Lead Like a Woman - Advancing Women in Leadership in Correctional Services

WICC2025 Presentation by Hayley Mills M.Psych (Forensic); MBA (WICC2025-PID094)

Author

Hayley Mills M.Psych (Forensic); MBA

Deputy Chief Executive, Department for Correctional Services South Australia, Australia

Hayley has been the Deputy Chief Executive since October 2021. As a member of Executive, Hayley is accountable for the strategic development and delivery of Statewide Operations, including nine prisons and fifteen Community Correctional Centres. She is also the State Contract Administrator for several contracted services including two private prison operations, prisoner transport and movement services and electronic monitoring. Hayley co-chairs the Department’s Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group and is passionate about progressing Closing the Gap initiatives.

Prior to her current role Hayley was the Executive Director for Community Corrections and Specialist Prisons, a portfolio that enabled her to impart her strong focus on reintegration and rehabilitation, progressing tailored approaches to the unique needs of women in the Criminal Justice System and progressing alternative to custody initiatives. Hayley has also held the role of Director of Sentence Management where she had oversight of psychological services, assessment and sentence planning, the Serious Offender Committee, custodial case management and movement coordination of prisoners. She first commenced with the Department in 2006 in a practitioner role providing psychological services to women offenders and has maintained a passion for delivering on the needs of women offenders throughout her career. Previous psychology based placements included in the Courts Administration Authority Mental Health Diversion Court and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Cramond Clinic primarily working with clients with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Hayley was born in Mount Gambier in 1982 and did her schooling years in regional South Australia before moving to Adelaide in 2001 to attend the University of South Australia to commence tertiary studies. Hayley is a proud South Australian and committed to serving the South Australian community with a keen interest in regional services and opportunities. Hayley has a Master of Psychology (Forensic), Master of Business Administration and Graduate Certificate Public Sector Management and is committed to delivering a high quality service that balances the operational compliance needs of the organisation with delivering rehabilitative outcomes for offenders and victims of crime. She maintains her registration with the Psychology Board of Australia and professional relationships with the universities in South Australia and continues to provide input into course content, delivers workshops and, at times, provides supervision of psychology students and PhD candidates.

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