Corrective Services NSW has confirmed an inmate struck a correctional officer in the face during an unprovoked attack around 12.45pm on Tuesday, November 26.

Sources have told the South Coast Register the guard was coward punched and then either had his head stomped on or was kneed in the head.

A co-worker who came to the guard’s aid also injured his knee in the incident.

Both men were taken to hospital for treatment.

The more seriously injured officer has since returned home, while the second officer has returned to work.

A 35-year-old inmate has been placed into segregation as a result of the attack and NSW Police have been notified of the incident.

Vice-chair of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch of the Public Services Association of NSW, Jason Charlton said assaults on officers were on the increase.

Officers took industrial action in March in support of colleagues at Goulburn Supermax following several assaults on officers by Supermax inmates and a judge’s decision to reverse Bassam Hamzy’s 20-month sentence extension for bashing a Supermax prison officer in 2017.

“The government and Corrective Services are working hard to try and make tougher sentences for prisoners who assault prison officers,” Mr Charlton said.

“The welfare division of the PSSA will follow up and make sure the officer is okay and has everything that is needed for support, as will the department.”

He said the incident would be reviewed by the jail’s in-house assault committee.

“Whenever anything like this happens there is a review,” he said.

“That’s driven by Work, Health and Safety. In each centre when an incident like this happens there is an internal committee review and we will wait to find the outcome and findings of that review.

“Various things can come from that review including changes in relation to staff safety.”