About Community Correctional Services

Community Correctional Services

Established in 1984, Victoria's Community Correctional Services (CCS) supervises adult offenders (aged 18 years or over) who are sentenced by the Courts to serve community based orders or conditionally released from prison on parole or home detention by the Adult Parole Board.

CCS plays a vital role in community safety by helping to rehabilitate offenders and break the cycle of re-offending.

Entry level Community Corrections Officers will be recruited for locations based in both metropolitan and regional locations. Check the Location Map when determining your location preferences for your application. Positions at these locations will be advertised when a vacancy is identified, and therefore not all locations will be recruiting.

Community Corrections Officers
Community Corrections Officers (CCOs) monitor and supervise offenders who have been sentenced by the Courts to serve Community Correctional Orders or have been released from prison on parole by the Adult Parole Board. Staff are assigned an offender caseload to manage and are responsible for ensuring that offenders comply with the conditions of the Court or Parole Order. This may include the supervision of offenders on Interstate Orders.

Depending on the location of employment, CCO roles can be focussed on specific tasks which include all or some of the following:

• interview and counsel offenders, plus monitor compliance by ensuring offenders are participating in appropriate programs and specialist services
• facilitate offender attendance at educational, community work, assessment and treatment programs, including drug and alcohol counselling, anger management and relationship programs
• conduct Court Assessments to provide advice to assist the judiciary in making sentencing decisions
• prosecute an offender in Court and/or give evidence when an offender breaches the conditions of their Community Correctional Order
• visit prisons to interview prisoners, assessing their suitability for parole and providing reports to the Adult Parole Board.

Some staff have portfolios in addition to their case management responsibilities including:

• Occupational Health and Safety Representative;
• Drug & Alcohol Program Officer;
• Aboriginal Liaison Officer.

Furthermore, staff who have demonstrated skills and a suitable level of work experience, can be involved in program delivery.

Community Work Coordinator
Community Work Coordinators are a category of Community Corrections Officer with responsibility for overseeing the development of Community Work programs and sites where offenders are placed to complete Community Work Orders.

The main duties in this role are:

• promote the Community Work Program in the local community
• develop relationships with not-for-profit organisations such as churches, charities and schools, where offenders may be placed to undertake community work
• identify suitable community work sites
• assess offenders to determine the most suitable site for them to undertake their community work. This task focuses on risk management and is a key component of the role
• respond to incidents at community work sites in a timely manner, such as conflict management concerns, or Occupational Health and Safety issues
• allocate work to Field Officers, who supervise community work sites
• complete data entry in relation to offender attendances at work sites, and maintain registers and records relating to each site.

The majority of Community Work Coordinators' time is not spent working with offenders. Rather, the focus of this role is to ensure suitable community work sites are developed and maintained in accordance with Occupational Health and Safety policies.

What you need to become a Community Corrections Officer
Excellent Community Corrections staff display a number of key characteristics, in addition to a wealth of life experience, such as being:

• ethical, honest and accountable for their actions
• great listeners who are non-judgmental
• effective problem solvers
• excellent negotiators who are able to effectively handle pressure
• effective communicators who are able to see issues from the perspective of people from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds.

They also have:

• good written communication skills, as report writing is an essential component of the roles
• excellent time management skills to be able to juggle a range of responsibilities and tasks
• sound people management/supervisory skills
• ability to be a mentor and act diplomatically when required
• behaviour which reflects a just, humane and courteous manner.

Current staff have had varied work histories and life experiences which they have been able to use to build their careers in Corrections Victoria. Some CCOs come from a social work or criminal justice background, while others are former teachers or administration officers.

While no formal qualifications are required, a degree in an appropriate discipline such as Social Work or Criminal Justice is desirable. It is also helpful to have completed VCE or at least a Year 10 level of secondary education.

Community Corrections Officer Job Description

• Community Corrections Services Officer (CC1)

For more information about Corrections Victoria career opportunities other than Community Corrections Officers and Prison Officers, visit www.careers.vic.gov.au. By selecting the Current Vacancies menu option, and conducting a search by Department/Agency (select “Department of Justice”), you will be able to access current vacancies.