NSW Government set to introduce legislation to enhance safety in prisons and better protect the NSW community

The Government is set to introduce a Bill to amend the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act to change the burden of proof for correctional centre offences to "satisfied on the balance of probabilities", rather than "beyond reasonable doubt."

These changes will bring NSW in line with most other states and territories across Australia, where the "balance of probabilities" is the standard of proof applied for misconduct hearings.

Criminal conduct behind bars will continue to be dealt with by the NSW Police Force according to the criminal standard of proof.

The Government acknowledges concerns about the impact of current legislative requirements on officer safety.

Enshrining the "balance of probabilities" as the burden of proof will make the discipline process less complex and ensure inmates are held to account.

The new legislation will continue to protect community safety, with Community Corrections reports to the State Parole Authority reflecting these disciplinary decisions in custody.

Minister for Corrections Anoulack Chanthivong said:

"There is no higher priority than community safety for the Minns Labor Government.

"The Government has the shared goal with the union of making sure correctional centres are the safest environment possible for staff.

"We are introducing this legislation as a way to best meet this shared goal.

"These changes come after many months of consultation and engagement on a revised inmate misconduct system between Corrective Services NSW and the PSA.

"New South Wales has been out of step on this issue for too long, and we welcome these efforts to bring our state up to the standards of other jurisdictions.

"We are confident these changes will better protect Corrective Services staff members on the job and streamline action relating to allegations of inmates' misconduct."

General Secretary of the Public Services Association Stewart Little said:

"We welcome this commitment to introduce legislation and will work with the Government to see this legislation succeed.

"We want to ensure prisons are safe for everyone and this change is incredibly important to ensure our members can maintain a safe working environment for staff, inmates and visitors."