The notorious Skaf brothers have been permanently banned from sharing a prison cell with each other.
Under new rules introduced by the NSW government, any siblings who have committed crimes in company will be banned from sharing a cell together in any NSW prison unless an exemption is granted by the corrective services commissioner.
The move follows the discovery of two mobile phones and a SIM card inside a Goulburn jail cell shared by convicted gang rapist brothers Bilal and Mohammed Skaf.
Corrective Services Minister John Robertson initiated a review after the discovery.
"The commissioner and I have taken the decision to ban siblings who have committed their crimes in company from ever being able to share a cell," Mr Robertson said in a statement.
"Commissioner (Ron) Woodham has previously made it clear that Bilal and Mohammed Skaf will never again be placed in the same jail, let alone the same cell."
He said the commissioner could grant an exemption in extreme circumstances.
An exemption may be granted where an inmate is at risk of self harm or suicide and the commissioner deems it in the best interests of safety and security in the jail to place them together, he said.
"In recognition of the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, there are circumstances where the department takes family into account when placing Aboriginal inmates within the prison system," Mr Robertson said.
Bilal Skaf, 26, is serving a 36-year term, while Mohammed Skaf is serving a 23-year term.
They were convicted over a series of gang rapes including a pack attack on a 16-year-old girl at Gosling Park in the western Sydney suburb of Greenacre in August 2000.
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