Almost 160 years after the transportation of convicts to Australia ended, a plan has emerged to turn Victoria into a prison hulk of sorts for the rest of the nation as the states’ network of jails struggles with overcrowding.

Right-leaning think tank the Institute of Public Affairs believes the Victorian government would make $290 million a year by leasing out cells for prisoners from other jurisdictions as part of a broader overhaul of Australia’s approach to imprisonment.

Governments are spending $6.8 billion a year on building and running the nation’s 113 jails, which housed a record 44,403 people in 2024. Prisoners cost an average $159,510 a year to house, and spending on the prison network is up by 50 per cent in inflation-adjusted dollars over the past decade.

According to the IPA

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