Media release Monday October 26, 2026
The NSW Inspector of Custodial Services’ Report exposes shocking conditions in Court Cell Complexes (CCC), where 106 people spent 7 to 16 days locked up in a cell, in breach of regulations, with no access to fresh air and natural light. Inadequate medical care and limited access to basic amenities, including clothing and women’s sanitary products, also raise concerns. These conditions are particularly appalling given that inmates on remand are legally innocent.
Unsurprisingly, given these conditions and the particular vulnerability of inmates with addiction and mental illness, statistics show that over 10% of inmates experience self harm. The Report observed that current safety standards are insufficient, highlighting the ‘urgent’ need for timely psychological support and adequate protective equipment such as safety gowns. The neglect demonstrates a clear lack of care from Corrective Services NSW.
The total lack of phones and tablets in CCC cells, which Corrective Services has already allocated to every other incarcerated person, is completely unacceptable. DV offenders account for 30% of remand prisoners, and they have an absolute need to communicate with counsellors and their families to negotiate safe resettlement and their release on bail.
The overcrowding that is evident in NSW prisons, which causes the backlog in the CCCs, can be attributed to Corrective Services’ refusal to allow access to external counselling on computer tablets for the 3944 DV offenders in NSW prisons. Research shows that it could reduce domestic violence recidivism by 30%, but Corrective Services Commissioner McCahon told us that access to external mainstream DV counselling, which has no conflict of interest with security, is ‘not one of Corrective Services’ strategic priorities.
Report Briefing note
Computers in cells index page