In Western Australia, the women at the Bandyup Women’s Prison will have access to a specialist treatment unit during their incarceration, thanks to the establishment of a two-point-four million dollar purpose-built mental health unit.
The new unit, named “Bindi Bindi” after the local Noongar word for ‘butterfly’, can house up to 29 women with high-dependency needs, with staff receiving specialised training in mental health care. Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston says that he hopes “Bindi Bindi” will “help improve the mental health of prisoners in a non-threatening environment”.