About the project
Property and Development NSW (PDNSW) facilitated the transfer of the former Brewarrina ‘Yetta Dhinnakkal’ Correctional Centre site to Brewarrina Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) and Brewarrina Shire Council in June 2022.
The adaptive reuse of this retired correctional centre will give Aboriginal communities in NSW’s Far West better access to health services as well as job and education opportunities.
The largest portion of the site has been returned to its Traditional Owners to establish primary industry and agricultural enterprises as well as cultural activities that will support better outcomes for the Aboriginal community.
This is the first non-litigated land claim settled with the Brewarrina LALC since establishment of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NSW) 1983.
The remainder of the site has been transferred to the shire council for lease to Orana Haven Aboriginal Corporation to provide women’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation services. Not only will this improve access to health services but it will also bring much needed jobs and investment to this remote area.
The Brewarrina Correctional Centre land transfer is just one example of how PDNSW is working with local government, communities, Local Aboriginal Land Councils, and the private sector to repurpose the State’s retired prisons to deliver positive outcomes for regional communities.
Learn more about our Ivanhoe ‘Warakirri’ Correctional Centre and Former Berrima Correctional Centre projects.
Background
Corrective Services NSW engaged PDNSW to investigate the potential options and opportunities for the conversion and adaptive re use for the Brewarrina ‘Yetta Dhinnakkal’ Correctional Centre which closed in 2020.
In December 2019, a ‘call for future uses’ was completed which confirmed the need for future uses to provide social and economic benefits to the local community while also being financially sustainable.
In February 2021, the Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections announced that a portion of the site would be transferred to the Brewarrina Shire Council under the Community Use Policy, ensuring the site is preserved entirely for community use for the next 15 years.
In early 2022 a subdivision plan to enable the transfer to the shire council and Brewarrina LALC was registered.
In May 2022, the land transfer agreement with the Brewarrina LALC was finalised.