Western Plains Correctional Centre Roles
Western Plains Correctional Centre (Western Plains) is Victoria’s newest maximum-security correctional facility. Apply now and help shape the future of corrections.
New $5,000 sign-on bonus
New prison officers are now eligible for a bonus of up to $5,000. Six months after commencing, you will receive a payment of $2,500. Then, after one year’s full-time employment, you will receive an additional payment of $2,500. This incentive is designed to attract the best new prison officers and encourage you to explore all aspects of the role.
Conditions apply and are listed below at the end of this page.
Prison officers make a difference by having a positive impact on other people’s lives.
As a prison officer, you’ll be part of the team helping to make the community safer for everyone.
We are looking for people with a wide range of skills and life experiences for roles that offer opportunity for development and growth.
Video transcript - Corrections Victoria is a great place to work
Larissa Strong, Commissioner, Corrections Victoria: “I think Corrections Victoria is one of the big secrets in all of Victoria. It's such a great place to work. There is a strong sense of purpose, a strong sense of identity amongst our workforce and our people are our biggest strength.”
Andrew Reaper, Assistant Commissioner, Corrections Victoria: “The purpose of prison is not to punish the people. It is to absolutely give them the opportunity to improve themselves and become contributing members of our community.”
(Background video of male two prison officers walking and talking with a male prisoner in the corrections centre grounds)
Simone Shaw, Clinical Director, Corrections Victoria: “So essentially, our goal is to create safety for our community by targeting the things that we know do cause crime.”
Alex Cano, Acting General Manager, Case Management, Corrections Victoria: “It's about assisting those individuals that come into custody and addressing their offending behaviour.”
Simone Shaw: “Our job as a corrections service is to have people leave us in a better state than they were when they came to us.”
Andrew Reaper: “And there is great research and evidence that says the prison officer is the most important aspect of a person being able to turn their lives around, be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community. It is the prison officer who should build that relationship.”
Simone Shaw: “And so the personal qualities simply need to be the optimism for change, a willingness to go on a journey with somebody…”
Larissa Strong: “…As well as be able to work in a multidisciplinary team environment and see different perspectives. Good prison officers have good people skills.”
Alex Cano: “Excellent verbal communication.”
Simone Shaw: “Natural warmth, empathy.”
Alex Cano: “Corrections Victoria invests a lot in staff.”
Andrew Reaper: “We have a significant pre-service training component and then we will continue to support our staff in their personal development via ongoing training opportunities, professional development opportunities.”
Alex Cano: “A Prison Officer role is a job with a purpose.”
Andrew Reaper: “You get the opportunity every day you come to work to change a person's life.”
Larissa Strong: “If you're considering becoming a prison officer and starting a career in corrections, absolutely go for it and make that enquiry. We want prison officers of different backgrounds with different diversities, with different life skills and experiences. We want to mirror the community.”
Andrew Reaper: “You'll work alongside great people, you'll be supported by the leadership of Corrections Victoria. It is a fulfilling career, full of challenges but full of hope and one that people should strive to be part of.”
Simone Shaw: “And if you want a job where you can leave at the end of the day feeling really proud of what you've done and knowing that you've done something meaningful for your community, this is one of those jobs.”
Benefits of becoming a prison officer
Start as a prison officer and you can develop a career across the whole of the Victorian prison system and the broader Victorian Public Service.
The employee benefits you can look forward to include:
- 41 days of paid training
- work life balance - you will generally work longer shifts, but fewer days a week
- five weeks paid annual leave, three weeks personal leave and provisions for study leave
- annual salary increases
- earning up to $88,546 with a base salary $61,620 (80-hour fortnight) plus standard penalty rates and overtime
- Certificate III in Correctional Practice that, when completed, increases base salary up to $65,374
- learning and development courses and leadership programs
- opportunities for higher duties
- long-service leave of three months on full-pay, or six months on half-pay after 10 years of service - access accrued long service leave on a pro-rata basis after seven years
- well-being programs including the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- salary packaging options for novated car lease, superannuation and self-education expenses
- Regional Victoria relocation reimbursement of up to $10,000 for employees:
- with ongoing prison officer roles
- new to public service
- living more than two hours away from new regional work location
- to help with costs like travel, freight, temporary housing and storage
- relocation reimbursement assistance is not available to recruits who are employed to work at metropolitan Melbourne locations including Melbourne Assessment Prison, Metropolitan Remand Centre and Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
Eligibility
- You need to be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or hold Australian permanent residency.
