The staff used the day to not only don jerseys to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation, but also to raise money for Whiskey's Wish - a charity which unites veterans, first responders and correctional officers suffering from mental and physical injuries with specially trained assistance dogs.

Wellington Correctional complex Governor Brad Peebles said footy rivalries were put aside as staff came together after what's been a "very challenging time".

"It was a great morale builder for the staff," he said.

Organised by the centre's peer support officers Wayne Bywater and Tracey Bell, they also put together a raffle of food and gift hampers, and helped raise more than $2500 for Whiskey's Wish.

Governor Peebles said things had been challenging for staff over the last 12-months due to the Wellington centre being shut down by the mouse plague, and the current issues faced with COVID-19.

"The Wellington correctional facility faired a lot worse out of the mouse plague. It left a lot of staff with uncertainty and certainly disrupted their professional lives," he said.

"We've got them well and truly redeployed now to other centres and to Macquarie Correctional, but it's certainly been a big challenge to the staff."

He said COVID had also affected staff in the Dubbo local government area "quite profoundly".

"Our staff provided a lot of assistance to Bathurst Correctional centre, and they had quite a large number of positive [COVID] cases, both among the inmates and the staff, and some of those staff included our own from Wellington that were infected while in Bathurst," he said.

"So it was just good to do something nice, normal, pro-social and active to feel like we're a community again.

"It was a really good thing for the staff to arrange."

As part of the mouse plague, 420 inmates from Wellington Correctional were relocated to nine different prisons after mice caused extensive damage to internal wiring and ceiling panels.

Remediation work is currently under way and expected to be complete by the end of the year. Governor Peebles said they were then looking to recruit more staff from the local community.

"I know a lot of people are out of work as a result of the pandemic, and that's had a ripple effect thorough the community, so we hope to be doing some recruiting in the near future," he said.

Governor Peebles said he started with Corrective Services in 1988, and it had been a rewarding career.

"At Macquarie we operate on a really unique management model, which is probably unique for the western world," he said.

"Its all about close engagement with the inmates, cooperation and bringing the inmates on board, and there's a great sense of job satisfaction helping people turn their lives around.

"Working with people that have come from the wrong side of the railway tracks, or had a poor start in their adult lives, and assisting them to go home and be good conventional members of the community, that's rewarding in itself."

Governor Peebles said there were also a variety of roles available.

"Whether it's program welfare, education staff, custodial officers, industrial officers, a lot of different roles available," he said.