News

Department of Corrections Update | Supporting capacity in the women’s prison network 

The Department of Corrections has released the following update. 

May Update - Supporting capacity in the women’s prison network  

The Department of Corrections have been exploring opportunities within the prison network to safely and securely accommodate women, in response to the recent forecasted growth in the women’s prison population.  

Following engagement with their unions, staff and key stakeholders, the decision has been made to operate Waikeria Prison’s Nikau unit as a satellite women’s unit, run by Auckland Regional Women’s Corrections Facility (AWRCF).  

Nikau Unit is a standalone unit; some distance away from the remainder of Waikeria prison and has its own security fence. This unit has been identified because it enables complete separation between male and female prisoners, and accommodated women prior to the opening of ARWCF in 2006.  Nikau unit also has its own kitchen and laundry facilities, employment opportunities (in the form of a distribution centre and catering kitchen), and horticulture activities within its boundaries. 

Anticipated timeline:  

Please note that the below anticipated timeline is subject to change. 

• The men previously residing in Nikau have been moved to other suitable locations. A full deep clean and provision of new mattresses has been completed at Nikau unit to prepare the unit for women arriving. 
  
  
• Nikau Unit has been re-gazetted in effect from Wednesday 7 May, in order to operate as a women’s unit, run by AWRCF. 
  
  
• Staff that are working in the unit are being inducted prior to women arriving. Included in the staff group is a unit Residential Manager and Principal Corrections Officer from ARWCF, who bring experience in delivering gender and culturally responsive care to the women in the Nikau unit. 
  
  
• The first group of women will be transported into Nikau on Thursday 8 May from ARWCF. These women will be inducted into the distribution centre on Friday 9 May and will commence work on Monday 12 May 
  
  
• Other women will arrive from ARWCF throughout the week commencing 12 May for other industry employment; laundry, unit employment, servery workers, grounds and maintenance etc.  
  
  
• Health Centre and Case Management support will be provided initially from Waikeria, until permanent recruitment for the roles is completed.   
   

Who will be moving?   

The Department of Corrections recognise that transfers can be disruptive. They will carefully consider each prisoner’s suitability to ensure minimal disruption to access to court proceedings, programmes, interventions, treatments, education, whānau, and support networks. 

• Nikau Unit will hold a cohort of Low Security Sentenced and RMT2 (the Remand Management Tool determines the level of custodial supervision a remand prisoner requires) prisoners, ideally those who are ready for Offender Employment (OE) opportunities and from the local area. Once up and running, opportunities for additionally educational and/or volunteer programmes to be run in the unit will be explored when appropriate
  
  
• Corrections takes its responsibility to assess the individual circumstances of every prisoner considered for transfer very seriously. Women transferred to Nikau unit will be carefully selected to best ensure; 
  
  • Minimal disruption to sentence pathways 
  • Any rehabilitation opportunities will be met at the right time through ARWCF (or appropriate transfer to other sites)
  • Those with complex needs will remain at ARWCF to receive appropriate treatment/support
  • At this time, NZPB appearances will be facilitated by transport back to ARWCF. Scope for AVL NZPB appearances to be held within Nikau is still to be investigated. 

Corrections remain committed to their Women’s Strategy, Wāhine: E Rere Ana Ki te Pae Hou, and will be taking steps to ensure continuity of gender and culturally-responsive, trauma-informed approaches for the women accommodated at Nikau Unit. 

Finally, the safety of the public, Corrections staff, and the people they manage is the top priority. Ensuring sufficient capacity across the national prison network and  safely manageing anyone that is remanded into Corrections' custody contributes to achieving this.  

Site Contacts (for lawyer enquiries) 

• Waikeria Prison – WaikeriaSeniorAdviser@corrections.govt.nz 
• Auckland Regional Women's Corrections Facility - ARWCFCSM@corrections.govt.nz