Questions over how the Justice Department handled a notice ordering security improvements within Tasmania's magistrates courts will be raised in parliament after a corrections officer was assaulted.
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The department has come under fire after it was revealed on Sunday an improvement notice issued by WorkSafe Tasmania was withdrawn "without any explanation".
The issue was highlighted again on Tuesday after a corrections officer was punched in the face while guarding a detainee in the dock at the Burnie Court Complex, which houses the supreme and the magistrates courts.
While the assault took place within the Supreme Court, Police Association of Tasmania president Colin Riley said it was "one problem after another" when it came to court security in general.
The union had raised its concerns about a lack of security at the state's magistrates courts for decades, while it also argued for police to be relieved of security duties at the Supreme Court.
The workplace health and safety regulator, which falls under the Justice Department, issued a notice in February identifying a number of safety risks due to a lack of security at the state's 11 magistrates courts.
It followed an investigation into the courts and its security process, with the assistance of the police union, in 2019.
The investigation found workers were exposed to the risk of physical injury, assault, and dangerous, disruptive or prohibited objects being brought into the premises.
An improvement notice threatening a $250,000 fine was then issued, but withdrawn five months later.
The Justice Department claimed there were "deficiencies" with the document, but did not launch an appeal through the court.
Mr Riley shared his concerns with Independent Windermere MLC Ivan Dean, who planned to raise the issue next week in parliament.
"I am just flabbergasted to think the order could be issued by WorkSafe, and then without explanation that order is simply withdrawn by the department, and nobody was told about it," Mr Dean said.
"Something needs to change within the department, it is just unacceptable."
A WorkSafe Tasmania spokesman said the regulator had reviewed the notice and "formed the view that it did not meet the requirements of section 192(1)(c) of the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 in that it did not state how each of the provisions of the Act specified in the notice are being, or have been, contravened".
"The regulator is not required to apply to a court to cancel a notice," the spokesman said.
The police union had argued the notice should have been corrected and reissued, with the safety issues still outstanding.
"Nobody has clear control of the health and safety issues in the court," Mr Riley said.
"We just keep doing what we have always done, and those processes are not keeping people from being injured."
Mr Dean, who is a former police commander, agreed and said the issue of court security in Tasmania was far from new.
"The police have had concerns about safety within the courts for decades, not just for members but for the sitting magistrates and court officers as well," Mr Dean said.
"It seems like this is another stalling process, how much longer will this go on now? They need to get on with it and make the changes."
A Justice Department spokesman said the court "regularly assesses its security needs and strives to make improvements wherever possible".
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