# Corrective Services NSW

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 Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW). Other relevant pieces of legislation include the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), the Crimes (Interstate Transfer of Community Based Sentences) Act 2004 (NSW), the Protected Disclosures Act 1994 (NSW), the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW), the Prisoners (Interstate Transfer) Act 1982 (NSW), the Parole Orders (Transfer) Act 1983 (NSW), and the International Transfer of Prisoners Act (NSW).
Corrective Services NSW also manages the following regulations: the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Regulation 2014 (NSW), the Prisoners (Interstate Transfer) Regulation 2024 (NSW), and the Crimes (Interstate Transfer of Community Based Sentences) Regulation 2020 (NSW).

## 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

| 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: Cessnock Correctional Centre – minimum- and medium-security facility for male offenders Hunter Correctional Centre – maximum-security facility for male offenders Shortland Correctional Centre – maximum security facility for male offenders | 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 Goulburn Correctional Centre – Maximum/minimum security institution for male offenders High Risk Management Correctional Centre – purpose-built maximum-security facility for male offenders | |
| Francis Greenway Correctional Complex, Berkshire Park (Formerly John Morony Correctional Complex) | CSNSW | Incorporates three correctional facilities: John Morony Correctional Centre, a maximum/medium security correctional centre for remand and sentenced male offenders Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Centre (formerly Outer Metro Multi Purpose Correctional Centre), a minimum security correctional centre for males Dillwynia Correctional Centre, a maximum security correctional centre for female offenders | |
| 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: Long Bay Hospital – a maximum to minimum security facility for medical and psychiatric cases, and remandees Metropolitan Special Programs Centre (MSPC) – a maximum/minimum security facility | |
| 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: Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre a maximum security institution for women and the major reception centre for female offenders in NSW. Metropolitan Remand & Reception Centre (MRRC) a maximum security correctional facility for men Dawn de Loas Correctional Centre Area 1 & 2 is a minimum security correctional centre for men. | |
| 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 gaols in Berrima (1836), Cockatoo Island (1839), Darlinghurst (1841), Parramatta (1842), Maitland (1848), 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)

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

| Name | Title | Appointed by | Term start | Term end | Term duration |
| Henry Brewer | Provost Marshal | Governor Arthur Phillip | 26 January 1788 | February 1796 | 8 years, 6 days |
| Thomas Smyth | Provost Marshal | Governor John Hunter | February 1796 | 20 December 1804 | 8 years, 323 days |
| Garnham Blaxcell | Acting Provost Marshal | Governor Philip Gidley King | 20 December 1804 | 1 August 1805 | 224 days |
| William Gore | Provost Marshal | Colonial Secretary Robert Stewart | 1 August 1805 | 8 March 1819 | 13 years, 219 days |
| John Thomas Campbell | Provost Marshal | Governor Lachlan Macquarie | 8 March 1819 | January 1824 | 4 years, 299 days |
| John Mackaness | Sheriff | Colonial Secretary Henry Bathurst | January 1824 | November 1827 | |
| 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

| Name | Title | Appointed by | Term start | Term end | Term duration |
| Harold Maclean | Comptroller-General | Incumbent | 1874 | 1889 | 15 years, 0 days |
| George Miller | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Albert Gould | 8 January 1890 | 1896 | 5 years, 358 days |
| William Neitenstein | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Albert Gould | 22 June 1896 | 17 September 1909 | 13 years, 87 days |
| WM McFarlane | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister John Garland | 1 March 1910 | 29 April 1914 | 4 years, 59 days |
| Samuel McCauley | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister David Hall | 29 April 1914 | 19 December 1919 | 5 years, 234 days |
| Denis Gaynor D'Arcy | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Jack FitzGerald | 31 December 1919 | 2 February 1922 | 2 years, 33 days |
| William Urquhart | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister William McKell | 8 February 1922 | 17 May 1925 | 3 years, 98 days |
| HH McDougall | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Thomas Ley | 17 May 1925 | 24 June 1925 | 38 days |
| George Steele | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister William McKell | 24 June 1925 | 31 December 1927 | 2 years, 190 days |
| William Francis Hinchy | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister John Lee | 3 January 1928 | 31 January 1940 | 12 years, 28 days |
| George F. Murphy | Comptroller-General | Attorney-General Henry Manning | 31 January 1940 | 31 July 1947 | 7 years, 181 days |
| Leslie Cecil Joshua Nott | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Reg Downing | 31 July 1947 | 30 June 1956 | 8 years, 335 days |
| Harold Richard Vagg | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Reg Downing | 20 July 1956 | 9 August 1960 | 4 years, 20 days |
| John Arthur Morony | Comptroller-General | Justice Minister Reg Downing | 9 August 1960 | 14 July 1968 | 7 years, 340 days |
| Walter McGeechan | Comptroller-General | Attorney-General Ken McCaw | 15 July 1968 | 18 January 1978 | 9 years, 187 days |

### 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' gaol 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

| 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 | 152 days |
| Leslie Kenneth Downs | Associate Commissioner | Attorney-General Frank Walker | 19 June 1978 | 15 November 1978 | 149 days |
| Noel Stanley Day | Commissioner | Attorney-General Frank Walker | 19 June 1978 | 19 March 1979 | 273 days |
| Dr Phillippe Anthony Vinson | Chairman and Commissioner | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | 6 October 1981 | 2 years, 201 days |
| Noel Stanley Day | Deputy Chairman and Commissioner | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | 19 March 1986 | 9 years, 143 days |
| Arnold Victor Bailey | Commissioner | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | 19 March 1986 | 9 years, 143 days |
| Dr John Victor Temple Ellard | Commissioner (part-time) | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | 19 March 1986 | 9 years, 143 days |
| Francis Daniel Hayes | Commissioner (part-time) | Corrections Minister Bill Haigh | 19 March 1979 | 19 March 1986 | 9 years, 143 days |
| 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 | 2 years, 216 days |
| Angus Graham | Commissioner | Justice Minister Terry Griffiths | 10 October 1991 | | |
| Neville Smethurst | Commissioner | | | 26 August 1996 | |
| Dr Leo Keliher | Commissioner | Attorney-General Jeff Shaw | 26 August 1996 | 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

| 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.
| 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 | | |