Corrective Services NSW
Prison operator in New South Wales, Australia
title: "Corrective Services NSW" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["government-agencies-of-new-south-wales"] description: "Prison operator in New South Wales, Australia" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_Services_NSW" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Prison operator in New South Wales, Australia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox government agency"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| agency_name | Corrective Services NSW |
| type | Executive Agency |
| logo | Logo of Corrective Services NSW.svg |
| logo_width | 150px |
| formed | 1 October 2024 (as an independent agency) |
| preceding1 | Department of Corrective Services |
| preceding2 | Department of Communities and Justice (as a division of) |
| jurisdiction | Government of New South Wales |
| headquarters | Henry Deane Building, 20 Lee Street, Haymarket, Sydney |
| employees | 11,500 (2022) |
| budget | billion (2022) |
| minister1_name | Anoulack Chanthivong MP |
| minister1_pfo | Minister for Corrections |
| chief1_name | Gary McCahon PSM |
| chief1_position | Commissioner |
| agency_type | Agency |
| keydocument1 | https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1999-093 |
| website | https://correctiveservices.dcj.nsw.gov.au/ |
| :: |
| agency_name = Corrective Services NSW | type = Executive Agency | nativename = | nativename_a = | nativename_r = | logo = Logo of Corrective Services NSW.svg | logo_width = 150px | logo_caption = | seal = | seal_width = | seal_caption = | picture = | picture_width = | picture_caption = | formed = 1 October 2024 (as an independent agency) | preceding1 = Department of Corrective Services | preceding2 = Department of Communities and Justice (as a division of) | dissolved = | jurisdiction = Government of New South Wales | headquarters = Henry Deane Building, 20 Lee Street, Haymarket, Sydney | coordinates = | employees = 11,500 (2022) | budget = billion (2022) | minister1_name = Anoulack Chanthivong MP | minister1_pfo = Minister for Corrections | chief1_name = Gary McCahon PSM | chief1_position = Commissioner | chief2_name = | chief3_name = | chief2_position = | agency_type = Agency | parent_agency = | child1_agency = | child2_agency = | child3_agency = | child4_agency = | child5_agency = | keydocument1 = https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1999-093 | website = https://correctiveservices.dcj.nsw.gov.au/ | footnotes = | chief3_position = | chief4_name = | chief4_position = | chief5_name = | chief5_position = | chief6_name = | chief6_position = | chief7_name = | chief7_position = | chief8_name = | chief8_position = | chief9_name = | chief9_position = | parent_department = 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.
The agency head office is located in the City of Sydney.
Legislation
CSNSW's operations are governed by a number of State laws, chief among them the . Other relevant pieces of legislation include the , the , the , the , the , the , the , and the .
Corrective Services NSW also manages the following regulations: the , the , and the .
Structure
CSNSW is an independent executive agency, headed by Acting Commissioner Leon Taylor, who reports directly to the Minister for Corrections, Anoulack Chanthivong. 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.
Facilities
::data[format=table title=""]
| Facility | Operator | Security Classification | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amber Laurel Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Intake and transit facility in Western Sydney | |
| Bathurst Correctional Complex | CSNSW | Mixed-security facility for male offenders | 1888 |
| Broken Hill Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Medium and minimum-security facility for male and female offenders | 1892 |
| Cessnock Correctional Complex | CSNSW | Complex houses: | 1974 |
| Clarence Correctional Centre, Grafton | Serco | Maximum- and minimum-security correctional centre for male and female offenders | 2020 |
| Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Houses participants sentenced to a Compulsory Drug Treatment Order | |
| Cooma Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum- and medium-security facility | |
| Emu Plains Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum-security facility for female offenders | |
| Glen Innes Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum-security facility for male offenders | |
| Goulburn Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Incorporates two correctional facilities | |
| Francis Greenway Correctional Complex, Berkshire Park | CSNSW | Incorporates three correctional facilities: | |
| Junee Correctional Centre | GEO Group | Mixed-security correctional centre for male offenders | |
| Kariong Correctional Centre | CSNSW | An intake and transit centre for classified inmates transitioning between Sydney and the NSW north coast | |
| Kirkconnell Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum-security facility for male offenders | |
| Lithgow Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Maximum-security facility for male offenders | |
| Long Bay Correctional Complex, Matraville | CSNSW | Incorporates two facilities: | |
| Macquarie Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Maximum-security facility for male offenders | |
| Mannus Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum-security facility for male offenders | |
| Mary Wade Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum-security facility for male offenders | 2017 |
| Mid North Coast Correctional Centre, Kempsey | CSNSW | Maximum-, medium- and minimum- security centre for male and female offenders | 2004 |
| Oberon Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum-security facility for male offenders | |
| Parklea Correctional Centre | MTC/Broadspectrum | Houses remand, minimum- and maximum-security inmates | |
| Silverwater Correctional Complex, Silverwater | CSNSW | Incorporates three facilities: | |
| South Coast Correctional Centre, Nowra | CSNSW | Houses male offenders with minimum, medium and maximum-security areas | 2010 |
| St Heliers Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Minimum-security institution for male offenders | |
| Tamworth Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Medium security facility for male offenders | |
| Wellington Correctional Centre | CSNSW | Houses maximum security inmates | |
| :: |
History
NSW established jails in Berrima (1836), Cockatoo Island (1839), Darlinghurst (1841), Parramatta (1842), Maitland (1848), Cooma Correctional Centre (1873) and (site of the current Four Seasons hotel located) in The Rocks and later in Goulburn (1884), Bathurst (1888), Broken Hill Correctional Centre (1892) in the state's far west, Long Bay (1909) as the State Reformatory for Women, and Emu Plains (1914). In more recent years, correctional centres (as they are now known) have opened at Parklea (1983), Cessnock, Junee (1993), Lithgow, Silverwater (1997), Brewarrina (2000), John Morony Correctional Centre and Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre in north-west Sydney, Kempsey (2004), Wellington (2007), and Nowra (2010).
