Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

Your browser window currently does not have enough height, or is zoomed in too far to view our website content correctly. Once the window reaches the minimum required height or zoom percentage, the content will display automatically.

Alternatively, you can learn more via the links below.

Donations via GiveNow

Email

Instagram

LinkedIn

Donate Here

Legal Corner

Legal Q&A – Is It Mandatory to Do Courses at Minimum Level Security to Get Parole?

By
John

John writes from Lindisfarne, Tasmania.

Ethan Cassidy

To About Time,

Is it mandatory to be at minimum security to get parole? A lot of courses are only offered when at minimum and then courses can take six months to complete. I am currently appealing my sentence, but that means I cannot move to a lower security rating. Would I be forced to drop my appeal just to get to minimum security? Is this fair? My parole is due November 12 but I can’t see how I can get it.

To About Time,

Is it mandatory to be at minimum security to get parole? A lot of courses are only offered when at minimum and then courses can take six months to complete. I am currently appealing my sentence, but that means I cannot move to a lower security rating. Would I be forced to drop my appeal just to get to minimum security? Is this fair? My parole is due November 12 but I can’t see how I can get it.

This
article
was originally printed in the
July 2025
edition of About Time.
Question from Dylan, Port Phillip Prison
Question from Dylan, Port Phillip 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).

ISSUE NO. 10
4 MIN READ
By Daniel Vansetten
By Daniel Vansetten

In law, silence is considered a fundamental right that provides fairness in criminal proceedings.

ISSUE NO. 9
5 MIN READ
By About Time
By About Time

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

ISSUE NO. 13
4 MIN READ
This is from a booklet of legal information from an anonymous prisoner.
This is from a booklet of legal information from an anonymous prisoner.

The criminal justice system deals with proof, not truth. The police and Crown present allegations; the defence rebuts them; the jury decides whether the Crown has met the required standard of proof. “Truth” and “innocence” are not part of the legal equation.

ISSUE NO. 18
4 MIN READ
Prisoners’ Legal Service QLD

On 1 April 2026, the Australian Parliament passed new laws which will change the way Commonwealth parole works.

ISSUE NO. 25
3 MIN READ
By About Time

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.

ISSUE NO. 24
4 MIN READ
By About Time

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.

ISSUE NO. 23
4 MIN READ
By Human Rights Law Centre lawyer Monique Hurley, with assistance from Connor Shaw

In recent years, regressive reform of parole laws in many places has made it increasingly difficult for people in prison to access parole.

ISSUE NO. 23
4 MIN READ