A prison officer is under investigation following an alleged assault on a female prisoner at Melbourne’s maximum security women’s prison.

3AW Mornings was alerted to the incident at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre last week and understands it was male staff member and the assault was sexual in nature.

Corrections Victoria says the officer has been moved to a different correctional facility while the investigation takes place.

It told 3AW Mornings it took “all allegations of workplace misconduct extremely seriously”.