OFFICE OF THE INSPECTORATE Te Tari Tirohia

22 October 2025

The following is the Office of the Inspectorate's contribution to this year's Department of Corrections Annual Report

The Office of the Inspectorate – Te Tari Tirohia is a critical part of the oversight of the corrections system. It operates under the Corrections Act 2004 and the Corrections Regulations 2005.

The Inspectorate has a wide mandate and provides assurance that prisoners and offenders are treated in a fair, safe, secure and humane way.

Functions of the Inspectorate include the investigation of complaints, prison inspections, the investigation of deaths in custody, special investigations and statutory reviews of Visitor Prohibition Orders and misconduct charges.

While part of Corrections, the Inspectorate is independent from operational activities and management which is necessary to ensure objectivity and integrity. The Chief Inspector reports directly to the Chief Executive of Corrections.

Prison inspections

The Inspectorate is authorised under section 29(1)(b) of the Corrections Act 2004 to undertake inspections and visits to prisons. Inspection assessments are guided by the four key principles: safety, respect, purposeful activity, and reintegration. Inspections are guided by the Inspection Standards, which describe the standards of treatment of prisoners and conditions that prisons are expected to achieve.

The Inspectorate released its inspection reports for the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit in August 2024, Rimutaka Prison in November 2024, Northland Region Corrections Facility in February 2025, and Mt Eden Corrections Facility in August 2025. A further two prison inspections have been completed: Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison in February 2025 and Spring Hill Corrections Facility in May 2025. These reports will be published in due course. An inspection of Otago Corrections Facility took place in September 2025, and inspections at Whanganui Prison (including the New Plymouth Remand Centre) and Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility (including the Nikau Unit at Waikeria Prison; a satellite unit of the women’s facility in Auckland used to accommodate low-security women prisoners) have been announced.

The release of inspection reports is accompanied by short videos by the Chief Inspector and quick-read summaries of each report to assist people with low levels of literacy.

Updated Inspection Standards

In July 2024, the Inspectorate completed a review of its Inspection Standards, with assistance from the Australian Human Rights Commission. The review was conducted to ensure that the Standards remain responsive to the needs of New Zealand prisoners and reflect the latest United Nations and other international guidance on the standards of care for prisoners and prison conditions. The Inspection Standards require inspectors to consider 10 areas of prison life: Leadership; prison staff; reception, induction and escorts; duty of care; health; environment; good order; purposeful activity; rehabilitation; and reintegration.

Thematic reports

Young people and young adults in Corrections’ custody

In December 2024, the Inspectorate released its thematic report, “Young people and young adults in Corrections’ custody”. The report examined how Corrections responds to the developmental needs, challenges and opportunities for young men and women in prison, and identified concerns, examples of good practice and areas for improvement.

As part of the thematic review, the Inspections team visited all 18 prisons and interviewed 206 young men and women in custody (both on remand and sentenced) and 160 frontline staff. The young people shared their experiences and ideas about how to improve pathways and outcomes for people under 25 years in custody.

The report made 26 recommendations, which were accepted in principle by Corrections, and had 29 areas for consideration. The report found that young people in prison have high and complex needs which were not always being met. The recommendations call on Corrections to make improvements, such as offering more cultural support, teaching basic living skills, giving young people more to do in prison, and keeping them away from gangs.

Progress reports

For thematic reports and the report of the inquiry into the Waikeria Prison riot, the Inspectorate made recommendations for Corrections to report back on progress at six monthly intervals. Progress reports are published on the Inspectorate website.

Deaths in custody

The Office of the Inspectorate investigates the deaths of people in Corrections’ custody, to understand what happened and see whether improvements can be made. These reports are provided to the Chief Executive, the Coroner (who determines the cause of death) and the Office of the Ombudsman. The Inspectorate contacts the family of each person who has died to tell them about the Inspectorate’s role in investigating the death and reporting to the Coroner. Deaths are investigated by both regional Inspectors and Clinical Inspectors (registered nurses), to ensure that all custodial and health issues are examined. The Inspectorate makes recommendations to improve processes to prevent further deaths where possible.

In 2024/25, there were 22 deaths in custody, a decrease of nine from 2023/24. Of these deaths, 12 were assumed natural, eight were assumed unnatural and two were homicides.

Complaints

This year, the Inspectorate received 6,010 complaints, an increase of 17% from the previous year [2023/24: 5,132], of which 96% [5,755] related to prisons, 3% [192] to Community Corrections, and the remaining 1% [67] to other or unknown. The seven sites with the most complaints [3,774] were Auckland South Corrections Facility, Auckland Prison, Mt Eden Corrections Facility, Rolleston Prison, Spring Hill Corrections Facility, Rimutaka Prison, and Christchurch Men’s Prison.

The most frequent complaint categories were prisoner property [1,002], prisoner health services [839] and staff conduct and attitude [791], which together comprised 44% of complaints received. Complaints came from a variety of sources, mainly prisoners, but also from people on community sentences, family and whānau members, lawyers, and members of the public.

In 2024/25, all but six of the more than 6,000 complaints received by the Inspectorate were acknowledged within the agreed timeframes and 98% of complaint investigations were completed within three months.

During 2024/25, the Inspectorate monitored 303 complaints about staff (known as IR.07s), an increase of 83 from the previous year.