Early years (1788–1874)
Main article: Convicts in Australia
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.
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.
List of provost marshals and sheriffs
::data[format=table title=""]
| Name | Title | Appointed by | Term start | Term end | Term duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Brewer | Provost Marshal | Governor Arthur Phillip | |||
| Thomas Smyth | Provost Marshal | Governor John Hunter | |||
| Garnham Blaxcell | Acting Provost Marshal | Governor Philip Gidley King | |||
| William Gore | Provost Marshal | Colonial Secretary Robert Stewart | |||
| John Thomas Campbell | Provost Marshal | Governor Lachlan Macquarie | |||
| John Mackaness | Sheriff | Colonial Secretary Henry Bathurst | |||
| William Carter | Sheriff | Attorney-General Alexander Baxter | 1828 | 1828 | |
| Thomas Macquoid | Sheriff | Attorney-General Alexander Baxter | 1829 | 1841 | |
| Adolphus William Young | Sheriff | Attorney-General John Plunkett | 1843 | 1849 | |
| Gilbert Eliot | Sheriff | Attorney-General John Plunkett | 1849 | 1854 | |
| John O'Neill Brenan | Sheriff | Attorney-General John Plunkett | 1855 | 1860 | |
| George Richard Uhr | Sheriff | Attorney-General John Hargrave | 1861 | 1864 | |
| Harold Maclean | Sheriff | Attorney-General James Martin | 1864 | 1874 | |
| :: |
Departments of Prisons (1874–1970) and Corrective Services (1970–78)
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.
List of comptrollers-general
::data[format=table title=""]
| Name | Title | Appointed by | Term start | Term end | Term duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Maclean | Comptroller-General | Incumbent | 1874 | 1889 | |
| George Miller | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Albert Gould | 1896 | ||
| William Neitenstein | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Albert Gould | |||
| WM McFarlane | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister John Garland | |||
| Samuel McCauley | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister David Hall | |||
| Denis Gaynor D'Arcy | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Jack FitzGerald | |||
| William Urquhart | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister William McKell | |||
| HH McDougall | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Thomas Ley | |||
| George Steele | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister William McKell | |||
| William Francis Hinchy | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister John Lee | |||
| George F. Murphy | Comptroller-General | Attorney-General Henry Manning | |||
| Leslie Cecil Joshua Nott | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Reg Downing | |||
| Harold Richard Vagg | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Reg Downing | |||
| John Arthur Morony | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Reg Downing | |||
| Walter McGeechan | Comptroller-General | Attorney-General Ken McCaw | |||
| :: |
Post-Nagle Royal Commission (1978–2009)
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 Prison Officer's Vocational Branch (PVOB). The PVOB frequently opposed the Royal Commission recommendations, and a group of prison officers who called themselves the Maggot Squad intimidated and harassed the officers who were supportive of progressive reforms. The Government backed the union in the dispute, and Vinson resigned and went back to working in 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' jail for corruption.
Labor was defeated at the 1988 New South Wales state election: 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.
List of commissioners and directors-general
::data[format=table title=""]
| Name | Title | Appointed by | Term start | Term end | Term duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie Kenneth Downs | Acting Commissioner | Attorney-General Frank Walker | 18 January 1978 | 19 June 1978 | |
| Leslie Kenneth Downs | Associate Commissioner | Attorney-General Frank Walker | 19 June 1978 | 15 November 1978 | |
| Noel Stanley Day | Commissioner | Attorney-General Frank Walker | 19 June 1978 | 19 March 1979 | |
| Dr Phillippe Anthony Vinson | Chairman and Commissioner | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | 6 October 1981 | |
| Noel Stanley Day | Deputy Chairman and Commissioner | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | ||
| Arnold Victor Bailey | Commissioner | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | ||
| Dr John Victor Temple Ellard | Commissioner (part-time) | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | ||
| Francis Daniel Hayes | Commissioner (part-time) | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | ||
| Vern Dalton | Chairman and Commissioner | Corrections Minister Rex Jackson | 1981 | 22 August 1988 | |
| Stanley Miller | Commissioner (part-time) | Corrections Minister John Akister | 19 March 1986 | 22 August 1988 | |
| Dr Glenice Kay Hancock | Commissioner | Corrections Minister John Akister | 1 December 1986 | 22 August 1988 | |
| Dr Susan Carol Hayes | Commissioner (part-time) | Corrections Minister John Akister | 1 December 1986 | 22 August 1988 | |
| David John Robert Grant | Deputy Chairman and Commissioner | Corrections Minister John Akister | 27 January 1987 | 22 August 1988 | |
| Noel Stanley Day | Acting Director-General | Corrections Minister Michael Yabsley | 22 August 1988 | 8 March 1989 | |
| Angus Graham | Director-General | Corrections Minister Michael Yabsley | 8 March 1989 | 10 October 1991 | |
| Angus Graham | Commissioner | Justice Minister Terry Griffiths | 10 October 1991 | ||
| Neville Smethurst | Commissioner | 26 August 1996 | |||
| Dr Leo Keliher | Commissioner | Attorney-General Jeff Shaw | 2002 | ||
| Ron Woodham | Commissioner | Corrections Minister Richard Amery | 2002 | 2009 | |
| :: |
Corrective Services New South Wales (2009–2024)
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. Liberal Attorney-General Greg 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. 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.
