About 120 correctional officers at Goulburn jail, in the New South Wales southern tablelands, are striking for 24 hours following a dispute over inmates' televisions.

The Public Service Association (PSA) said inmates at Goulburn Correctional Centre were refusing to follow guards' orders after officers seized mobile phones, drugs and other items along with televisions that had been tampered with.

Chair of the PSA's Prison Officers Vocational Branch Steve McMahon said management then negotiated with the inmates to provide them with replacement televisions.

"The staff feel that those actions have placed them at a great risk because the inmates now have managed to manipulate the system and had their items returned," Mr McMahon said.

"They damaged them in the first place and their refusal to mustering in the afternoon is a blatant breach of prison discipline."

The PSA said the dispute started in the maximum security section of the jail.

Inmates are being kept locked in their cells and visits have been cancelled for now.

Assistant Commissioner for Custodial Corrections Kevin Corcoran said security at the Goulburn facility was being maintained by commissioned officers with the support of police.

"I can assure the public that the prison will remain secure," Mr Corcoran said.

The Department of Corrective Services said while it did not condone industrial action, the safety of staff was paramount and concerns raised by prison officers were being investigated.

The industrial action will be reviewed at a meeting of members of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch of the PSA at 8.00am on Sunday.