Two prison inspection reports published
The Ombudsman has published two reports on prison inspections carried out in 2024.
- Announced inspection of the SERCO-operated Auckland South Correctional Facility, August 2024
- Unannounced inspection of Waikeria Prison, May 2024
The two-week inspection of Auckland South Correctional Facility in August 2024 found serious safety and welfare issues, including unmanaged violence.
Corrections and SERCO provided the Ombudsman with their action plans in response to the recommendations in February 2026, also published today.
The Ombudsman made a total of 32 recommendations for improvements at Auckland South Correctional Facility. This included that Corrections ensures effective mechanisms are in place to identify and address risks to prisoners’ welfare and safety.
Across both sites, the Ombudsman raised concerns about the conditions and treatment of prisoners segregated from the general prison population, including segregation practices that risked prisoners being subjected to the harmful practice of solitary confinement.
At Waikeria Prison, the Ombudsman made a total of 22 recommendations to Corrections and prison management for improvements. This includes ensuring that at Waikeria Prison, no prisoner experiences solitary confinement.
Inspection reports for both facilities were finalised in December 2025 and published today.
Disclaimer: Corrections and SERCO action plans published on this website are produced and owned by those entities. Publication of the action plans does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman does not guarantee the completeness or reliability of the information inside the action plans. All findings within the action plans belongs strictly to the respective authoring organisations.
Background
New Zealand signed up to the United Nations’ Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) in 2007. The Chief Ombudsman is a ‘National Preventive Mechanism’ (NPM) under OPCAT, meaning he monitors prisons and other places of detention (like health and disability facilities) to ensure they meet international human rights.
Waikeria Prison
The inspection report published today pre-dates the opening of a new Prison facility at Waikeria in 2025. The pre-existing Waikeria Prison units inspected in 2024 continue to house prisoners, with two changes: Corrections’ Waikeria Prison action plan states the Separates Units have now been closed. Nikau unit, formerly part of Waikeria prison, has been renamed and is now used as part of a satellite unit for Auckland Region Women’s Prison.