Supported Accommodation

Supported Accommodation provides housing and other support for high-risk offenders with high-level reintegrative needs to help ease their transition back into the community. Most offenders are referred to the service before they leave prison, others may already be community-based but have similar high-level needs.

The Department of Corrections has six contracts for the delivery of supported accommodation services in Auckland, Hamilton, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. 

The intensity and nature of the support depends on the needs of each offender, but includes:
- assessing the offender’s needs before they enter the accommodation
- providing suitable furnished accommodation for the first 13 weeks
- helping the offender move into alternative accommodation
- assisting the offender to meet the conditions of their sentence/order
- assisting the offender to find employment and/or training to improve access to employment
- assisting the offender to develop basic living skills such as: personal finances, shopping for essential items, home organisation, and personal/home cleanliness
- creating an environment for change so that the offender can adopt self-care principles and change behaviour patterns
- working closely with the Department’s staff and other government and community agencies to assist with the participating offender’s reintegration.