Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) is an executive agency of the Government of New South Wales, Australia. CSNSW is responsible for the state's prisons and a range of programs for managing offenders in the community. The state has 36 prisons, 33 run by CSNSW and three privately operated. The agency traces its origins back to 1788, when New South Wales was founded as a penal colony.
The services provided include correctional centre custody of remand and sentenced inmates, parole, pre-sentence reports and advice to courts and releasing authorities, community service orders and other forms of community-based offender supervision. Offenders in custody and those supervised in the community are assessed for relevant interventions to reduce their risks of re-offending. Corrective Services NSW works in partnership with other government and non-government justice and human services agencies in regard to inmates in custody and offenders in the community.
CSNSW is an independent executive agency, headed by Acting Commissioner Leon Taylor, who reports directly to the Minister for Corrections, Anoulack Chanthivong.[2] Corrective Services NSW is further divided into three branches, each headed by a deputy commissioner:
Strategy & Governance
Security & Custody
Community, Industry & Capacity.
CSNSW was formally a division of the Department of Communities and Justice, under which the Commissioner would report to the Secretary of the Department, who in turn reported to the Minister.
CSNSW does not administer youth detention centres, which continue to be administered by Youth Justice NSW, as a division of the Department of Communities and Justice.[3]
Great Britain started the European settlement of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788, establishing a penal colony at what is now Sydney. The incentive to establishment the colony came from the conclusion (1783) of the American War of Independence, which forced Britain to find ways of dealing with criminals other than transporting them to North America. The initial settlement at Sydney Cove in Port Jackson involved housing convicts in tents, guarded by marines. Further convict shipments followed, and a surge of convicts arrived in Sydney after the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815. Convicts worked for pay and, where good behaviour was demonstrated, could be assigned to masters. Chain gangs operated from 1826 up until transportation ended in 1840.[5]
In the colony's early years, prisons and executions were managed first by the provost marshal, a military officer, and then, from 1824, by the sheriff.
Departments of Prisons (1874–1970) and Corrective Services (1970–8)
The colony established its first Department of Prisons in 1874, with Sheriff Harold Maclean appointed as the first Comptroller-General.
The Department changed its name to 'Corrective Services' in 1970, and McGeechan's title changed to Commissioner. Eight years later, the Wran Government accepted the Royal Commission's recommendation that the post of commissioner be abolished in favour of a three-person Corrective Services Commission.
The Government appointed academic Tony Vinson as the chairman of the new Corrective Services Commission. Vinson implemented many of the Royal Commission recommendations, but by 1981 found himself in conflict with the officers' union, the Public Service Association. The Government backed the union in the dispute, and Vinson retired to academia. The tenure of his replacement, Vern Dalton, was memorable for a corruption scandal that saw the Minister for Corrections, Rex Jackson, sentenced to 10 years' gaol for corruption.
Labor, tarnished by this and other scandals, was swept from office in 1988: the Liberal–Nationals coalition that replaced them campaigned on a 'tough on crime' platform. Dalton was moved to a different department and the Corrective Services Commission was abolished in favour of a single director-general on 9 August 1988. The first director-general was former police officer Angus Graham.
In October 1991 the department was restructured, with its juvenile justice responsibilities being transferred to a separate agency and Graham's title changed to Commissioner.[17]
As part of a broader consolidation of government departments in 2009, the Department of Corrective Services was merged with the departments of the Attorney-General and Juvenile Justice in 2009. Corrective Services New South Wales became a division of what is now known as the Department of Justice, with Woodham retaining his role as Commissioner. LiberalAttorney-GeneralGreg Smith replaced Woodham with Peter Severin, the head of South Australia's prison service, in 2012.
The NSW prison population has doubled in the last two decades, from 7810 inmates in 1998 to 13,722 in 2018.[18] Females account for 8% (1040) of the prisoner population in NSW and 24.7% (3300) of inmates are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The annual expenditure on prisons in NSW in 2018 was $1.16 billion, and the average cost per prisoner per day is $188.[19]
In terms of performance indicators, in 2018 Corrective Services NSW prisons were below average for Australian states and territories for recidivism (51% at two years), assaults (25 per 100 prisoners), deaths in custody (0.07/100 prisoners), participation in education and training (22%), time out of cells (8 hours/day) and prison capacity utilisation (129%).
In 2019, Corrective Services set a target to reduce adult prison inmate reoffending by 5 per cent by 2023.[20] The prisoner population of NSW is estimated to rise to by 550 inmates a year to 16,402 within five years.[21] In response to prisoner number growth, Corrective Services NSW launched a $3.8 billion program for building new prison capacity in 2016.[22]
The Incident Response Team (IRT) is the Riot Squad of Corrective Services NSW. IRT officers are equipped with ballistic vests, helmets with visors, arm and leg guards, capsicum spray, an ASP baton, and flex-cuffs. The grenade launchers issued can fire CS gas or baton rounds.
The Security Operations Group (SOG) is the Corrective Services NSW tactical group.
They were formed as the "Emergency Squad," named after the NSW Police Emergency Squad. Long Bay Gaol Emergency Squad were active in riot control at the facility. The group was then renamed the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) in 2009. [23] HRT did not have riot control responsibilities. HRT's roles were limited hostage rescue until the NSW Police Force Tactical Operations Unit arrived. The team was renamed the Security Operations Group (SOG) The Group's responsibilities include armed escorts of high risk inmates, armed patrols of high security facilities, and responding to armed inmates. SOG are trained to rescue hostages if necessary, although procedure is to cordon and contain for the NSW Police Tactical Operations Unit. SOG operators escort high risk inmates in unmarked, armoured four wheel drives. The main rifle used is the SIG MCX assault rifle. The Heckler and Koch UMP submachinegun is utilized, with the Glock 22 as a sidearm.
Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice
27 November 2023
Corrective Services NSW (2024–present)
Following the Astill Inquiry, formed to inquire into the offending of former correctional officer Wayne Astill at the Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre, which exposed systemic culture and organisational issues within Corrective Services New South Wales,[24][25] the LaborPremierChris Minns announced that the service would be split from the Department of Communities and Justice and become its own executive agency, responsible directly to the Minister for Corrections.[25] The Premier's decision was motivated by desires to create a more "accountable and transparent system". The Premier stated that the move would bring CSNSW in line with frontline agencies such as Fire and Rescue New South Wales.[25][26]
Name
Title
Appointed By
Term start
Term end
Term duration
Leon Taylor
Acting Commissioner
Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice (under previous department)
