Western Australia's Inspector of Custodial Services has called for an inquiry into the "entirely unacceptable" conditions at Hakea Prison.

On Tuesday Inspector Eamon Ryan released the report for the 2025 follow-up inspection of Hakea. The inspection re-visited areas of concern identified during the 2024 inspection of Hakea Prison, where a Show Cause Notice was issued due to concerns prisoners were being held in inhumane conditions.

The latest inspection found conditions at Hakea, in which Aboriginal people are significantly over-represented, "had slightly improved but remained entirely unacceptable".

The Inspector noted that with the creation of the Hakea Safer Custody Taskforce efforts have been made to address the concerning prisoner conditions and staffing shortages, "but this is slow progress".

The Inspector found that "men at Hakea – most of whom are unsentenced and being held on remand – are being held in conditions that fail to meet basic standards", and for the majority of prisoners "rehabilitation is simply not happening".

Mr Eamon Ryan said the conditions observed at Hakea Prison reflect a broader, systemic issue affecting prisons across Western Australia.

"The prison system is operating beyond its capacity, placing immense strain on staff, infrastructure, and prisoner welfare. These pressures are undermining the effectiveness of prison operations and having a significant toll on both staff wellbeing and the humane treatment of prisoners," he said.

"Ultimately, for the majority of adult prisoners effective rehabilitation is simply not happening.

"While I acknowledge the commitment of those managing Hakea to drive improvement, the evidence available to me does not demonstrate that the scale of reform required – both at Hakea and across the wider system – is currently being achieved."

Mr Ryan said the new report "yet again highlights the unacceptable conditions at Hakea – a prison holding individuals held on remand who have not yet been convicted".

"It is deeply concerning that in a modern justice system, people are sleeping on floors beside toilets, denied daily access to showers, cannot get access to clean clothing, have immense difficulty contacting family, and are deprived of fresh air. These conditions fall well short of community expectations and international standards," he said.

"For these reasons, I have recommended that the Government initiate a formal inquiry into the operations of Hakea Prison. Such an inquiry is essential to identify practical solutions that uphold the rights of prisoners and ensure a safe, sustainable working environment for staff. The responsibility to act on this recommendation now lies with the Minister and the Government."

Kurin Minang law academic and human rights expert Dr Hannah McGlade backed the inspector's call for an inquiry.

"I support Commissioner Ryan's call for a formal government inquiry into Hakea, which has been shown to be unfit and unable to provide an acceptable standard of care as required for incarcerated people, especially Aboriginal men who are vastly over-represented in WA's prisons," she told National Indigenous Times.

"The prison poses unacceptable level of risk as we know that Aboriginal men have died in this same prison in recent years. This prison is dangerous.

"If the WA government cannot manage this prison safely then they should be relieved of that responsibility until they can - and the state could also consider a transfer of responsibility to Acacia prison, which is operating well with Aboriginal staff making a positive difference."

In March, Laura Cound, the mother of 22-year-old Noongar man Ricky-Lee Cound, who died in custody at Hakea in 2022, told National Indigenous Times that justice and reform is needed urgently.

"When is someone going to be held responsible and accountable? When? When are the changes going to happen? Because it's our First Nation people that are dying one after another, and there are young wadjela boys dying too," she said.

Noongar justice advocate Megan Krakouer, who called for an independent administrator to take over the management of Hakea in April, told National Indigenous Times on Tuesday that the prison is "atrocious".

"We know all this, all that goes on, continues to go on. We are literally sick to death of these reports and recalcitrant governments and their inaction. The Department cannot continue to blame staff shortages because that is the excuse they've used for decades," she said.

The WA Department of Justice said it is implementing changes at Hakea Prison, guided by matters raised by the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services to improve conditions.

"The inspection report recognised the efforts of a dedicated multidisciplinary taskforce set up by the Department and the innovative measures it has introduced to improve daily operations and welfare at Hakea," the Department said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The taskforce's initiatives, including bolstering casual clinical and custodial staff and new staffing agreements, are designed to enhance the safety, care and welfare of prisoners and restore normal daily routines.

"Since OICS' original inspection of Hakea last year, 15 entry-level training programs have been conducted with 99 prison officers commencing at the prison."

Department Director General Kylie Maj said the demands on Hakea as the main remand, receival and assessment facility for adult male prisoners were compounded by increases in the prisoner population.

Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said the taskforce was striving to implement measures to enhance the safety, care and welfare of the prisoners and restore normal daily routines at Hakea.

National Indigenous Times asked the WA Minister for Corrective Services, Paul Papalia, if and when the government will conduct an inquiry into Hakea Prison as per the inspector's recommendation, and, if it wouldn't conduct an inquiry, why not.

Mr Papalia did not answer the questions.

"Our dedicated prison staff work hard in a challenging environment to manage the state's prison population and keep the community safe," he said.

"The Corrective Services Commissioner has established a taskforce in response to the issues identified in the OICS report. The taskforce has already helped to boost staff and provide short term relief for prisoner management.

"A long-term custodial infrastructure plan to meet current and future population demands is now being considered by government."