- Hold a current Victorian driver's license (minimum P2 category) and be willing to obtain a first-aid certificate.
- A certain level of health and fitness is needed, learn more about our prison officer pre-service health assessment.
Tree Change Package
Considering a tree change and keen on a move to the Grampians region?
We’re offering an $8,000 sign-on bonus and $10,000 relocation assistance to candidates moving to work at Hopkins Correctional Centre. You must currently live more than 100km from Hopkins and be willing to move within 100km of your new workplace.
Find more information, conditions and eligibility requirements at our Tree Change Package webpage.
How prison officers work
Prison officers support people in custody with their rehabilitation so that they can be more constructive members of the community when they are released.
They also keep prison facilities, the people in our care and staff safe and secure.
Prison officers can positively influence the behaviour of people in our care by supporting them to make better choices. The work that prison officers do to reduce the risk of reoffending helps make the community safer for everyone.
Prison officers are role models
Prison officers establish respectful working relationships with the people in our care and consistently role model these behaviours:
- positive and constructive conversations
- self-respect and respect for others
- integrity and honesty.
Prison officers are case managers
Prison officers are trained in case management so they can be effective providers of rehabilitation support to the people in our care.
Case management includes:
- encouraging the people in our care to actively participate in the prison community
- helping them to set constructive goals and take steps towards them
- supporting them with positive decision making.
As case managers, prison officers provide people in custody with access to resources that will set them up for a better future.
For example:
- they enable participation in work, learning and programs
- they help the people in our care re-establish themselves in the community, by connecting them with family, community groups and agencies.
Prison officers keep everyone safe and secure
Prison officers keep each other, the people in our care and the facility safe and secure. They do this by building professional relationships with people in custody, and undertaking these activities:
- promptly respond when there is a risk to the safety of people or the facility
- tune in to the mindset and actions of the people in our care
- make sure people are where they should be
- complete cell searches, pat downs, drug and alcohol testing
- de-escalate situations when necessary.
Prison officers act with integrity
Prison officers maintain high levels of integrity in all their conversations and actions. To be effective they are:
- respectful of the people in our care as individuals each with their own situations and characteristics
- highly aware of what’s going on and can make well considered decisions quickly
- fair, transparent, and consistent in all their interactions
- active listeners who tailor their conversation and approach to each person individually
- comfortable standing their ground when challenging negative behaviours and reinforcing positive ones
- patient, non-judgemental and exercise empathy (but not sympathy) and establish boundaries to develop effective working relationships
- hold their own moral compass and operate within standard procedures.
Who makes a good prison officer?
Prison officers who enjoy their work most:
- are motivated by the opportunity to serve the community
- have a real enthusiasm for seeing people succeed
- are naturally patient, positive and empathetic
- are team players who consistently work to the best of their ability.
Prison officers come from a wide range of backgrounds
All life experiences are highly valued in the prison officer role.
Every person has the potential to make a good prison officer, particularly those with:
- life experience such as travel, education, volunteering, parenting and working
- customer service experience
- experience as a teacher, leader, coach or mentor
- team player with experience working as part of a group.
Full conditions and eligibility criteria of $5,000 sign-on bonus
To be eligible for the $5,000 sign-on bonus, you must:
- have applied to become a trainee prison officer after 13 September 2023
- not be an employee of the Department of Justice and Community Safety when appointed as a trainee prison officer
- have completed your probationary period and had your employment confirmed in accordance with the provisions within the VPS Enterprise Agreement 2024
- not be subject to formal under performance processes or proven misconduct
- be employed as an ongoing prison officer* after 6 months of continuous service† (to receive the first bonus)
- be employed as an ongoing prison officer after 12 months of continuous service (to receive the second bonus).
* Part-time employees will be paid a pro-rata value, based on the percentage of full-time hours they’re contracted to work.
† Continuous service means the total time you have spent working as a custodial officer (including time as a trainee prison officer).
Information sessions
Register to attend a free one-hour online information session.
Listen to prison officers talk about what it's really like working inside a prison.
Get a better picture of how the roster system works and why penalty rates plus overtime can significantly increase your take-home pay.
It's a great chance to ask questions so you can decide if this is the career for you.
Health and fitness
Learn about the health and fitness requirements