Multinational outsourcing giant Serco has asked inmates at one of its private prisons to donate money for national poverty week, a move critics have labelled “tone deaf”.

Serco, which posted a global £82.1m ($139m) profit in 2016, is hosting a movie night at Acacia prison in Western Australia, as its sole contribution to national poverty week next week.

Inmates are asked to make a gold coin donation to participate, because “it is important for people who have committed crimes against society to have the opportunity to give something back”.

Serco said the event was the idea of inmates, and was being run by its non-government partner, rehabilitation provider Outcare.

The company said the event was part of efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate prisoners through a “responsible prisoner” model, which encourages inmates to make positive choices and plan their post-release future.

“These events are chosen by prisoners themselves who, with our NGO partners, then plan, arrange and run the events. Our staff provide outstanding support and make their own contributions,” a spokesman for the company said.

But critics have criticised Serco’s approach to national poverty week as a “tone deaf, hypocritical exercise that does nothing to help people in real poverty”.

The Anti-Poverty Network of South Australia said most inmates were typically in poverty themselves.



“It beggars belief that a multibillion-dollar company like Serco that has made its money from human rights abuses would think it appropriate to demand money from prisoners on anti-poverty week,” its spokeswoman, Nijole Naujokas, said.

“Most prisoners are in poverty themselves and many times a lack of financial resources contributes to the decision to commit certain crimes and subsequent recidivism.”

The Acacia prison runs another charity program to support local groups, which relies on a prisoner-led reparation committee.

This year, the committee identified homelessness, at-risk youth, and domestic violence as its areas of focus. It expects to make a $30,000 commitment of “direct sponsorship, time, and materials” to six groups working in the area.

Serco’s operation of the Acacia facility was scrutinised late last year as part of a broader report by the state’s inspector of custodial services, Neil Morgan.

The prison held about 1,468 prisoners, but just 36.5% of beds were found to be compliant with Australasian guidelines, the report said.

Double bunking had caused crowding in many units, the report said.

Many services were found to be insufficient, including dental and mental health support and the access to the oval and gymnasium was restricted.

Naujokas said Serco should spend more of its own money “making prisoners lives and detention centres more comfortable, rather than cutting corners”.

Serco – a behemoth consultancy that provides a broad range of services for governments and corporations worldwide – found itself in the spotlight this week after the federal government announced it would help run Centrelink’s troubled call centre.

Under the deal 250 staff from a Serco subsidiary will join the call centre in a bid to improve performance and waiting times.

Labor, the Greens, and the main public sector union all voiced opposition to the privatisation of a critical public service.

Serco has run Australia’s onshore immigration detention centres since 2009, and operates private prisons at Acacia, the Wandoo reintegration facility, and the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre.

It is also part of a consortium that will build and operate a 1,700 bed prison near Grafton, in New South Wales, expected to be Australia’s largest correctional centre.

The Anti-Poverty Network is holding its conference next week, which it said was the only event of its kind organised by low-income people, for low-income people.