Media release: The inspector of custodial services releases a report on Mary Wade Correctional Centre

27 October 2020

The Inspector of Custodial Services (ICS) Fiona Rafter has released a report into Mary Wade Correctional Centre (MWCC), handing down 21 recommendations.

The Inspection of Mary Wade Correctional Centre report involved the inspection of MWCC, a maximum security remand centre for women in Metropolitan Sydney.

This report outlines the many advantages of keeping unsentenced inmates separate from sentenced inmates. The inspection found that the level of access to women’s health services, legal services, relevant programs, and employment opportunities was much improved for women on remand when they are not accommodated with sentenced women or within predominantly male correctional centres.

The ICS made recommendations aimed at strengthening the good foundations observed at MWCC for providing a safe custodial environment that is responsive to the particular needs of women remanded in custody.

Many of the recommendations are relevant for the management of women anywhere in custody in NSW, but particularly at the expanded Dillwynia Correctional Centre and the new Clarence Correctional Centre.

The ICS was established in October 2013 to provide independent oversight of the NSW correctional system including CSNSW and Youth Justice.

The ICS is required to inspect each adult custodial facility in NSW once every five years and report findings to parliament. CSNSW and Justice Health & Forensic Mental Health Network were consulted as part of the inspections.