St Heliers generally holds prisoners serving sentences under State or Australian criminal law and has a capacity of 256.

The property was originally settled by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dumaresq and named after Saint Helier, Jersey.

The New South Wales State Government purchased the property in 1945 and it was used as a child welfare institution until its closure in 1986.

[2] Inmates are also involved in furniture restoration, work in a local abattoir, and help maintain the Muswellbrook Cemetery and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

[5] In 2012 the centre commenced a thoroughbred retraining and rehabilitation program in conjunction with Racing NSW.