Making a complaint

Every person in prison has the right to make requests and complaints, both inside and outside their prison. This right comes from section 47(j) of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).

Some types of complaints must be made within specific time limits. Please read each section carefully to check whether a time limit applies to the type of complaint you want to make.

This section looks at how to make a complaint:

1. Internally (within the prison or to Corrections Victoria); or
2. Externally to:
   1. Independent Prison Visitors; or
   2. External complaint bodies.

Scroll down or use the links on the left side of this page for more information on these types of complaints.

Other types of complaints

You can also write to people like Ministers of Parliament, Judges and Magistrates.

If you believe Corrections Victoria or the prison has breached your international human right and you have tried all other options in Australia (like making a complaint and going to court), you might be able to complain to a UN treaty body. For more information, click here.

Steps for making a complaint

If you want to make a complaint, you can follow these steps:

1. Figure out what type of complaint issue you have;
2. Collect all the information and evidence you can about your complaint;
3. Prepare your complaint;
4. Make an internal complaint (to your prison or Corrections Victoria);
5. If you don’t get a response, or don’t like the response, make an external complaint.

For more information on each step, use the links on the left side of this page.

External complaints – make sure you know the right external body to complain to

Different external complaint bodies deal with different types of complaint issues. It’s really important to make sure you complain to the right external body – if you get it wrong you may have to start again.

To find out more about the different complaint bodies and what types of complaints they take, use the links on the left side of this page.

Privacy when you make a complaint

All complaints and any personal or health information you give to your prison should be handled confidentiality. If you have an issue with the way your information has been handled or used by a prison, use the link on the left side of this page called ‘Complaints about personal information privacy’.