Pay and benefits for correctional officers

The Wellbeing team looks to implement projects or processes that will improve the wellbeing for staff.

So we do a lot of consultation around that.

And that's what we're trying to do as a Wellbeing team, is to empower people to look after their peers and their colleagues and each other, and hopefully making sure that they've got the tools and the resources and the best opportunity to succeed.

We're really fortunate in the last couple of years that we've been able to grow our Wellbeing program to provide staff with more opportunities, and more services.

We have an amazing peer support, PSO network. So as part of the wellbeing role, we look after the PSOs to look after the staff.

The role of a peer support officer in corrections is to help support our staff through incidences and just day to day life. Helping them wherever we can. Calling, checking in on them, referring them to other parties if necessary.

Our peer support officer network is made up of people who volunteer their time. But sometimes just having someone to have that conversation with means that you recognise when you might need some professional help or some other supports.

Some of the things we've been able to achieve in the last sort of 12 months is we now have period products available for our staff in our operations centre.

So now we make sure that those products are available to our staff in a centralised area.

We have a wellbeing quiet room on site. In the past it was old filing cabinets and an old desk, and we've been able to fit it out, so it actually feels like a supportive space and that you're not sitting in the middle of a custodial environment.

We also have onsite employee assistance programs, to make sure if things are hard, you've got someone that you can talk to. It just makes accessing wellbeing services easier.

So our social club here is awesome. We have situations here, whether good or bad and let's face it, we're in a jail, everyone gets together.

Everyone's always about “Is that person okay?”, their wellbeing. And it's fantastic.

I think it’s really important having the Wellbeing programs.

At the moment they have activities at lunch time, which is great for custodial staff and non-custodial staff to get together and it sort of shuts off from work for a bit.

And they also do heaps of different programs outside of work that gets families involved and I think it’s really important to be able to get together outside of work as well.

We're just there to provide the conduit. Something simple like putting tables around the Alexander Maconochie Centre for people to sit at.

Staff can actually have that connection over lunch time. Share a meal together, take a breath and just look after themselves. It is such a small thing, but it shows that we care, that we're thoughtful.

And we've got a gym external to the Alexander Maconochie Centre, but on our grounds for staff. So staff can go at lunchtime to our gym and they can use that time to reset themselves. They immerse themselves in this physical activity, and they're coming away refreshed for the rest of their shift.

Wellbeing also works really closely in terms of awards and recognition.

And, you know, the Long Service Medal has been introduced for our uniform staff, and we've had a really active part of that. So we now have this medal that recognises your service. And it didn't happen before and I think that just goes to show that we are trying to learn and ask people what they need.

And these are some of the things that we've done.