Correctional Officer
What the work is
Supervises and controls the activities of inmates in a prison or other correctional institution.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Maintains security and order within a prison or other correctional institution
- Inspects cells, common areas and facilities for weapons, drugs and other contraband items, and ensures compliance with institutional rules and regulations
- Monitors inmate activities and behaviour, intervenes in situations that may pose a risk to safety or security, and prevents disturbances and escapes
- Escorts inmates to and from various locations, such as medical facilities in the community, and the correctional institution
- Provides support and guidance to inmates, including conflict resolution
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a residential unit inside a fictional medium-security correctional centre. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A tense moment on the unit settles because you spoke calmly and early
- A man you have supervised for months starts his first job in the prison workshop
- A shift ends with every count correct and everyone safe
Hard days
- Long shifts inside, with limited fresh air and little room to switch off
- Being the person who says no all day to people who are already frustrated
- Hearing about someone's difficult life and still having to enforce the rules
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 452131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.