Community Corrections Officer

A division of Corrective Services NSW, Community Corrections is responsible for the management of offenders on community based sentences including intensive correction orders, community corrections orders, with supervision and/or community service work conditions and conditional release orders with supervision conditions.

Community Corrections Officers develop individual case plans for offenders based on the risk and consequences of reoffending while assisting their successful integration back into society.

Officers are also responsible for providing advice to Courts and releasing authorities to inform decision making regarding sentencing, release to parole, and response to breach of orders.

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"You could be the first person that tells them they are worth something"

A person in a blue shirt looks to the side, smiling, in an office.

Justice NSW: Working for Corrective Services NSW: Meet Ross

Video transcript

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I'm Ross, I got a business degree in marketing and HR Management and I'm a community corrections officer. I'm a bit of an extreme sports nut. I love climbing, overcoming obstacles, thinking my way around the problem. That really helps with this kind of job.

When managing offenders in the community, you really gotta be able to get into their shoes. You've gotta understand where they've come from, where they're going, and what they need to change. At the end of the day the people that we assist are responsible for their own actions. But they have problems just like the rest of us. They could be emotional problems, they could be psychological problems, problems with employment or even day-to-day things that we take for granted. That's why they need somebody who can be there to offer guidance or mentorship or just be there to support them.

For most people, family is a very important support structure so we try and work closely with the offenders' families as a way of bolstering that support.

It is an interesting job but you need to have patience, you need to be firm, and you need to draw boundaries. You're providing your service to the court and to the community and you have to be strong in the mind, I guess, to do that.

In my office, we really do work together as a team. There's a lot of office banter that goes on, it's lighthearted and fun, and you need to have that with this kind of work. We're all here because we believe that with the right case management, family support, and linking in with other services in the community, offenders have more opportunities to change.

More often than not, you're dealing with people that have been told for their entire life that they're no good. And you could be the first person that they have contact with who tells them that they're worth something and that you can do this.

And you can make changes in your life. Ultimately, the role is to ensure that the community is kept that much safer. And I think we do a pretty good job of that.

Working as a Community Corrections Officer

Supervise and monitor offenders on various community based orders
Working in a variety of locations including community and corrections offices, gaols, courts and home visits
Providing professional services including reports to courts, releasing authorities and other statutory bodies
Providing professional case management and supervision of offenders in a community and custodial environment
Engaging interventions and support services with offenders in the community
Initiating breach reports, instructing legal representatives, providing documentary and written evidence on oath and enforcing community-based sentencing orders
Using interviewing techniques to assist offenders in their understanding of the causes and consequences of their behaviour in order to develop skills to make better choices
Facilitating and supporting programs for offenders
Invoking change in offender's behaviour and attitudes
Developing a solution to the shortage of community based services and programs
Managing time appropriately to ensure case management, administration and report writing activities are completed
Making decisions about breach actions in situations of non-compliance.

Key skills

Stay calm in highly pressured environments and work through difficult issues
Engage and translate complex information concisely for a diverse audience
Motivated and committed to achieving challenging goals
Write fluently in a range of styles and formats
Influence and negotiate from an informed and credible position
Show sensitivity and understanding in resolving conflicts and differences
Research and analyse information and make recommendations based on relevant evidence
Demonstrate accountability by assessing work outcomes and share learnings
Have intermediate knowledge of computer applications
Manage and develop people.

Role requirements

Completing the Certificate IV in Correctional Practice whilst supervising a caseload of offenders within 12 months of commencement
Meet the focus capabilities at the intermediate level
Current driver's licence and have a willingness/ability to drive within NSW.

Flexibility

35 hour week Monday to Friday.

Paid

Training and development

Pre-employment checks

National criminal history check including fingerprint checks
Contact with offender check
Reference checks (minimum of 2 referees)
Conduct and performance checks (for existing public service employees).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

Corrective Services NSW provides services to various communities across the state, making it important to have a diverse and inclusive workforce that contributes to safer outcomes for our communities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make a significant impact to the organisation by improving the way we interact with Indigenous communities and help inform and shape cross-cultural services.

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Last updated:

29 Nov 2022