FAQs

The Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System will focus on creating a safe corrections system for both custodial staff and people in custody. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the Review.

What is the Review about?

The Cultural Review of Adult Custodial Corrections System was announced by the Victorian Government in June 2021. It will focus on supporting a safe and respectful corrections system, both for custodial staff and people in custody.

The Review will be led by a panel of independent expert advisers and the Review Lead.

Find out more about the Expert Panel and scope of the Review

Why is this Review happening?

Prisons and correctional centres are dynamic environments – custodial staff must manage a range of pressures in their day-to-day work. Recent reviews of other uniformed workplaces – including Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria – have highlighted the importance of such organisations making equality, safety and inclusion foundations for their workplace culture. Ensuring strong, supportive workplace cultures in these environments is also a key factor in advancing workplace gender equality.

A number of recent inquiries and reports have identified integrity issues within Victorian prisons and correctional centres, which have impacted both staff and people in custody.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) recently identified some instances of corruption in custodial environments directly affecting the rights and experiences of people in custody, including excessive use of force, inappropriate strip searching and inadequate internal investigations and reporting.

Reports over time including from the Victorian Ombudsman have also raised serious concerns with the transparency and fairness of some prison processes and how prisons and correctional centres manage the rights of prisoners with cognitive impairment and disability.

There has also been ongoing concern about the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody and their experiences in prisons and correctional centres.

The Review will also build on existing work to improve the way prisons and correctional centres prevent and respond to individual complaints and reports of staff misconduct, discrimination and harassment and integrity breaches.

Is the Review independent?

The Review is being led by an independent expert panel and the Review Lead.

While the Review team will draw on the experience and knowledge of a range of stakeholders, the Review will be conducted independently and will make its own findings and recommendations.

Any information shared with the Review team will be treated confidentially and will not be shared with Corrections Victoria and the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Only de-identified information will be used by the Review and, with participants’ permission, included in the final report.

Who can participate in the Review?

Please note: Submissions to the Review and registrations for confidential interviews have now closed. 

To shape the Review’s findings and recommendations, we hope to hear from a wide range of people with lived experience of the adult custodial corrections system in Victoria.

We are inviting submissions from:

  • current and former custodial staff who have worked in the adult corrections system in the last five years
  • people who are in custody currently, or have been in the past, and their families, friends and support persons
  • organisational stakeholders and advocates with specialist knowledge of Victoria’s prisons and correctional centres.

The Review will have a special focus on cultural safety for Aboriginal people – whether custodial staff or people in custody – so we invite Aboriginal people with lived experience of custodial environments to share their experience.

If you are not sure whether you are eligible to participate, you can contact the Review team by calling the Review hotline 1800 431 276 or emailing correctionsreview@justice.vic.gov.au.

What we mean by ‘custodial staff’

For the purposes of the Review, we use the term ‘custodial staff’ to refer to all custodial officers and other corrections staff who ordinarily work in a Victorian prison or correctional centre and are employed privately or by Corrections Victoria and the Department of Justice and Community Safety (i.e. both uniformed and non-unformed staff employed by the Department).

Custodial staff does not include Justice Health or staff employed by other agencies or organisations; however, these workers can still make a submission to share their relevant observations and experiences with the Review.

While our focus is the workplace experiences of custodial staff, including the behaviour and culture of custodial staff, we also recognise other workers and contractors with prison roles will have relevant observations and experiences to share with the review and we invite them to make a submission through the online webform.

How can I participate in the Review?

Please note: Submissions to the Review and registrations for confidential interviews have now closed. 

We want to make it as easy as possible for people to share their experiences.

For more information on how you can participate, you can contact the Review team by calling the Review hotline 1800 431 276 or emailing correctionsreview@justice.vic.gov.au.

Will reports of misconduct, discrimination, sexual harassment, victimisation and bullying be investigated?

The Review will not investigate individual complaints. If you wish to make an individual complaint, we can provide information about complaint options and support you through the complaint process.

Find help and support services that can assist with complaints

There are some instances where the law requires us to disclose information under mandatory notification and reporting requirements. This may include information where you tell us about something that could substantiate a criminal offence where the alleged perpetrator is a current employee of DJCS; where information leads us to form a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed against a child under the age of 16 years in Victoria; or where there is a reasonable suspicion of public sector corruption or misconduct.

My experience is from a long time ago – is it still relevant?

We hope to hear from a wide range of people with recent experience of Victoria’s prisons and correctional centres. Every story will be valuable to the Review; however, we are looking to hear about experiences that occurred within the last five years (2016 to 2021). This will ensure the experiences we hear about reflect current practice in Victorian prisons and correctional centres.

Will my information remain confidential?

There are some instances where the law requires us to disclose information under mandatory notification and reporting requirements. This may include information where you tell us about something that could substantiate a criminal offence where the alleged perpetrator is a current employee of DJCS; where information leads us to form a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed against a child under the age of 16 years in Victoria; or where there is a reasonable suspicion of public sector corruption or misconduct.

If you want to participate in the Review but are worried that your story might mean that we may have to disclose your information, you can participate in the anonymous survey (for custodial staff) or submit an anonymous submission. You can also contact us to talk about what your other options to participate might be.

How will information from individual submissions be used?

Information provided by individuals will be aggregated, de-identified, and analysed to identify themes and shape the Review’s recommendations to the Minister for Corrections. Your personal information will only be used to allow us to contact you in relation to your participation.

Any quotes and stories included in the report will be de-identified.

Some information may be subject to mandatory reporting requirements.

What happens after I provide my individual submission?

After you provide your submission, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. At the conclusion of the Review, we intend to publish on this website a summary of the report’s findings and recommendations to the Minister for Corrections. Individual submissions will not be published and all information provided by individuals will be treated in confidence.

Why do individuals need to provide their personal information?

Individuals wishing to participate in a confidential interview or join a focus group will be asked to provide their name and contact details. This is to allow us to communicate with participants about the Review and their participation.

To ensure that your experience is within the scope of the Review, we may also ask you to confirm your experience with Victoria’s adult custodial corrections system, whether as a current or former custodial staff member, or a person who has spent time in custody.

Only authorised Review staff will have access to personal information, which will be stored electronically in secure, locked files.

How will my privacy be managed?

Your privacy is one of our key concerns. The Review team has strong experience in the sensitive, careful management of personal information.

We have established processes in place to ensure only a small group of authorised staff have access to names and contact details of individuals participating in the Review. No identifying details will be published.

We will collect and store all personal information in accordance with the information privacy principles contained in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic).

Who will conduct the interviews?

Experienced Review staff will conduct the confidential interviews using a victim-centred approach to make sure you feel safe and comfortable in sharing your story in your own words.

We can also refer you to counselling and support if appropriate, and you can choose to bring a support person to your interview.