Community Corrections Officer

Community Corrections Officers supervise offenders who have been placed on community-based orders by the courts.

What you will do:

• manage and supervise offenders who have received community-based supervision orders e.g. community service, home detention, bail, and make sure that they comply with the relevant legislation and standards  

• develop and implement community-based work programs

• assess placement and management of offenders placed on community service work orders, bonds, fine options and penalties

• arrange the employment of offenders as directed by courts

• provide advice to assist the courts in determining the suitability of offenders to be placed on community-based orders  
• advise those on community-based orders, on matters such as education, employment, finance, housing and other community services which may help in their rehabilitation
• conduct regular interviews with clients and report on their progress
• assist in preparing briefs for prosecuting offenders who fail to comply with community-based orders or breach parole conditions
• maintain and develop client records and administrative procedures
• take part in staff development and training programs, and provide training to new staff

Community Corrections Officers will work in an office environment and spend significant amounts of time in the field.

Due to differences in structure between correctional organisations, Community Corrections Officers may frequently overlap with the duties of Probation and Parole Officers, Home Detention Officers and Compliance Officers.

You need to be:

• patient, tolerant and discrete with a mature attitude towards managing people 
• able to assess people and situations
• genuinely interested in people and their welfare
• a good communicator with high level interpersonal skills

You will require:

• Australian citizenship or permanent residency 
• An Australian police clearance check
• a drivers licence

Education requirements for entry into this field vary between organisations. Practical skills and life experience are often more important than the level of education.  

Improve you chances by:

• taking justice and social science subjects
• learning about the industry
• participating in community based volunteer programmes

What you will earn:

Salaries vary between correctional organisations and generally range from $35,000 to $42,000 for an entry level officer

Long term possibilties:

With further training and experience, a wide range of career opportunites are available within the community corrections stream or the wider corrections, justice and human services environments.