Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is a maximum security women’s prison located approximately 25 kilometres west of Melbourne.
The project involved upgrades and extensions to several existing buildings and the construction of new buildings within the prison boundaries, including upgrades to the security and services infrastructure.
The existing buildings that were extended and refurbished included the Industries Building, Visits Centre, Medical Centre, Education Centre, and the Operations Managers Offices, and the newly built facilities included the Multi-Faith Building, the Programs Building, and the Mental Health Unit. A new services pit and pipe system consisting of ten 100mm conduits was installed through the centre of the prison for the new power and communication services connections, which was a particularly challenging installation due to the vast array of essential services buried in the ground and limited knowledge of their exact locations.
As the facility remained operational throughout the duration of the project, building works were carefully planned with the Prisons Security Operations and Management team and staged to suit the requirements of the prison, including scheduling the works around lockdowns, muster times, drug dispensing programs and other prisoner programs. Monthly, weekly, and daily program updates were provided to the Prisons Security Operations and Management team to ensure the prison operations and construction works were coordinated properly to ensure prisoners were relocated out of new construction zones and into completed facilities as necessary.