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. The prisoner population of NSW is estimated to rise to by 550 inmates a year to 16,402 within five years. In response to prisoner number growth, Corrective Services NSW launched a $3.8 billion program for building new prison capacity in 2016.
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. 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.
List of corrective services commissioners
::data[format=table title=""]
| Name | Title | Appointed by | Term start | Term end | Term duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Woodham | Commissioner | Corrections Minister Richard Amery | 2002 | 2012 | 10 years |
| Peter Severin | Commissioner | Attorney-General Greg Smith | 2012 | 2021 | 9 years |
| Kevin Corcoran PSM | Commissioner | Anthony Roberts, Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections | 2021 | 2024 | 2 years |
| Leon Taylor | Acting Commissioner | Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice | 27 November 2023 | 2 March 2025 | 15 Months |
| :: |
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, the Labor Premier Chris 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. 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. ::data[format=table title=""]
| 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) | 27 November 2023 | 2 March 2025 | 15 months |
| Gary McCahon PSM | Commissioner | Minister for Corrections | 3 March 2025 | ||
| :: |
References
References
- "Contact us". Corrective Services NSW.
- ''[https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/sl-2024-371 Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Corrective Services NSW) Order 2024]'' (NSW). 14 August 2024. Commenced 1 October 2024.
- ''[https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1987-057 Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987]'' (NSW). As amended at 19 February 2024.
- (7 November 2005). "Chronology - A History of Australian Prison Reform". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- (2008). "History of NSW Corrections". Corrective Services NSW.
- Garton, Stephen. (1986). "Frederick William Neitenstein (1850–1921)".
- (22 June 1896). "Changes in the civil service: the new comptroller of prisons". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
- (17 September 1909). "Captain Neitenstein". The Inverell Times.
- (6 March 1910). "New comptroller-general of prisons". Sunday Times (Sydney).
- (29 April 1914). "New comptroller of prisons: Mr McCauley appointed". Tamworth Daily Observer.
- (19 December 1919). "Comptroller of prisons dead". The Riverine Grazier.
- (8 February 1922). "Comptroller-General of prisons". The Maitland Daily Mercury.
- (14 May 1925). "Mr MacDougall's further rise". Cootamundra Herald.
- (24 June 1925). "Prisons chief: Mr George Steele comptroller". Northern Star (Lismore).
- (3 January 1928). "New prison chief: Mr WF Hinchy succeeds Mr Steele". Evening News (Sydney).
- (16 July 1947). "Prisons head to retire". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- O'Toole, Sean. (2006). "The History of Australian Corrections". University of New South Wales Press.
- Grant, David. (1992). "Prisons: The Continuing Crisis in New South Wales". Federation Press Sydney.
- (10 October 1991). "Corrections shake-up: plan to cut 100 administrative jobs". The Canberra Times.
- [https://www.correctiveservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/CorrectiveServices/related-links/publications-and-policies/corrections-research-evaluation-and-statistics/nsw-offender-census.aspx NSW Inmate and Community Offender Census]
- [https://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2019/justice/corrective-services Report on Government Services 2019 - Corrections]
- [https://www.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/Reforms/reducing-reoffending/reducing-reoffending.aspx Reducing Reoffending]
- [https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/12649/Answers%20to%20questions%20on%20notice%20-%20PC%205%20-%20Counter%20Terrorism%20and%20Corrections%20-%20Roberts%20-%20received%203%20October%202019.pdf NSW Budget Estimates: Minister for Corrections]
- NSW Budget 2016: $3.8 billion for new jail capacity to cover surge in prison population [https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-budget-2016-38-billion-for-new-jail-capacity-to-cover-surge-in-prison-population-20160616-gpkhd5.html]
- (6 December 2012). "NSW Corrective Services riot training".
- (2024-02-14). "Special Commission of Inquiry into offending by former Corrections Officer Wayne Astill at Dillwynia Correctional Centre". Office of The Cabinet (New South Wales).
- (19 August 2024). "NSW Corrective Services to become standalone agency".
- (16 August 2024). "Building a more accountable corrective services system".
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