison bed shortage.
Macquarie, and the Hunter Correctional Centre which opened in 2018, were designed with dormitory style living instead of cells, to speed up the building process.
Mr Peebles said the activity-heavy prison program was designed to keep inmates out of trouble, and offenders know they can be sent back to harsher facilities if they misbehave.
"At the end of the day, behaviour really is contextual.
"And here we provide a context that brings out the best in people.
"There's a lot of people that have made dumb mistakes and carried those mistakes on. And when given the chance, they shine," he said.
University studies are underway to track the rate of recidivism by Macquarie inmates.
