The centre is operated by Corrective Services NSW an agency of the Department of Communities and Justice of the Government of New South Wales.

The Gaol was reopened on 8 March 1957 by the New South Wales Justice Minister Reg Downing for the sole purpose of incarcerating homosexual offenders.

Downing referred to Cooma as "the only penal institution in the world, so far as is known, devoted specifically to the detention of homosexual offenders".

Cooma Correctional Centre reopened for the second time in November 2001 following a 20 per cent increase in the prison population between 1995 and 2001.

When not in use, the Cooma Correctional Centre has also been a storage space for the Australian Army and for the Snowy Mountains Scheme.