Prison rules

Summary: Rules in prison and prison offences.

Prisons have rules, regulations and routines that people in prison are meant to follow. These rules, regulations and routines come from:

• Corrections Act 1986 (Vic)
• Corrections Regulations 2019 (Vic)
• Commissioner’s Requirements
• Deputy Commissioner’s Instructions
• Local Operating Procedures (‘LOPs’) (in public prisons)
• Operations Manuals (‘OMs’) (in private prisons)

Every person in prison must be informed of any rules, regulations or prison routines that can lead to a disciplinary process, and any sanctions (punishments) for breaking them. This should happen once you arrive in prison and is a requirement under the Deputy Commissioner’s Instructions.

If you are not sure what the rules, regulations, routines or sanctions at your prison are, it is your right to access them.

If you are being refused access, you can complain to the General Manager at your prison or to the Victorian Ombudsman. For more information on how to make a complaint to the Ombudsman, see the Making a complaint section on the home page.

If a prison officer says you broke a rule, regulation or routine, it can start a disciplinary process. There are rules that prison staff must follow in the disciplinary process, and you have important rights. For more information on the disciplinary process, use the link on the left side of this page.

You can also be charged with a prison offence. Prison offences are breaches of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic) and Corrections Regulations 2019 (Vic). For some examples of prison offences, use the link on the left side of this page.

It is important that you understand all rules, prison offences and the disciplinary process, because they can lead to serious punishments like separation (segregation) and losing your privileges. Privileges include things like visits, having a job, or being in a preferred unit. To see the current list of privileges that can be taken away, use the link on the left side of this page.

Important: getting help to understand prison rules.

• If you have an intellectual disability or cognitive impairment, you must be given information about rules or a disciplinary process in Easy English.
• If it’s hard for you to read English, you should be given information about rules or a disciplinary process in your language.