In July 2000, the prison was kept in control of the Department of Corrections and a new building transferred to the control of
Australasian Correctional Management Limited (later Global Expertise in Outsourcing NZ Ltd) and became New Zealand's first
privately run prison. It was renamed the
Auckland Central Remand Prison. However, the
Labour Party was opposed to the privatisation of prisons, and in July 2005 put the prison back under the control of the
Department of Corrections. In June 2007 it was announced that a new six-storey prison building and a four-storey accommodation block would be built on the southern side of the building by 2011, adding 450 beds. The Auckland Central Remand Facility was then amalgamated into a new Mt Eden Corrections Facility. The plan was for the old prison to be converted to administrative space, in accordance with its heritage classification. To date it has not happened and lays dormant. The redevelopment included a secure gatehouse, a visitor centre and a multilevel carpark added to the structure. Tunnels link the different sections. The
barbed wire around the complex disappeared and was replaced by high and secure walls. In May 2010, the
National-led government decided that contract management would again be implemented at Auckland Central Remand Prison. The contract was awarded to
Serco, a British company that runs prisons in several different countries. On 16 July 2015, footage of "fight clubs" within the prison emerged online and was reported by
TVNZ. Serco was heavily criticised for not investigating until after the footage was screened. On 24 July, Serco's contract to run the Mount Eden prison was revoked and operation was given back to the
New Zealand Department of Corrections. Serco was ordered to pay $8 million to the New Zealand government as a result of problems at Mount Eden Prison while it was under Serco's management. ==Notable inmates==