About Time

There are many groups around the country that inspect prisons and provide feedback and recommendations to governments. These often involve visiting prisons and talking directly to people in custody.

This is what they’ve been up to in the last month.

Including suppression orders being banned for some offenders in VIC, good character to be scrapped in sentencing in WA, major changes made to remand processes in NSW and more.

Including a man being unlawfully kept in prison for months after his release date in SA, the findings from the Capricornia Inspection in QLD, upcoming inspections in WA and more.

Including prison policy changes being tracked online in the ACT, concerns in the NT over a lack of a forensic mental health unit, new gym equipment coming to Western Plains in VIC and more.

Welcome to Coronial Corner, where we chat the coroners’ courts and what they say about preventable deaths in custody and the broader system.

Including major legal groups calling out ongoing prison lockdowns in TAS, a violent incident at Yatala in SA, funding for women's programs in NSW and more.

Including funding for more prisons in the NT, families protesting outside Risdon prison in TAS, a man being returned to prison in NSW after being mistakenly released and more.

There are a number of groups around the country that inspect prisons and provide feedback and recommendations to governments. These often involve visiting prisons and talking directly to people in custody.

Including a smoking ban no longer going ahead in WA, changes to the Home Detention Scheme in SA, a hiring spree at Lockyer Prison and more.

Including a death in custody at Acacia prison in WA, Victoria spending the most on youth detention, remand numbers skyrocketing in NSW and more.

Including seven children escaping youth detention in Tasmania, two men being charged over prison murder in Queensland, a coroner pushing for bans on spit hoods in prison in the Northern Territory and more.

Including a Victorian man suing for his right to have Vegemite in prison, a new framework for rehabilitation being launched by NT Corrections, a QLD Watchdog calling separation rooms in youth prisons ‘inhumane’ and more.

We put a call out for messages from loved ones of people in prison across the country, and more than 100 people responded. We hope these brighten your day.

Including smoking being banned in WA prisons, a death in custody at Mary Hutchinson in TAS, a painkiller trial hailed as a success in QLD and more.

Including WA Federal Government raising concerns with criminal justice reforms, SA prison placement guidelines reviewed, child incarceration rates increasing in NSW and more.

Including Victoria increasing jail time for posting crimes online, ACT raising the age of criminal responsibility, WA calling for internet access for those studying on the inside and more.

In June, people from across the country gathered in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) for the 18th Reintegration Puzzle Conference – an annual event for those working in justice reform, as well as those with lived experience of prison and reintegration.

In June, people from across the country gathered in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) for the 18th Reintegration Puzzle Conference — an annual event for those working in justice reform and those with lived experience of prison and reintegration. 

Including an inspection of court custody centres in WA, Victoria enforcing the nation's strictest machete ban, Tasmanians returning to the polls and more.

Including WA Government pledges to improve crisis care in prisons, Victoria announcing a $700m investment in prisons and officers, an ACT prison inspector flagging understaffing issues and more.

Including tough bail laws being introduced in Victoria, the South Australian Government ruling out raising the age of criminal responsibility, a new parole board president appointed in Queensland and more.

The Australian Federal election is coming up. This is about voting for the Prime Minister and other federal politicians. It will be held on 3 May 2025.

Including Labor pushing for mandatory minimums for hate crimes and terror offences, the Age of Criminal Responsibility rising in 2025 in the ACT, new NSW laws to target antisemitism and hate speech and more.

The latest in criminal justice around the country, including prison overcrowding in WA, government stalls on gambling reforms, new reforms strengthening laws against strangulation and more.

The latest in criminal justice around the country, including a calling for reform on Youth Justice, the age of criminal responsibility being reduced to 10 in the NT and a potential end to strip searches for women in QLD prisons.

The latest in criminal justice around the country, including Queensland Police Officers facing charges after a watchhouse incident, formerly incarcerated women calling for the end of strip searches in prisons and domestic violence law reforms in NSW.

Following a number of complaints from inmates, the NSW Ombudsman investigated Serco’s response to an assault at Clarence Correctional Centre.

The latest criminal news from around the country, including pressure on WA government to act on ‘systemic failures’ in youth detention following inquest into death in custody of Cleveland Dodd, Victoria backflipping on raising the age of criminal responsibility and all prisons in NSW now having access to ‘virtual’ medical care.

The latest criminal news from around the country, including new laws to combat ‘deepfake’ pornography, a landmark report on the CLC industry, and a review of First Nations over-incarceration.

