Legal visits
Last updated: 02 Oct 2025
Face-to-face legal visits to people in prison are available at all prisons.
Requesting a legal appointment
The legal adviser should contact the prison directly to arrange any client appointment booking (via telephone, in-person or AVL).
Please note details for AVL/VMR instruction requests.
Information required when requesting a booking
When contacting a prison to book an appointment, please provide the prison with the following information:
- The prisoner’s name and PRN.
- The proposed three dates/times for appointments and the length of time the lawyer believes they will require for the appointment.
- Prison sites require 2 weeks’ notice if possible. The more notice given, the better we may be able to accommodate your time and date preferences. If urgent, please note this .
Legal Instructions via AVL/VMR
If you are specifically booking instructions via AVL/VMR from your own device, please contact operationssupport@corrections.govt.nz with the required information as per the section above.
If you wish to book instructions using a Court instruction suite, the Court registry will arrange instructions bookings with Department of Corrections, in a Court instruction suite as requested.
Prison contact details for booking
Prison | Contact Details |
|---|---|
Northland Region Corrections Facility | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Auckland Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Auckland South Corrections Facility | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Mount Eden Corrections Facility | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Spring Hill Corrections Facility | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Waikeria Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Tongariro Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Whanganui Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Manawatū Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Rimutaka Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Arohata Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests : Or arohatareceivingoffice@corrections.govt.nz Site escalation contact: |
Christchurch Men’s Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Christchurch Women’s Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Rolleston Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Otago Corrections Facility | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Invercargill Prison | For phone booking requests: For in-person visit requests: For AVL booking requests: Site escalation contact: |
Sector Services Team
Should you be unsuccessful in booking an appointment with the site directly (after attempting through the initial contact point and then the site escalation point), then you can escalate to the Sector Services team who will do their best to assist in making suitable arrangements.
Please forward your unsuccessful attempts to book an appointment with the required information for a new appointment to the Sector Services team at sectorservices@corrections.govt.nz.
If you have matters that are assessed as being urgent, i.e. you need to speak to your client within 24 hours of a court appearance, the National Office Operations Helpdesk will do their best to assist in making suitable arrangements. Please contact 0800 696 774 during business hours of 8am – 5pm for any urgent requests.
Special requests
Should you require a special request i.e., a laptop or access to digital disclosure documents, please contact the Sector Services team at sectorservices@corrections.govt.nz.
Please provide as much detail as possible to ensure that we are able to assist you effectively.
Cancellations
Should you no longer require the booking, you should advise the site or the Sector Services team as soon as practicable. There may be instances when the prison is no longer able to accommodate the original booking. This may relate to safety requirements, short staffing, technical difficulties, or overall prison operational requirements.
In these instances, the prison or the Sector Services team will try and contact the legal adviser to advise and assist to make a further booking at a later date.