Australasian National Corrections Officer Day

Australasian National Corrections Officer Day

Today marks the seventh Australasian ‘National Corrections Officer Day’, which is recognised and celebrated across New Zealand and every Australian state and territory.

It is an opportunity to recognise the tireless work and efforts of our frontline staff in the Public and Private prisons, working in pressurised, volatile, and increasingly violent situations. They manage unpredictable and violent prisoners, and all the while working with prisoners to reduce reoffending and to make the wider community safer.

Being a Corrections Officer is a job that requires dedication, bravery and commitment. Corrections Officers are the unsung heroes of the First Responder community. You are the firefighters, the ambulance staff, and the police inside a prison, and quite often all of those in one shift.

Too often the work our members do is ignored or just not thought about by the wider New Zealand public, due to it happening behind the solid walls of the prisons they work in.

The ongoing level of assaults on Corrections Officers is unacceptable, and whilst we will always support any initiative to reduce reoffending, this must start in prisons. It is an offence to assault a Corrections Officer, yet external prosecutions rarely happen and the internal disciplinary process is weak.

As a union CANZ will continue to do whatever it takes to get the Department to take this seriously and take positive actions, not just host meetings and talk.

This is why CANZ want the Department and staff to have “Your Safety First” as the focus for 2025.

Staff safety needs to be the number one priority of the Department and the Minister and they must do whatever it takes to provide a safe working environment for Corrections Officers.

Yours in Unity

Floyd du Plessis (National President), Paul Dennehy (National Vice President), Cliff Hughes (National Treasurer) and Mark Duncan (National Secretary)