The State Government has vowed to "shine a bright light" on a series of bungles surrounding the escape of three intellectually disabled child-sex offenders from a supposedly secure facility. But the results of the departmental review may never be made public.

Acting Community Services Minister Bronwyn Pike has ordered the Department of Human Services to investigate how the three men, aged32, 24 and 18, broke out of the Statewide Forensic Services centre at 10.30pm on Wednesday, and the way the matter was handled by the department and police.

Ms Pike said she was not informed about the incident until 9amthe next day, was given inaccurate details about their escape and ambiguous information regarding suppression orders surrounding the three men. Ms Pike told an 11am press conference that day that the three men had scaled a wall of the Fairfield centre and escaped. It was later revealed that the men had stolen a key and let themselves out.

The Government has come under fire for not releasing the men's identities, at least two of which are subject to court suppression orders. The men spent more than 20 hours at large before being apprehended by police in the central business district about 8pm on Thursday.

"I've asked (DHS) immediately to review the security at the institution to make sure this doesn't happen again, but of course that is not enough," Ms Pike said. "I've also called for a full and comprehensive report.

"We need to know why these people were able to get out in the first place … and what are the security provisions in the institution. Secondly, I want to know whether the … protocols between the police and the Department of Human Services were adequate and thirdly, I'm also concerned about the communication of information to myself so that I could fully understand and appreciate what had happened."

Ms Pike said the community may never see the results of the review, citing police "operational matters", but maintained the review was to "reveal things".

Opposition police spokesman Andrew McIntosh slammed the internal review, saying it would be nothing more than "arse-covering" by the department. "You've had a complete stuff-up. The Government are trying to spin it by setting up some dodgy review that will never see the light of day," he said.

Ms Pike said a security upgrade last year and a recent evaluation had been "inadequate".

■ County Court judge Frances Millane remanded one of the escapees in custody yesterday. The man, who has been charged with breaching a 10-year supervision order imposed on him by the County Court in April last year, has been ordered to appear again on February 2. He cannot be named for legal reasons.

- With Julia Medew