Protect the workers who protect the state

Too often, assaults on prison staff in NSW are punished with little more than a slap on the wrist. The Public Service Association wants the State Government to do more to protect the hard-working staff who operate our prisons.

Let your MP know you want better protections for the workers who protect the people of NSW.

Too often, assaults on prison staff in NSW are punished with little more than a slap on the wrist. The Public Service Association wants the State Government to do more to protect the hard-working staff who operate our prisons.

Let your MP know you want better protections for the workers who protect the people of NSW.

Letter to Members of Parliament as a member of Prison Officers Vocational Branch (POVB)

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Subject:

I am writing to you as a Correctional Officer in New South Wales and a proud member of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch (POVB).

Every day, my colleagues and I work in one of the most challenging and high-risk environments in the public sector. We manage violent and unpredictable individuals to maintain safety inside our correctional centres and protect the broader community. Despite this often-dangerous environment, we continue to serve with professionalism, resilience, and commitment to the people of NSW.

However, many of us feel increasingly unsupported and unsafe due to the way assaults on Correctional Officers are being handled within the justice system.

While most magistrates recognise the seriousness of these incidents and impose penalties that reflect the law and community expectations, there are growing examples where sentences are unacceptably lenient, even less than those provided for in the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).

In one case, an inmate who viciously assaulted four officers, leaving two unable to ever return to work, and two others with lifelong mental health injuries, received only a three-year Community Correction Order. In another case, a fine was imposed where imprisonment is the only lawful penalty. These outcomes fail to meet the intent of the law and undermine public confidence in the justice system.

The Mandatory Disease Testing laws, introduced to protect Officers after assaults, are also failing in practice with significant delays and loopholes allowing inmates to avoid testing by claiming reduced capacity. These shortcomings cause enormous stress for staff and their families.

Beyond the legal implications, this is fundamentally a Work Health and Safety (WHS) issue.

Every employer in the state, including Corrective Services NSW and the NSW Government, has a duty under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to ensure that workplaces are safe, and that risks to workers are eliminated or minimised as far as reasonably practicable.

When violent assaults are met with inadequate penalties, and when laws intended to protect staff are not effectively enforced, it sends a dangerous message that the safety of Correctional Officers is negotiable. It is not.

We are calling for your leadership and support to ensure our workplace safety is treated with the seriousness it deserves.

We respectfully ask that you:

1. Raise these matters with the NSW Attorney General and ensure that appeals are pursued where sentences are inadequate or contrary to the law;

2. Review and appeal future cases, including those presided over by Magistrate Slack-Smith, where sentencing outcomes fail to meet legal or community expectations;

3. Ensure a senior legal team is assigned to handle all appeals arising from serious assaults on Correctional Officers, including the recent matter involving inmate Welsh; and

4. Commit to reviewing the WHS framework for correctional workplaces to ensure the legal system’s response aligns with the government’s duty of care to staff.

Correctional Officers uphold the safety and security of our state every day, at great personal risk. We need to know that our leaders and our laws will uphold ours in return.

Thank you for your time and for taking these concerns seriously. I look forward to your response and to seeing meaningful action taken to protect the health, safety, and dignity of all Correctional Officers in NSW.

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