Disgraced Cardinal George Pell has reportedly been moved from his central Melbourne prison to a high-security facility in regional Victoria after a drone was flown over the jail.

"Corrections Victoria can confirm an incident involving a drone flying over the Melbourne Assessment Prison on Thursday," a Department of Justice spokeswoman told AAP on Sunday.

The drone was reportedly flying near a visitors' garden at the prison, located in Melbourne's CBD.

AAP

Pell has been held at the prison for almost a year, after his 2018 conviction for sexually assaulting two teenage choirboys at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral in the mid-1990s.

The high profile prisoner, whose legal case garnered global attention, had been given a job weeding and watering a garden inside the prison.

It has been speculated that the drone may have been used to try and get pictures of Pell, which could be worth a significant sum.

He has reportedly been moved from MAP to the maximum security Barwon Prison near Geelong since the incident, which has been referred to Victoria Police.

It is illegal to fly a drone within 120 metres of a prison or youth justice facility, and doing so can result in up to two years jail time.