• Home
• Director-General's report
• Letter of transmission
• Our Department: who we are and what we do
• Corrective Services - an historical perspective
• Our contribution to Queensland Government services
• Our performance compared nationally
• Service delivery locations
• Output performance
• Cover page
• Containment services
• Containment services (cont.)
• Containment services (cont.)
• Supervision services
• Supervision services (cont.)
• Supervision services (cont.)
• Intervention services
• Intervention services (cont.)
• Intervention services (cont.)
• Intervention services (cont.)
• Intervention services (cont.)
• Governance
• Governance
• Governance (cont.)
• Governance (cont.)
• Governance (cont.)
• Governance (cont.)
• Our leadership
• Our leadership (cont.)
• Corporate governance committees
• Corporate governance committees (cont.)
• Organisational structure
• Internal auditing
• Ethical standards Corrections boards Community engagement
• Official visitor program
• Awards
• Staff awards
• Staff awards (cont.)
• Appendix
• Key performance statistics
• Cover page
• Table 1
• Tables 2-4
• Tables 5-6
• Table 7
• Tables 8-9
• Tables 10-11
• Table 12
• Departmental contact details
• Feedback form
• Financial statements
• Financial summary
• Financials guide
• Statement 1
• Statement 2
• Statement 3
• Statement 4
• Statement 4(cont.)
• Notes 1a-1d
• Notes 1e-1j
• Notes 1k-1m
• Notes 1n-1s
• Notes 1t-1v
• Notes 1w-1ab
• Notes 1ac-1ad
• Notes 2-3
• Notes 4-5
• Note 6
• Notes 7-9
• Notes 10-13
• Notes 14-15
• Notes 16-19
• Note 19 (cont.)
• Notes 19 (cont.)-20
• Notes 21-23
• Note 24
• Note 25
• Note 26
• Notes 26 (cont.)-28
• Notes 29-30
• Notes 30 (cont.)-31
• Notes 32-34
• Certificate of the Department
• Independent audit report
• Annual Report Index
• Downloads Page

Corrective Services - an historical perspective

Queensland’s corrective services history began in 1824 when a small settlement party of soldiers and their families arrived with 30 convicts aboard the Amity. Home was the first Moreton Bay penal colony, located at Redcliffe.

In 2004, the Department of Corrective Services (DCS) supervises more than 16,000 offenders on a daily basis – 5260 in secure, open, and community custody and 11,468 on community supervision orders. We see ourselves as “Leaders in corrections: Partners in criminal and social justice”.

Queensland’s corrective services history began in 1824 when John Oxley was sent to investigate possible sites for convict settlements along the coast, including Moreton Bay.

At that time Queensland was known as the Moreton Bay district of New South Wales, and it was later the same year that the First Commandant of the Moreton Bay penal settlement Lieutenant Henry Miller, soldiers and their families, and 30 convicts arrived at Redcliffe to establish the Moreton Bay penal colony.

In the years following, the penal establishment moved from Redcliffe to Brisbane, occupying various sites including Eagle St in 1825 (where Customs House now stands), and the barracks at the corner of Queen and Albert Streets in 1827.

The “Female Factory” was the first women’s gaol, built in Brisbane’s Queen Street in 1829 (at the site of today’s General Post Office). The first Brisbane gaol for males was built in Queen Street and it was not until 1860 that Queensland’s second gaol was built – this time for male and female prisoners – on Petrie Terrace. It accommodated 138 males and 36 females.

Brisbane’s Boggo Road gaol, HM Prison Brisbane, opened in 1883, initially intended to be a reception centre for male prisoners prior to transfer to the St Helena Island penal facility.

In December 1895, of the 587 prisoners in custody throughout Queensland, 538 were males and 49 were females.

By 1896 Queensland had established two penal establishments at St Helena Island in Moreton Bay and Townsville, nine prisons, (Brisbane, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Roma, Mackay, Blackall, Thursday Island, Normanton and Cooktown) and five police gaols (Fortitude Valley, Herberton, Ingham, Ayr and Charters Towers).

During that same year Queensland prisons were also implementing education programs for prisoners, by offering basic reading and writing classes.

Parole boards were established in 1937 and in 1959, the State’s first probation and parole office opened its doors in Brisbane’s Queen Street.

In 1957 the Wacol district was established as a “prison precinct” when HM Prison Wacol (later known as Moreton A) opened. The Security Patients Hospital (later known as Moreton Correctional Centre and then Moreton B) was established in 1971.

Today, the Department of Corrective Services employs over 3400 staff and supervises, on average, more than 16,000 offenders on a daily basis – 5260 in secure, open, and community custody and 11,468 on community supervision orders. There are now 13 prisons across Queensland (including two privately-operated), 33 community corrections area offices, and four community custody centres, including the men’s Work Outreach Camp (WORC) and the Women’s Community Custody Program.

There are seven independent Community Corrections Boards throughout Queensland.

The Department has an extensive range of education and rehabilitation programs, including a wide range of industries areas at each secure and open custody centre.

The Department strives to be “Leaders in corrections: Partners in criminal and social justice” contributing to one of the key priorities for the Queensland Government, “protecting our children and enhancing community safety”.

Department of Corrective Services
Annual Report 2003-04