How was your shift?
Get it off your chest.
Officers, health staff, program staff, teachers, chaplains and volunteers. Leave what you're carrying at the gate.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few questions and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to Corrective Services, your manager or anyone else. Unladen Gate is a prototype. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to Corrective Services NSW or any correctional centre. · Give feedback
Take a moment.
Step away if you can, once the area is secure. Tell your supervisor or coordinator you need a few minutes. That's allowed.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- Shaky, sick, or a racing heart
- Numb, or oddly calm
- Tearful, angry, or both
- Going over what you could have done differently
These are normal reactions. They usually settle over hours or days.
If someone hurt or threatened you
It isn't part of the job and it isn't your fault. Tell your supervisor, or your volunteer coordinator if you're a volunteer. Report it through your organisation's incident system, even if it seems minor. Get checked if you were hurt. You can also contact police.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
Call someone now
Add your coordinator, EAP or a colleague in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't feel safe telling your supervisor or your manager, there are other people you can go to. Or write down what happened, just for you, while it's fresh.
What helps after
Handover to yourself
A few minutes at the end of a shift or visit. Notice what you're carrying, then leave what you can at the door.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
Light load
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
About the assault or threat
Report it through the incident system if you haven't yet, even if it seems minor. Get checked if you were hurt. Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim, and you can contact police. If a threat involves your family or your life outside work, tell your manager straight away.
Looking after your dog
Your dog showed signs the visit was hard. Give them a rest day, keep the next visit short, and talk to your program's assessor if the signs keep showing.
Your safety at work
You said you didn't feel fully safe on this shift. That matters. Tell your supervisor or your manager, and report it through your incident system. If you work alone, ask about lone-worker check-ins.
Getting home safely
You said you've got very little energy left. If you're driving, a 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave can help, or get a lift if you can. Text someone when you're home.
What might help
People you can call
This isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Last 14 days
Handovers
This phone isn't letting the page save, so handovers won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
This work stays with you
What to watch for, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
After a death in custody or serious self-harm
Finding someone, responding, or trying to save a life is one of the hardest parts of this work. Strong reactions afterwards are normal, whether you knew the person well or not.
Today
- Take a break before going back on the floor if you can.
- Accept the debrief or peer support when it's offered, even if you feel fine.
- You don't have to go over the details with everyone who asks.
Over the next weeks
- Deaths in custody go to a coronial inquest, and reviews and statements can follow. You're entitled to support through them. If you're worried, talk to your union before giving a statement.
- Images, broken sleep or feeling numb are common. If they're still there after a few weeks, talk to your EAP or GP.
- Volunteers and chaplains: tell your coordinator how it landed.
After an assault or threat
It isn't part of the job, and it isn't your fault.
Today
- Get checked if you were hurt.
- Report it through the incident system, even if it seems minor.
- You can contact police.
Over the next days
- Feeling on edge, or dreading that area, is common. Ask about support and a safety plan before you go back.
- Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim.
- If a threat involves your family or your life outside work, tell your manager straight away.
After a use of force
Using force, even when it's lawful and by the book, can stay with you. So can seeing it.
- Mixed feelings afterwards are common: relief, guilt, anger, or nothing at all.
- Reviews and statements can follow. Ask for support through them, and talk to your union first if you're unsure.
- If something about it didn't sit right with you, you can raise it safely.
When something has to be reported
If you see or suspect misconduct, abuse or a risk to someone's safety, it has to be reported. Doing that about colleagues can feel isolating.
- Make sure everyone is safe first.
- Report it through your chain of command or the incident system.
- If that doesn't feel safe, you can make a public interest disclosure to the NSW Ombudsman. The law protects people who report wrongdoing.
- Write down what you saw, with the date and time, while it's fresh.
Lockdowns, tension and staying switched on
Working somewhere that can turn in seconds keeps your body on alert, and it doesn't always switch off at the gate.
- Notice it at home: scanning rooms, being jumpy or short-tempered.
- Use the trip home to wind down: music, a walk, not replaying the shift.
- Physical activity helps burn it off.
- If it's affecting home, talk to your EAP or GP.
Pressure, manipulation and boundaries
People in custody may test boundaries, build rapport to ask for favours, or put pressure on you. It happens to experienced staff and volunteers too, and it isn't a sign of weakness.
- Don't carry it alone. Tell your supervisor or coordinator early.
- Keep to the rules about gifts, messages and personal information.
- If you're being threatened or pressured, report it straight away.
After a mistake or near miss
A missed check, a count error or a medication mistake can happen to anyone. Feeling terrible about it shows you care.
- Make sure everyone is safe, then report it.
- Tell someone you trust. You don't have to go through it alone.
- Ask for support through any review. If you're worried about a formal process, talk to your union first.
Bullying, harassment or conflict
You don't have to put up with it, and you don't have to sort it out alone.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- If your manager is involved, talk to someone outside your reporting line.
- For sexual harassment, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7.
Signs you're carrying too much
- Dreading going in
- Feeling numb, cynical or detached
- Short-tempered at home
- Sleep changes, or replaying shifts at night
- Drinking more to switch off
This builds up in custodial work. It's a normal response to a hard environment, not a weakness.
Getting home safely
After a long or night shift, tiredness can affect your driving as much as alcohol.
- If you're struggling to keep your eyes open, don't drive. A 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave helps.
- After a hard shift, text someone when you get home.
Volunteers and chaplains
You may not get a formal debrief. Ask your coordinator or your own organisation what support is available. It's OK to step back if visits are taking too much.
When to get more help
If your load has been heavy for two weeks or more, you dread going in, or it's affecting sleep or home life, talk to your GP or EAP. A GP can set up a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist.
People to call
Save the ones that apply to you. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
You don't have to go through your supervisor
Sometimes the person you'd normally tell is part of the problem, or it just doesn't feel safe. Here are other ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organisation
Your centre or organisation can add its own EAP, peer support, chaplaincy and wellbeing numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Free, confidential counselling. Your manager isn't told that you called.
- A peer supporter, if your agency has a peer support program. Someone who knows the work, outside your reporting line.
- Your union. For example the Public Service Association, which covers prison officers, or the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association for health staff. They give confidential advice and can come to meetings with you.
- Your work health and safety representative. For safety issues, including staffing, assaults and bullying.
- Volunteers and chaplains: your coordinator or your own organisation.
- Your GP. Outside work altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
If you've seen serious wrongdoing, you can make a public interest disclosure to the NSW Ombudsman. The law protects people who report in good faith.
Spiritual and religious support
Chaplains work in most correctional centres, and they're there for staff as well as people in custody. They support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
You can also ask for someone from your own faith or cultural community. Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith community after a hard shift. Others find it in nature, music or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I don't want a team debrief. I just need to talk this through."
"Can this stay between us? Is there anything you'd have to pass on?"
"Since the incident I'm not sleeping, and I don't want it on my file."
"I'm a volunteer. Who can I talk to about what I saw?"
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counsellors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- Your union can give you confidential advice before you decide anything.
- A formal report or complaint starts a process. People involved may be told, and you may be asked for your account. Public interest disclosure laws protect people who report wrongdoing.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for New South Wales and Australia-wide. Check with your organisation for its own services.
Write down what happened
It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. If you later decide to raise something, notes written at the time are easier to rely on than memory.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example in the staff room or the car park. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (handovers, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your GP or counsellor.
Delete everything
Deletes your handovers, private record, role, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Gate
Unladen Gate is a prototype made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle NSW. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to Corrective Services NSW or any correctional centre. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, handovers, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Gate that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn't include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Version 0.3 prototype · September 2026