Taxpayers do not subsidise the provision of televisions to prisoners in Queensland prisons.
Prisoners are charged a weekly fee for the ability to view a television.
This generates approximately $1.2m annually.
Rental return for TVs for prisoners far outstrips replacement costs – in 2017-2018 for example, a total of $ 711,000 was used to purchase televisions, including the replacement of 1560 units for a range of reasons, not all of which relate to malicious damage.
The revenue raised by TV rental is also used to subsidise the purchase of other prisoner amenities.
If a prisoner does damage a TV, they can be required to pay the full cost of replacement.
The prisoner can also be charged with an offence and or be banned from access to television altogether.
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