Queensland Corrective Services

Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) is part of the Department of Community Safety. QCS serves the Queensland community alongside its divisional partners Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, Queensland Ambulance Service and Emergency Management Queensland.

QCS plays a critical role in community safety and crime prevention through the humane containment, supervision and rehabilitation of offenders.

What do Probation and Parole do?

Probation and Parole supervises over 15,000 offenders who are serving their sentence in the community throughout Queensland. Probation and Parole staff also work closely with the courts and deliver rehabilitative and intervention programs to assist offenders to get their lives back on track. Although Probation and Parole share information with the Queensland Police Service, they operate independently and undertake separate surveillance of offenders. This includes attending an offender’s residence or workplace, conducting urinalysis testing, or assessing the suitability of a residential location.

These offenders are members of the public and likely to be working at local supermarkets, using public transport, serving at local restaurants or living or walking down any suburban street.

As at July 2011, there were 35 Probation and Parole offices located across Queensland. A further 133 reporting centres were located in regional and remote locations.

What sort of people work for Probation and Parole?

Most Probation and Parole officers have a relevant tertiary degree in fields such as criminology and criminal justice, human services, behavioural science, law, psychology, social science or education. Probation and Parole staff are professional public servants with a strong work ethic. They also have solid work-related and personal links to their local community.