About us

The authority, functions and powers of the Inspector of Custodial Services are provided under the Inspector of Custodial Services Act 2012.

We are an independent statutory body and the Inspector reports directly to NSW Parliament.

Our jurisdiction is over all public and private custodial facilities in NSW:

• adult correctional centres
• youth justice centres
• 24 hour court complexes
• police cells managed by Corrective Services NSW
• inmate/detainee transport
• transitional centres
• inmate/detainee transport
• custodial residential facilities

The mandate of our office is to provide independent scrutiny of the conditions, treatment and outcomes for adults and young people in custody, and to promote excellence in staff professional practice.

We are required to inspect each adult custodial centre at least once every five years and every youth custodial centre every three years. We report on each inspection to the NSW Parliament with relevant advice and recommendations.

We also manage the Official Visitor Program

We do not investigate individual complaints made by staff, inmates, young people or their families.  We do consider the type and frequency of complaints made to authorities, to inform inspections and identify systemic issues.

Contact us

Phone: 0427 739 287
Email: custodialinspector@justice.nsw.gov.au

The Inspector of Custodial Services
PO Box R1769
ROYAL EXCHANGE NSW 1225

Read about us in

• Arabic (PDF, 156.6 KB)
• Chinese (simplified) (PDF, 141.9 KB)
• Chinese (traditional) (PDF, 161.4 KB)
• Korean (PDF, 303.7 KB)
• Spanish (PDF, 110.5 KB)
• Vietnamese (PDF, 168.2 KB)