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CSI - working hard and delivering the goods
10 NOVEMBER 2025
It’s not a television crime drama; this CSI is something entirely different, it’s the Corrective Services NSW work and education program that’s changing lives behind the walls of correctional centres.
Through meaningful employment and skills training, CSI gives people in custody the chance to learn real skills, setting them up for life after release. That means fewer people reoffend and safer communities for all of us.
Did you know:
- CSI runs over 120 commercial business units and 60 service industries across 29 correctional centres.
- People in custody work in everything from agriculture and baking to carpentry, textiles, and engineering – often alongside vocational training that leads to nationally recognised qualifications
- They work a 30-hour week and can choose industries that match their interests and location
- CSI partners with government and private sector organisations to deliver high-quality products and services that benefit the wider community
- CSI projects have supported the broader public, including:
- Making and distributing 4,000 flood rescue kits for the NSW Rural Fire Service
- Printing and distributing essential maritime publications for the Federal Regulator – more than 11,000 publications over a two-year period
- Refurbishing 156 demountable classrooms for the Department of Education – supporting the growing population of schools in NSW
- Operating across 11 locations, CSI Textiles engages more than 435 skilled people in custody – two of the standout products are the Australian National Flag and the Australian Aboriginal Flag. Both are meticulously handcrafted in strict accordance with Australian Government regulations, each being a work of art.
“I’ve learnt how to weld, which is something I never did on the outside,” said one inmate who has worked on the school demountable project and temporary housing for the Northern Rivers flood recovery project.
“I’m a carpenter by trade, so on the outside this is going to help me because I’ll be able to do more on job sites.”
Every job done and every skill learned is about giving people a fair go and making our communities stronger.
Read more about CSI and partnership opportunities and see how your organisation can be part of the change.
Last updated:
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.