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On August 26 last year, almost one year since the prison that had been operating at the site was closed on August 31, 2024, state Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell posed cost-related questions to Victorian Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan.
Ms Lovell asked Mr Erdogan to break down maintenance expenses.
Two months later, on October 27, the Department of Justice and Community Safety revealed it had invested $2.06 million in maintaining the site in the 12 months since the prison closed.
Mr Erdogan said no income had been generated from leasing or farming activity, but that the land had been used to offset the cost of feed for cattle at other prison sites in the state.
The table above outlines the costs incurred in maintaining the unused former prison site in the 12 months since it was closed on August 31, 2024.
The largest cost was $1,301,603.53 for maintenance, including waste disposal, cleaning, scheduled maintenance and reactive/remedial costs.
A further $437,138.65 was expended on security surveillance, while the next largest expense was $163,950.44 for power.
The cost of staffing since decommissioning, from July 1, 2025, was $95,213.19, while water rights cost $37,580.40 and Greater Shepparton City Council rates cost taxpayers $27,854.33.
Victorian Government levies and taxes have been waived.
The site, which sits on 286 hectares of crown land and features a 68-room, 148-year-old double-storey mansion, a 30-minute drive from Shepparton, has had four very different lives: as a pastoral property, an internment camp, a boys’ home and, most recently, the minimum-security Dhurringile Prison.
After decommissioning the prison, the government opened a first right of refusal process, giving other government departments an opportunity to purchase it for a price tag significantly less than its actual value.
Council put in an expression of interest that extended the first right of refusal period, which allowed government entities to purchase the property at $2.5 million.
The council’s Dhurringile Future Options report had estimated that ongoing annual maintenance costs of the site would be $400,000, with a minimum of $3 million required initially for base restoration of the current heritage buildings, significantly less than the $2.06 million that has been spent by the government in the first year it has sat unused.
“Closing Dhurringile Prison was a short-sighted decision, and now there aren’t enough beds in Victoria’s prison system,” Ms Lovell said.
“But if the Labor government is determined to sell the site, it must find the right buyer quickly because the delay is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.”
The site is not yet listed for public sale.
The News is awaiting a response from Mr Erdogan about the site’s future.