Heather Calgaret was a proud Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman. She is remembered as a loving and smiling ‘mother hen’ who was a rock to her family and who loved and connected with her culture through her kids and art.

A selection of classics!

Songs Inside received the Audience Award at the Adelaide Film Festival and Documentary Australia Award at the Sydney Film Festival. It’s touring around the country.

A new art exhibition in Melbourne calls attention to Indigenous incarceration in Australia. It’s on from April to July 2025 at Heide Museum of Modern Art in Melbourne.

Set on a quiet island in the dead of winter, The Wife and the Widow is a gripping mystery/thriller told from two perspectives.

His message is simple but powerful: no matter how difficult life gets, we can choose to be kind, be grateful, and find joy.

This month, we’re reading Archer’s Voice, featuring our very own interview with the author, Mia Sheridan. Archer’s Voice is a New York Times bestselling romance novel. The novel centres on Archer Hale, a reclusive and mute young man with a troubled past, and Bree Prescott, a woman trying to escape her own traumatic history.

This is your chance to focus on yourself, take control of your fitness, and to empower your journey one step at a time.

Sift flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir through grated cheese, bacon, onion and garlic. Gently mix in milk, ensuring well combined without over-mixing.

People in prison can apply to transfer from a prison in one state or territory to another, generally for welfare reasons to be closer to family, community supports, or rehabilitation opportunities.

Inspectors and ombudsmen regularly go to prisons and publish reports on what they find and what they think needs to be improved. They also complete reports on issues such as access to healthcare or the use of segregation.

There are major differences between how offences in prisons are dealt with around Australia. These offences typically range from minor ones, such as keeping an untidy cell, to more serious ones and others that can become criminal charges.

This guide doesn’t assume fair treatment, but it hopes to offer some tools to help you navigate online court while in prison.

I was reading a section of ‘Australia’s National Prison Newspaper’ where it gave some information about bail but I couldn’t find any information about people trying to vary intervention orders (I.V.O).

I wonder if you could explain the new "No Body No Parole" law in New South Wales, where now people charged with murder or manslaughter need letters from the head of police?

The federal election is coming up. It happens about every three years. It’s for electing the government for the whole country – the federal government.

Financial counsellors are skilled professionals who provide advice and support to people struggling with bills and debt.

The Ombudsman is an independent organisation that oversees complaints against government decisions and actions. Each state/territory has their own Ombudsman. The Ombudsman responds to a complaint by investigating from both sides what has happened and why.

Through these articles, we provide information on relevant areas of law. This first article provides basic information to make it easier for family and friends to support you. There are differences in the ways the systems operate depending on where you’re located (VIC, NSW, ACT or TAS), so we hope this is useful and relevant to where you are.

To celebrate NAIDOC week, we’re showcasing First Nations art submissions. We acknowledge the fierce First Nations people and Elders across the country advocating for justice.

In this interview with About Time, Hannah discusses what motivates her and her message to Mob in prison around the country.

Beyond the Bars is a radio program giving a voice to First Nations people in prison in Victoria. The live prison radio broadcasts are aired on 3CR and released on CD each year. This year, the program interviewed a number of First Nations people across six prisons during NAIDOC week.

A Stolen Generations redress scheme has launched in Western Australia, with eligible people to receive $85,000.

A wide-ranging report commissioned by the federal government has called for “urgent and proactive” system-level reforms to improve the standard of health care provided to First Nations people in prison.

About Time spoke to Uncle Robbie Thorpe, a First Nations activist and truth-teller, about his fight for sovereignty for Aboriginal people.

3CR Community Radio’s Beyond the Bars project began in 2002 and continues to present live radio shows during NAIDOC Week each year.

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. It allows you to turn a flat piece of paper into nearly anything you can think of, like an animal, flower or a hat.

While you may have heard of Christmas and Hanukkah, did you know that there’s also an important Buddhist celebration and a Wiccan festival in the same month?

Greek mythology is a collection of stories about gods, heroes, monsters, and the beliefs of Ancient Greece.

We all need identification. Identification (or ID) is a document that proves who you are.

Homelessness is often the biggest worry that people have when being released from custody. A lot of people leave prison not sure of where they will live. This section gives a rough outline of how people can look for homelessness services and different types of accommodation.

Clearly you only have to nominate ‘time travel’ as the subject of a writing competition to get people thinking.

Most of the day in school I would spend in art as my teacher Mrs Crawford was the only one that seemed to understand me and get my ADHD. She made me feel equal.