Skip to Content
 Close search

Report on Government Services 2017

Volume C, Chapter 8

Corrective services

This chapter reports on prison custody and a range of community corrections orders and programs for adult offenders which are delivered separately by the eight States and Territories.

Download the chapter

  • Key Facts
  • Indicator Framework
  • Indicator Results
  • Indigenous Data

In 2015-16, on average 37 456 people per day were held in Australian prisons (excluding periodic detainees) of which 7.8 per cent were female and 27.7 per cent were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners. Nationally, 18.7 per cent were held in privately operated prisons.

Nationally, corrective services agencies operated 112 custodial facilities at 30 June 2016. Community corrections is responsible for a range of non-custodial sanctions and also manages prisoners who are released into the community and continue to be subject to corrective services supervision. In some jurisdictions, community corrections responsibility includes managing offenders on supervised bail orders.

In 2015-16, on average 63 521 offenders per day were serving community corrections orders, of which 18.3 per cent were female and 19.6 per cent were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders.

Nationally in 2015-16, net operating expenditure on corrective services including depreciation was $3.7 billion.

Corrective services aim to contribute to the protection and creation of safer communities through the effective management of offenders and prisoners, commensurate with their needs and the risks they pose to the community, by providing:

  • a safe, secure and humane custodial environment
  • appropriate management of community corrections orders
  • programs and services that address the causes of offending, maximise the chances of successful reintegration into the community, and encourage offenders to adopt a law abiding way of life.

Governments aim for corrective services to meet these objectives in an equitable and efficient manner.

The performance indicator framework provides information on equity, efficiency and effectiveness, and distinguishes the outputs and outcomes of corrective services. The performance indicator framework shows which data are complete and comparable in the 2017 Report.

Indicator framework

An overview of the Corrective services performance indicator results are presented. Information to assist the interpretation of these data can be found in the indicator interpretation boxes in the Corrective services chapter and attachment tables.

Expand allCollapse all

Effectiveness — Appropriateness indicators

Education and training

Percentage of eligible prisoners participating in education and training courses, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
% 32.2 34.1 35.6 28.5 67.4 14.4 72.3 24.4 34.4

Source: Attachment table 8A.10

Employment

Number of prisoners employed as a percentage of those eligible to work, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
% 80.4 87.5 68.9 66.0 71.2 53.4 71.1 79.3 74.9

Source: Attachment table 8A.11

Time out-of-cells

Average number of hours per day that prisoners are not confined to their cells or units, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Open 10.1 14.8 15.8 15.8 16.2 16.8 11.5 15.7 12.6
Secure 6.5 10.5 9.7 11.8 8.8 8.4 8.8 9.1 9.2
Total 7.8 11.1 10.3 12.5 9.6 8.6 9.0 12.1 9.9

Source: Attachment table 8A.12

Community work

Ratio of number of hours directed to work and hours actually worked, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable (subject to caveats) but not complete. Data are not available for NSW or Tasmania
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Ratio na 3.4 2.1 1.7 3.5 na 1.9 2.0 1.9

Source: Attachment table 8A.13

Prison utilisation

Annual daily average prisoner population as a percentage of the number of single occupancy cells and designated beds in shared occupancy cells, 2015‑16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable (subject to caveats) but not complete
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Open 108.0 na 82.2 91.4 na 100.0 64.0 85.9 99.4
Secure 128.2 na 107.9 117.5 na 81.4 92.5 117.9 115.9
Total 120.1 na 105.0 111.8 na 81.7 91.6 101.0 111.4

Source: Attachment table 8A.14

Effectiveness — Quality indicators

Apparent unnatural deaths

Rate of prisoner deaths from apparent unnatural causes (deaths per 100 prisoners), by Indigenous status, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 0.03 0.04 0.14 1.09 0.06
Non-Indigenous 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.08 0.09 0.37 0.06

Source: Attachment table 8A.16

Number of prisoner deaths from apparent unnatural causes, by Indigenous status, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 1 1 3 1 6
Non-Indigenous 5 2 2 3 2 1 15

Source: Attachment tables 8A.16.

Assaults in custody

Number of victims of violent physical attacks reported over the year, per 100 prisoners, 2015-16 – prisoner on prisoner (rate)

Most recent data for this measure are comparable over time but not directly comparable across jurisdictions. Data are complete, subject to caveats
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Serious assaults 0.59 1.09 2.25 0.84 1.29 1.53 0.75 0.06 ..
Assaults 23.68 16.14 7.09 3.74 8.29 8.97 16.92 3.31 ..
Source: Attachment table 8A.17

Number of victims of violent physical attacks reported over the year, per 100 prisoners, 2015-16 – prisoner on officer (rate)

Most recent data for this measure are comparable over time but not directly comparable across jurisdictions. Data are complete, subject to caveats
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Serious assaults 0.05 0.01 0.17 0.38 ..
Assaults 1.95 2.01 0.90 1.35 0.28 3.44 0.06 ..
Source: Attachment table 8A.17.

Efficiency indicators

Cost per prisoner/offender

Average net daily cost of providing corrective services per prisoner and per offender (excluding capital costs, payroll tax, prisoner transport and prisoner health expenditure), 2015-16 ($)

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete, subject to caveats
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Prisoner 166.94 289.83 177.26 250.48 195.45 311.87 307.73 198.86 209.96
Offender 21.62 25.60 12.69 41.84 17.80 13.19 34.75 48.78 21.45
Source: Attachment tables 8A.18–19

Outcome indicators

Completion of community orders

Percentage of orders completed during the year that were not breached for failure to meet the order requirements or because further offences were committed, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
% 74.0 66.2 77.7 60.9 67.0 85.0 72.8 73.4 72.8

Source: Attachment tables 8A.20

Escapes

Rate of escapes by prisoners (number per 100 prisoners) from secure custody and open custody, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Open 0.23 0.57 0.90 0.67 0.33 1.07 0.46
Secure 0.05 0.09 0.08 0.39 0.25 0.22 0.06
Source: Attachment table 8A.21

Number of escapes by prisoners from secure custody and open custody, 2015-16

Most recent data for this measure are comparable and complete
 NSWVicQldWASATasACTNTAust
Open 10 5 6 7 1 8 37
Secure 4 5 4 2 1 2 18
Source: Attachment tables 8A.21

Legend

These data and caveats for these data are available in Chapter 8 and Attachment 8A.

na Not available. .. Not applicable. Nil or rounded to zero.

Performance indicator data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this chapter are available in the attachment tables listed below. Contextual data and further supporting information can be found in the chapter.

Indigenous corrective services data
Table number Table title
Table 8A.16 Deaths from apparent unnatural causes by Indigenous status, number and rate per 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander/non-Indigenous prisoners
Table 8A.20 Completion of community corrections orders (per cent)