It all comes out in the wash

10 SEPTEMBER 2025

For many Australians, the image of a prison laundry is shaped by TV drama - think Prisoner’s ‘Queen Bea’ Smith in Wentworth Detention Centre, using an ironing press as a weapon of control. That image is seared into the public imagination, a frightening mix of power and pain.

But behind the walls of Macquarie Correctional Centre, reality couldn’t be more different.

In fact, the laundry is one of the most requested jobs by inmates.

“It’s clean, quiet and a very relaxed place to work – as long as they get the work done,” says David Cullen, laundry overseer at Macquarie.

“They all help each other; it’s a good team in here. I treat them the way I want to be treated, and it all works well.”

Loads of responsibility

The laundry at Macquarie boasts industrial 55kg washing machines, hugely different from the average 7.5kg family washer. Each inmate’s clothes go into a personal mesh laundry bag, which means no sorting is needed. Up to 25 bags are washed together, then tossed straight into the dryer before being returned to their owners, keeping everything neat and personal.

Linen is washed as a one-for-one exchange – inmates hand in their dirty sheets and towels and receive fresh clean sets, and the cycle continues each week. And while the laundry serves the prison population, it also supports the wider community.

“We’ve had a contract with a local organisation since 2019,” David explains.

“We pick up their linen twice a week and drop it back clean. The inmates feel good knowing they’re helping the local community.”

Cleaning up their act

Inmates working in the laundry also obtain their Certificate III in Laundry Operations – which covers essential skills like workplace safety, infection control, chemical use, quality standards, and the operation of various laundry equipment - preparing graduates for roles as laundry workers or commercial cleaners in places like motels, hospitals and assisted living facilities.

Just like home, some strange things end up in the bottom of the washing machines,

“We’ve had CD players, batteries and even shoes tumble through the machine,” says David.

“But never any loose coins or paper money!”

So, while it might not be the drama-filled laundry of TV fame, Macquarie’s laundry is full of clean clothes, teamwork, and the occasional surprise in the spin cycle.