Cultural Liaison Officer Identified

Queensland Corrective Services; Spring Creek; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Queensland Corrective Services – Spring Creek QLD seeks a Cultural Liaison Officer Identified to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners. The role involves advising management, supporting case and sentence management, and engaging with communities to meet cultural and family needs within the correctional setting.

You will coordinate Elder visits, facilitate access to legal services, and liaise with families and welfare agencies to ensure culturally appropriate support and

Responsibilities

• Assist in case management ensuring that program referrals and cultural issues are adequately addressed during sentence.
• Contribute to the sentence management function by attending inductions, parole interviews, prisoner reviews and transition arrangements for Indigenous prisoners.
• Work within a multidisciplinary team to manage progression of Indigenous prisoners through the correctional system and provide reports on assessments.

Job description

Queensland Corrective Services – Spring Creek QLD

Southern Queensland Correctional Centre (SQCC) is located in Spring Creek, approximately 17 kms from the township of Gatton in the Lockyer Valley. The centre provides high security secure placement accommodation for sentenced and remand women that are classified as high or low security. Women who enter the criminal justice system often come from lives characterised by sexual, emotional and physical abuse, domestic and family violence, substance addiction and mental health problems. QCS provides a gender-responsive, trauma-informed approach to managing women with the goal of offering an opportunity to truly rehabilitate and escape the cycle that led to crime. It is important to recognise that to change a woman is to change a generation.

Targeted Vacancy

This position has been identified as a position to be filled by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person because of a number of factors, including the gross over representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders in custody. It is an occupational requirement that this position be filled by an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person as permitted and arguable under Sections 25, 104, and 105 of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

In this role you will provide advice to management and staff on specific cultural and management issues pertaining to prisoners, contribute to their case management and sentence management and consult with relevant multi-cultural communities and organisations to support family contact for prisoners.

The primary accountabilities of the Cultural Liaison Officer Identified include:

• Assist in case management ensuring that program referrals and cultural issues are adequately addressed during their sentence
• Contribute to the sentence management function by attending prisoner inductions, parole interviews, prisoner reviews and assisting with transition arrangements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners.
• Work within a multidisciplinary team to manage the progression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners through the correctional system including the assessment of prisoners and the provision of reports to sentence management and professional staff on the outcomes of those assessments.
• Liaise with prisoners' families, management and Queensland Corrective Services staff, Government and non-Government welfare agencies and service providers to ensure prisoner's individual, social and cultural needs are met
• Coordinate Elder visits to correctional centres on a monthly basis and as required
• Facilitate offender access to required legal services through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service including the management of their visits and contact with their nominated legal representative
• Contribute to staff awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoner needs
• Provide welfare services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders to ensure appropriate support is available during times requiring additional services such as family issues, leave of absence requests, medical services and hospital visits
• Assist with the facilitation of prisoner criminogenic programs targeted at addressing identified prisoner rehabilitation needs, particularly those programs that focus on meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners.
• Assist with the completion of program exit reports and documentation and ensure that relevant case notes are entered into the Integrated Offender Management System (IOMS).
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive case notes.
• Provide consultancy services to, and accept referrals from, professional staff within the centre.
• Coordinate Family Visits Days and other culturally significant activities.
• Monitor and maintain family contact for offenders to ensure families and community representative visit.
• Consult and liaise with communities and organisations regarding cultural issues and the needs of prisoners.
• Initiate, encourage and facilitate greater engagement with community groups/networks for the purpose of increasing post release family support structures.
• Work with a range of agencies, including the Departments of Communities - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services, Justice and Attorney-General, Queensland Police Service, Family Responsibilities Commission, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, community justice groups and others to address the issues that bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into contact with the correctional system.

The role description provides the minimum requirements for the role. The incumbent may be required to undertake other duties as required outside of these primary accountabilities.