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Supporting those who serve or have served, behind the wire or in the community
Our Mission at the Correctional Officer Support Line
At the Correctional Officer Support Line, our mission is to provide a platform for all those who work in, or have worked in, the Correctional environment - be it behind the wire, on the farms or probation and parole - uniformed or not uniformed.
We know first hand ourselves the impact working in Corrections can have on our body and especially on our mental health, and we are here to break the stigma of reaching out for help and someone to talk to.
We are a platform for Correctional staff who need to reach out and talk to someone, and especially when they want to talk to someone who has walked in their boots as well, to find the support they can use - outside of the workplace so you can reach out and engage when and where you feel comfortable.
We are here to help ensure that no Correctional staff - uniformed or not - has to walk a dark path alone.
But we also know the importance of sometimes just being an ear and someone to talk shit with - as that can be so important in managing our mental and physical health.
Our aim at the Correctional Officer Support Line, is to also build out a network of mental health professionals and support services that you can reach out to, whether you currently or have previously worked in the Correctional system.
We are committed to fostering a supportive community and empowering our Correctional family to navigate the emotional, physical and mental health demands of the job.
Our Purpose
Our core purpose is to be the leading directory listing website for the Correctional community - current, former and family - to find services they can identify, connect and engage with across any need they may have.
Our Goal
Our goal is to ensure our community never walks a dark path alone, and that our community can reach out to us always confident that we will provide a safe place to talk, or find a service to keep them going.
Whether it's stresses from the job, family, financial pressures, needing a allied health service to keep the body going, or anything else that may be impacting you, we are here to support in any way we can.
We are here to help our community to identify and connect them with the most appropriate resources and support they can use.
Our Values
We know that screws get screwed, and that noone will often understand us and our circumstances better than those who are or have been on the job themselves.
Our community faces routine exposure to critical incidents, violence, trauma and physically or verbally aggressive environments - and all behind the wire so the community do not see what really goes on.
Our core value is being here for our community in any way we can - striving to help to connect with a service that may be able to provide the more professional help required.
What You Can Find on the Correctional Officer Support Line
Challenges Facing Correctional Staff
Australian correctional officers experience elevated rates of PTSD, major depression, general anxiety, and suicide compared to the general public. This is driven by chronic exposure to violence, severe understaffing, hyper-vigilance, and demanding shift work, and officers also frequently face organisational stress and a deeply entrenched stigma against seeking help.
The psychological challenges faced by custodial staff in Australia cover a range of specific areas:
Key Mental Health Issues:
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): High exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events such as inmate violence, self-harm, and medical emergencies leads to elevated PTSD rates.
- Depression and Anxiety: The cumulative toll of high-stress operational environments triggers Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in significant portions of the workforce.
- Burnout and Compassion Fatigue: Chronic understaffing, forced overtime, and the emotional burden of managing inmates with severe mental illnesses can lead to severe emotional exhaustion.
- Substance Abuse: Studies show correctional workers have a heightened risk of developing alcohol use disorders as an unhealthy coping mechanism.
Core Contributing Factors
- Workplace Violence and Threats: Daily exposure to physical assaults, verbal abuse, and threats against both officers and their families.
- Toxic Workplace Culture: A pervasive "stigma" remains within custodial culture, where officers often fear that admitting vulnerability will affect their career progression.
- Organisational Stress: Frustrations with upper management, perceived lack of support, shift-work fatigue, and inadequate resourcing compound operational trauma.
All these factors can then go on to negatively impact the Correctional community through their mental health, physical impacts on the body and financially, and we aim to build the resources and services that our Correctional community can reach out to when they need a hand.
Founder's Story
I joined Corrective Services in Queensland after spending six years in the Army as a Combat Engineer, then in the Military Police - then two more years concurrently as a reservist - and was attracted to working in the prisons as the structure of how a prison operated suited me, then add in the excitement of being involved in incidents and the tight bond we all have as a team fit my personality.
Despite having a great time and working with great people, I woke up one morning and just decided that was the day I was going to quit after approaching nearly ten years in Corrections - and I did just that. Fast forward some years later, I came to learn that the need to do that was likely driven by the impacts of the job on my mental health, which I had no idea on as I was very staunch that mentally and physically I could handle everything, and really did not understand mental health and the impacts of the job.
Add in that as we all know, there is little to no focus on mental health for us as current and former Correctional Officers, despite such a heavy focus on us supporting the mental health of offenders, the system overlooks us.
Having moved into working in the veteran space owning Veteran Financial Connect, I had a number of CO's reach out to find help, and came to realise that there really is nothing for our CO community, and this is what has driven the need to create the Correctional Officer Support Line - to help current and former Correctional staff reach out and get help from those who have lived it.
With the very fortunate opportunity to work with a great company and people focused on the mental health for the veteran community, I am bringing those same learnings and opportunities to provide a dedicated platform to support our Correctional community, and hopefully to help even change one life and make a real difference to our family.
Contact Us
Reach Out Directly
Email: info@correctionalofficersupport.com.au
List Your Business With Us
If you are a business in the health and wellness, mental health or in the financial services space and looking for a place to put your business out there, we charge a yearly fee of just $250 to list on the Correctional Officer Support Line, with all links sent to your website.
Click below to email us.