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Australia · Victoria · Lara, Victoria

Barwon Prison

State maximum-securityMaximummaleUnder capacity (93%)LowHigh
Verified · Data dated
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Barwon Prison

Step-by-step guidance using the Australia system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit

Victoria's principal maximum-security prison. Houses the Acacia high-security unit for the most-restricted inmates.

Capacity

540

Current population

500

Occupancy

93%

Year opened

1990

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 20 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1990

Region

Victoria

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

Acacia unit uses prolonged in-cell restriction for inmates designated as high-risk.

Visiting

Visit application via Corrections Victoria portal. Photo ID required.

Mailing

Inmate Name & CRN, Barwon Prison, Bacchus Marsh Road, Lara VIC 3214, Australia.

Practical info

Family Liaison Officers available to support new visitors.

Known issues

Ongoing scrutiny of Acacia unit conditions for terror-convict inmates.

Notable inmates

Carl Williams (deceased 2010), Tony Mokbel (transferred 2024), Robert Farquharson.

Contact & address

Bacchus Marsh Road, Lara, Victoria 3214
+61 3 5277 1100
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

5/100
Low concern5/100
Overcrowding
0/30
Oversight reports
0/30
Structural flags
0/15
Death signals
5/15
Conditions text
0/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · In-custody-death signal in sources

This facility scores 5. The national average across 262 scored Australia facilities is 5 — matching the national average.

Related facilities

All in Australia →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Compared to other facilities in Australia

261 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 5/100 · peers avg: 5/100 (+0%)

Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in Australia.

Occupancythis: 93% · peers avg: 98% (6%)
Capacity (beds)this: 540 · peers avg: 342 (+58%)

Data completeness

100%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Barwon Prison. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/barwon
Chicago
"Barwon Prison." World Prisons. Accessed October 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/barwon.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-barwon,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Barwon Prison},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/barwon},
  urldate = {2026-10-20}
}