The new program for short-term inmates will follow construction of a High Intensity Program Unit at Cessnock Correctional Centre.

The NSW Government allocated $20 million in the 2017 budget for 10 units to be opened in NSW in July.

The 80-place unit at Cessnock will focus on inmates convicted of general violence and aggression offences, who have significant treatment needs. Offenders with less than 12 months on their sentence will be eligible.

The new units will deliver intensive services, programs and pre-release planning to assist inmates in the critical period before and after they are released from custody.

Corrective Services NSW will create 87 roles to deliver the program annually to more than 1200 male and female inmates across the state.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the initiative aimed to reduce re-offending rates and keep the community safe.

“Participation in the high intensity units will be mandatory,” Mr MacDonald said. 

“Inmates will complete the course in four months, ensuring they are ready for release and making a better contribution to the community.”

However Cessnock MP Clayton Barr believed the new program was just a reintroduction of old and existing rehabilitation schemes.

He said it was worth noting that these sorts of programs existed, but that there was nothing ground-breaking about the concept.

Minister for Corrections David Elliott said the initiative meant Corrective Services NSW was now in a position to service cohorts of offenders that hadn’t been effectively reached before.

“These are offenders who keep returning to custody on short sentences that will now have access to intensive programs and services to try and break this cycle,” Mr Elliott said.

Nine other units will be opened next month at Mid-North Coast, Bathurst, Wellington, Dillwynia (Windsor), South Coast and Cooma correctional centres.

Meanwhile, the NSW Budget also allocated almost $287 million for capital works on the Cessnock jail expansion.