The future of a historic Highlands building is up in the air.
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Berrima Correctional Centre was retired on Thursday, April 2.
Four staff took voluntary redundancies and 35 staff were reassigned to other Corrective Services NSW facilities.
A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said the "Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is providing advice regarding the future of the facility".
"The site has remained commissioned as a prison throughout the COVID-19 period," the spokeswoman said.
"A small number of staff remain on site [as caretakers] until the next steps are taken."
Public Service Association (PSA) of NSW general secretary Stewart Little said Berrima Correctional Centre posed "safety risks to members and inmates... as the oldest jail operating in Australia".
"The PSA campaigned for more beds to deal with the state's prison population, to ensure members were working in modern, safe environments," Mr Little said.
"The union was able to secure redeployment for members across the NSW justice system."
The Berrima Correctional Centre was re-opened in 2016 and reclassified as a women's prison in 2018.
The facility housed up to 75 inmates before it was retired.
Berrima Correctional Centre was one of several gaols that was flagged for closure late last year.
The closures were triggered by the new 1700 bed Clarence Correctional Centre, along with the expansion of existing prisons in Junee, Bathurst, Cessnock, Mid North Coast, Parklea and Windsor.