History of CSI

Offenders have been required to work in NSW since the First Fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788. "Convicts" was the terminology in those days and their labour contributed to the building of Sydney and the NSW region.

Offenders were productively employed as builders, carpenters, stonemasons and labourers in the building of prisons. Others did brushmaking, painting, bookbinding, tailoring or made shoes. Female prisoners did needlework which were often commissions for private citizens.

Fast forward to 1990 and the arrival of Corrective Services Industries (CSI). The establishment of CSI was a major response to the State Government Royal Commission into NSW Prisons, established in 1976. The commission was headed by Supreme Court Justice John Flood Nagle, and among the 252 recommendations, the final report also put the focus on prison industry. It called for a permanent body to plan and run industry and to market products.

“I hope that it changed the attitude of the public to prisons; that people came  perhaps to realise you can’t lock prisoners up and forget about them” Justice Nagle later commenting on the commission.

When CSI was taking shape, there was no easy path.  A strong corporate philosophy was needed to address and inform society’s carefully changing perceptions around offender punishment and inmate labour. Creating a viable range of industries in a prison system requires the right principles and determination.

The 13^th of March 1994 was a hallmark day for CSI. Cooma Correctional Centre received a first for a gaol manufacturing plant; after 15 months of hard work by inmates and prison officers, its textile plant was awarded an Australian Standard 3902. This standard recognised the quality of the work produced at Cooma and was a signal of consistent top quality to anyone buying its products. It was only the second correctional institution in the world to receive the award.

The Work Readiness program started in 1995 and became an integral part of the new approach to programs and services by offering vocational skill training for offenders. CSI enables people in custody to develop the specific attributes required to participate in the working community.

CSI’s business units are now truly commercial and resemble what work is like in the community. Applying key performance measures to the business units and setting benchmarks challenge staff and people in custody to be accountable for what they’re achieving. For any offender, few motivations are stronger than the promise of work on release, and CSI continue to create these opportunities with the help of businesses that we have formed partnerships.