What you will need

When making a booking, visitors will be asked for the inmate’s name and their Master Index Number (MIN). They will also be asked to provide their own Visitor Identification Number (VIN).

When making a booking for the first time, an adult visitor will be allocated a VIN, provided they give a suitable form of identification (ID), such as a Drivers Licence or Medicare card number.

Identification (ID) required for a visit

The first time an adult visits an inmate they are required to provide appropriate forms of ID from a CSNSW approved list, such as a current Drivers Licence or passport. One form of ID must show the visitor’s current residential address. The Visiting a Correctional Centre booklet (PDF, 10.7 MB) (PDF, 10.7 MB) contains the current list of approved forms of ID. Children under 18 do not need to provide identification, if accompanied by an adult.

All visitor details will be stored on the CSNSW electronic database and retrieved when the visitor makes a further appointment for a visit.

We are now accepting the NSW Digital Driver Licence as a valid form of identification for visits at all correctional centres except:

Goulburn
Kirkconnell
Lithgow

Visitors at correctional centres that do accept digital driver licences are encouraged to bring their physical driver licence with them in case they have difficulty downloading the digital driver licence.

Biometric Identification System

Biometric identification systems are currently installed at 21 correctional centres.

Updated biometrics technology was implemented from October 2023 at:

Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Centre
John Marony Correctional Centre
Mary Wade Correctional Centre
Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC)
Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre

Junee Correctional Centre is scheduled to be live early December 2023.

These new contactless biometric devices capture the face and iris' of visitors.

All persons entering these centres will need to enroll, even if you have previously visited. Once you have enrolled in one centre, your information will be available to match and verify across other centres that are using the new biometrics solution. This means visitors only need to enrol once.

The captured information is securely retained on the system. The system creates biometric templates (maps) that are encrypted data points which means there is no way anyone can recreate or identify an individual outside of the system.

Visitors must always carry identification when visiting an inmate in case the biometric identification system is not working.

All other centres using biometric identification will continue to use existing solutions that photograph a visitor’s face, scan their irises and capture their fingerprints. These centres will be updated to the new system in 2024.

At centres where there is no biometric identification system, visitors will be required to produce the forms of ID as outlined above (even if they have been issued with a VIN).

For further information on what to expect when entering a centre using Biometrics refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.

Last updated:

30 Oct 2023